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Planning tool ships small collaboration and dashboard refinements, cadence slowing.
Comparison · PM
OpenProject vs Ellie Planner
A side-by-side editorial comparison of OpenProject and Ellie Planner — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:integrations
OpenProject vs Ellie Planner: at a glance
What is OpenProject?
OpenProject grinds out steady releases while hardening against a bug-bounty backlog of CVEs.
OpenProject is in a maintenance-heavy stretch: a run of 17.x point releases mixes small features with a steady stream of security patches surfaced by its EU-sponsored bug bounty. Feature work is incremental but pointed — project-based work package identifiers ease Jira migrations, and 17.6 adds an XWiki integration linking project management to enterprise knowledge. The cadence is high but a large share of releases are corrective.
What is Ellie Planner?
Solo-built daily planner adds an AI assistant and more calendar/tool integrations.
Ellie is a solo-developer daily-planning app that combines calendar time-boxing, task capture, and a growing set of integrations. The most consequential recent addition is a built-in AI assistant on mobile and desktop; the changelog itself is candid and irregular, updated in bursts.
OpenProject vs Ellie Planner: editorial side-by-side
OpenProject grinds out steady releases while hardening against a bug-bounty backlog of CVEs.
◆ Current state
OpenProject is in a maintenance-heavy stretch: a run of 17.x point releases mixes small features with a steady stream of security patches surfaced by its EU-sponsored bug bounty. Feature work is incremental but pointed — project-based work package identifiers ease Jira migrations, and 17.6 adds an XWiki integration linking project management to enterprise knowledge. The cadence is high but a large share of releases are corrective.
◆ Where it's heading
The product is consolidating as a credible open-source Jira alternative rather than chasing new categories. Recent features — Jira-friendly identifiers, XWiki knowledge links, Baselines refinements — target enterprise buyers weighing a migration. Security discipline, with multiple CVEs patched across back-ported 17.2 through 17.4 lines, signals a push for enterprise trust.
◆ Prediction
Expect continued 17.x point releases pairing migration-friendly features with back-ported security fixes; the Jira-migration and enterprise-knowledge threads are the ones to watch build out.
Solo-built daily planner adds an AI assistant and more calendar/tool integrations.
◆ Current state
Ellie is a solo-developer daily-planning app that combines calendar time-boxing, task capture, and a growing set of integrations. The most consequential recent addition is a built-in AI assistant on mobile and desktop; the changelog itself is candid and irregular, updated in bursts.
◆ Where it's heading
Ellie is expanding along two lines: an AI assistant layered onto the planner, and a widening web of integrations (Todoist, Notion, Slack, Outlook/Apple calendars). The direction is a connected personal-planning hub, paced by a single maker's availability.
◆ Prediction
Expect the AI assistant to take on more planning and time-boxing work, and continued integration additions; release timing will stay irregular given the solo cadence.
Alternatives to OpenProject and Ellie Planner
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 OpenProject or Ellie Planner.
TimeCamp
TimeCamp's public feed is competitor-comparison marketing, not shipping news.
Hostaway
Hostaway is building the compliance and automation layer around rental invoicing
Harvest
Harvest rebuilt its interface and split off a Premium tier for profitability
Aha!
Aha! is extending from roadmapping into an AI app builder with real access controls.
Atlassian
Atlassian is rebuilding Jira around managing human-plus-AI-agent work.
See all OpenProject alternatives → · See all Ellie Planner alternatives →
Recent activity from OpenProject and Ellie Planner
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 8d agoOpenProjectOpenProject 17.6 adds XWiki integration for enterprise knowledge
- 1mo agoOpenProjectOpenProject 17.5.1 patches 17.5 regressions
- 1mo agoOpenProjectOpenProject 17.5 adds project-based IDs to ease Jira migration ⚡
- 1mo agoOpenProjectOpenProject 17.3.4 fixes broken Memcached serialization
- 1mo agoOpenProjectOpenProject 17.4.1 patches journal and work-package disclosure CVEs
- 1mo agoOpenProjectOpenProject 17.3.3 back-ports visibility and IDOR security fixes
- 6mo agoEllie Planner🧹 Todoist integration, improved Slack/Notion integrations and more
- 10mo 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
- 2y agoEllie Planner📆 Mac menu bar, improved auto sync and more
- 2y agoEllie Planner🍎 Apple cal, Month view, zooming 🔎 and more!
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between OpenProject and Ellie Planner?
Both compete on the same themes — integrations — within PM. OpenProject is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 0.0), 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 OpenProject better than Ellie Planner?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. OpenProject is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 0.0), 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 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.
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.