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Comparison · PM
Ellie Planner vs Wakapi
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Ellie Planner and Wakapi — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Ellie Planner vs Wakapi: 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 Wakapi?
Wakapi tightens API key scope and fixes double-counted AI agent time.
Wakapi's 2.18 line opened with security and data fixes: API keys now authorize only /api endpoints (a breaking change), permission checks on the filtered stats endpoint were fixed, and AI agent thinking time was being counted twice, which needs summary regeneration to correct. 2.18.1 fixed slow SQLite charts and an unresponsive server during aggregation, and 2.18.2 adds a heartbeats index that can take hours to build on large tables.
Ellie Planner vs Wakapi: 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.
Wakapi
5.0PM
Wakapi tightens API key scope and fixes double-counted AI agent time.
◆ Current state
Wakapi's 2.18 line opened with security and data fixes: API keys now authorize only /api endpoints (a breaking change), permission checks on the filtered stats endpoint were fixed, and AI agent thinking time was being counted twice, which needs summary regeneration to correct. 2.18.1 fixed slow SQLite charts and an unresponsive server during aggregation, and 2.18.2 adds a heartbeats index that can take hours to build on large tables.
◆ Where it's heading
Identity and access remain the theme: OIDC login, OIDC-only mode, multiple API keys, the critical auth bypass fix in 2.17.6, and now narrower key scope. Performance work for large heartbeat tables is emerging alongside it. Release notes are still often bare issue numbers.
◆ Prediction
Expect 2.18.x patches addressing database migrations, given the MariaDB failure noted in 2.18.1; the notes don't show what a 2.19 would contain.
Alternatives to Ellie Planner and Wakapi
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 Wakapi.
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 Wakapi alternatives →
Recent activity from Ellie Planner and Wakapi
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 19d agoWakapiHeartbeats index that can take hours to build
- 28d agoEllie PlannerEllie adds Trash, Google Calendar editing and iPhone features
- 29d agoWakapiSQLite chart and aggregation fixes; MariaDB migration warning
- 1mo agoWakapiAPI keys limited to /api; AI agent time no longer double-counted
- 2mo agoEllie PlanneriPad Week Calendar, Pomodoro, Quick Capture, rich notes, and MCP ⚡
- 2mo agoWakapiCritical auth bypass from a shared cache key namespace
- 3mo agoWakapiRelease 2.17.5
- 5mo agoWakapiRelease 2.17.4
- 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 Wakapi?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Wakapi 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 Wakapi?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Wakapi 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 Wakapi?
Top Wakapi alternatives in PM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Wakapi alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/wakapi for the full list with editorial commentary on each.