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Comparison · PM
Ellie Planner vs My Hours
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Ellie Planner and My Hours — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:mcp
Ellie Planner vs My Hours: at a glance
What is Ellie Planner?
Ellie opens its task data to outside agents, eight months after its last changelog.
Ellie is a solo-built task and calendar planner spanning web, desktop, iPhone and iPad. After an eight-month gap, the catch-up release lands a real Week Calendar on iPad, Pomodoro sessions started from a task and restored across reloads, Quick Capture as a standalone window on a global shortcut, rich-text task notes with Markdown shortcuts, and MCP/API access in beta. Beneath the headline items sits the unglamorous work: recurring tasks, timezones, rollover, and calendar sync behaviour.
What is My Hours?
My Hours launches a Claude MCP connector, making AI-driven time logging a first-class workflow
My Hours is a time tracking platform with a strong invoicing and reporting core, now shipping in two distinct directions: an AI integration layer (Claude MCP connector, Sep 3) and expanded compliance-friendly tracking features (break tracking with payroll calculations, attendance reports, budget alerts). The September releases represent the most capability-dense period in the window, following a patch-heavy summer. The MCP connector runs on Keboola's Cloudflare infrastructure — zero install, OAuth-only.
Ellie Planner vs My Hours: editorial side-by-side
Ellie opens its task data to outside agents, eight months after its last changelog.
◆ Current state
Ellie is a solo-built task and calendar planner spanning web, desktop, iPhone and iPad. After an eight-month gap, the catch-up release lands a real Week Calendar on iPad, Pomodoro sessions started from a task and restored across reloads, Quick Capture as a standalone window on a global shortcut, rich-text task notes with Markdown shortcuts, and MCP/API access in beta. Beneath the headline items sits the unglamorous work: recurring tasks, timezones, rollover, and calendar sync behaviour.
◆ Where it's heading
The consistent pattern across four years of releases is reach - Outlook and Google calendars, Slack, Notion, Todoist, iOS widgets - all aimed at making Ellie available wherever work originates. MCP applies that instinct to agents rather than apps, and the release frames it exactly that way. The in-app AI assistant from a year ago put a model inside Ellie; MCP inverts the arrangement and lets an agent the user picks hold the task data instead.
◆ Prediction
MCP access is explicitly beta and gated behind Power Features, so the open questions are whether it graduates and how it is priced. The entries do not say which clients have been tested against the endpoint.
My Hours
6.3PM
My Hours launches a Claude MCP connector, making AI-driven time logging a first-class workflow
◆ Current state
My Hours is a time tracking platform with a strong invoicing and reporting core, now shipping in two distinct directions: an AI integration layer (Claude MCP connector, Sep 3) and expanded compliance-friendly tracking features (break tracking with payroll calculations, attendance reports, budget alerts). The September releases represent the most capability-dense period in the window, following a patch-heavy summer. The MCP connector runs on Keboola's Cloudflare infrastructure — zero install, OAuth-only.
◆ Where it's heading
The Claude MCP connector signals a clear strategic bet: My Hours wants to be the time tracking tool you interact with through AI conversation rather than through a timer UI. The infrastructure choice (remote server on Cloudflare, not a local install) removes adoption friction, making it viable for teams already using Claude. Parallel development on attendance reports and break tracking points toward a compliance and HR use case — overtime tracking, payroll-ready break records — that broadens My Hours beyond professional services billing.
◆ Prediction
The MCP integration will expand to cover write operations beyond time logging — budget tracking, invoice creation, and report export are the most obvious additions. The attendance report launched in August suggests a near-term push toward HR and payroll integrations, potentially positioning My Hours against more compliance-focused tools like Harvest or Timely for regulated industries.
Alternatives to Ellie Planner and My Hours
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 My Hours.
NocoBase
NocoBase adds an AI knowledge base retrieval API, connecting no-code workflows to external knowledge sources.
RentRedi
RentRedi embeds AI into its maintenance workflow end-to-end, handling tenant intake and drafting landlord replies.
Camunda
Camunda 8.10 alpha cycles through broad platform bug fixes while 8.7 gets routine security patches
Asana
Asana embeds AI into Slack threads and closes the rich-text gap with Notion
Rize
Rize pivots from solo time tracker to agency operations platform with invoicing, profitability reporting, and a ChatGPT integration.
See all Ellie Planner alternatives → · See all My Hours alternatives →
Recent activity from Ellie Planner and My Hours
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 6d agoMy HoursBreaks, simpler clocking & bulk edit for Basic (9.10.0)
- 13d agoMy HoursMy Hours MCP for Claude ⚡
- 15d agoMy HoursTask budget alerts, invoice references & Jira sync (9.9.0)
- 23d agoEllie PlanneriPad Week Calendar, Pomodoro, Quick Capture, rich notes, and MCP ⚡
- 27d agoMy HoursAttendance report, budget tracking & invoice links (9.8.0)
- 1mo agoMy HoursBug fixes (9.6.1)
- 1mo agoMy HoursCustom field filters, view settings & invoicing improvements (9.6.0)
- 8mo 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
- 2y agoEllie Planner📆 Mac menu bar, improved auto sync and more
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Ellie Planner and My Hours?
Both compete on the same themes — mcp — within PM. My Hours is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 3.8), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 1. 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 My Hours?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. My Hours is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 3.8), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 1. 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 My Hours?
Top My Hours alternatives in PM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "My Hours alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/myhours for the full list with editorial commentary on each.