Camunda
Camunda opens the 8.11 cycle with a cluster API and more process-variable controls.
Comparison · PM
Ellie Planner vs OpenProject
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Ellie Planner and OpenProject — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:mcp
Ellie Planner vs OpenProject: at a glance
What is Ellie Planner?
Ellie follows its MCP opening with a 30-day Trash and Google Calendar editing.
Ellie is a solo-built task and calendar planner on web, desktop, iPhone and iPad. The August catch-up release opened task data to outside agents through MCP and an API in beta, alongside iPad Week Calendar, Pomodoro and Quick Capture. The October 5 update added a 30-day Trash across platforms, Google Calendar editing and more iPhone features.
What is OpenProject?
OpenProject is patching 17.9 weekly, two of the six with security advisories.
OpenProject 17.9.0 shipped on 30 September with work packages created from Documents, date alerts in the Community edition, Backlogs filters and MCP Server time tracking, but this feed's visible window is now six patch releases after it. 17.9.3 fixes an improper input validation in PDF export that allowed local file loads, and 17.9.5 fixes a budget subject disclosure through the API form; the rest repair SSO in Chromium browsers, fresh installs without work package types, board card reloads and unsaved workflow changes.
Ellie Planner vs OpenProject: editorial side-by-side
Ellie follows its MCP opening with a 30-day Trash and Google Calendar editing.
◆ Current state
Ellie is a solo-built task and calendar planner on web, desktop, iPhone and iPad. The August catch-up release opened task data to outside agents through MCP and an API in beta, alongside iPad Week Calendar, Pomodoro and Quick Capture. The October 5 update added a 30-day Trash across platforms, Google Calendar editing and more iPhone features.
◆ Where it's heading
After a long quiet stretch, releases are arriving more often and filling gaps in safety and calendar parity between platforms. MCP access remains the directional bet, while recent work is mostly parity and polish.
◆ Prediction
Expect more iPhone and iPad parity work; whether MCP access leaves beta is unclear from the entries.
OpenProject is patching 17.9 weekly, two of the six with security advisories.
◆ Current state
OpenProject 17.9.0 shipped on 30 September with work packages created from Documents, date alerts in the Community edition, Backlogs filters and MCP Server time tracking, but this feed's visible window is now six patch releases after it. 17.9.3 fixes an improper input validation in PDF export that allowed local file loads, and 17.9.5 fixes a budget subject disclosure through the API form; the rest repair SSO in Chromium browsers, fresh installs without work package types, board card reloads and unsaved workflow changes.
◆ Where it's heading
The 17.x line alternates monthly feature minors with a tail of weekly patches, and 17.9's tail is longer than usual, partly because fresh installs and SSO broke. The feature direction from 17.8 and 17.9 holds: the MCP Server keeps gaining write and tracking capabilities, and paid features like date alerts move into the free edition. The advisories come from external reporters through GitHub, which suggests outside scrutiny of the API.
◆ Prediction
On the monthly cadence a 17.10 minor is due; the MCP Server has grown in each of the last two minors, so further agent-facing capability there is the most grounded expectation.
Alternatives to Ellie Planner and OpenProject
Other PM products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Ellie Planner or OpenProject.
Bonsai
Bonsai is turning its CRM into the place Zoom notes, bookings and AI drafts all land.
NocoBase
NocoBase's latest beta makes queued agent failures readable instead of vague.
Productboard
Productboard's v2 API now redirects merged entities instead of returning not-found errors.
Papertrail
Papertrail's changelog has gone quiet on product since its checklist logic rebuild.
Kitsu
Kitsu ships weekly production-management updates, from per-show roles to a new Kanban board.
See all Ellie Planner alternatives → · See all OpenProject alternatives →
Recent activity from Ellie Planner and OpenProject
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 3d agoOpenProject17.9.6 fixes unsaved workflow changes
- 4d agoOpenProject17.9.5 fixes a budget disclosure in the work package API
- 8d agoOpenProject17.9.4 stops boards reloading cards twice
- 11d agoOpenProject17.9.3 fixes local file loading via PDF export
- 18d agoOpenProject17.9.2 fixes SSO redirects and fresh-install project types
- 28d agoEllie PlannerEllie adds Trash, Google Calendar editing and iPhone features
- 1mo agoOpenProject17.9.1 fixes Chrome SSO login and the sidebar
- 2mo agoEllie PlanneriPad Week Calendar, Pomodoro, Quick Capture, rich notes, and MCP ⚡
- 10mo agoEllie Planner🧹 Todoist integration, improved Slack/Notion integrations and more
- 1y agoEllie PlannerEllie AI, Task templates, "Add task" from calendar events and more ✨ ⚡
- 1y agoEllie PlannerNotion integration, Analytics, Rituals, Notifications and a ton more
- 2y agoEllie Planner🐹 Outlook Calendar Integration, iOS Widgets, Slack integration and more
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Ellie Planner and OpenProject?
Both compete on the same themes — mcp — within PM. OpenProject is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 2.5), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is Ellie Planner better than OpenProject?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. OpenProject is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 2.5), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other PM products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to Ellie Planner?
Top Ellie Planner alternatives in PM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Ellie Planner alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/ellie for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to OpenProject?
Top OpenProject alternatives in PM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "OpenProject alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/openproject for the full list with editorial commentary on each.