Compare
Where Outlinedesk fits, and where it does not
Studios plan in a spreadsheet, in a hosted production tracker, or in a general task tool. Here is an honest look at each.
Next to a spreadsheet
| Excel or Sheets | Outlinedesk | |
|---|---|---|
| Dates | Typed by hand, wrong after the first slip | Calculated from lengths, links and your working calendar |
| What blocks what | Kept in someone's head | Drawn as links, with blocked work flagged |
| Progress | Formulas you maintain | Rolls up from shots to sequences to the project |
| Two people editing | One overwrites the other | Changes merge, and clashes are listed |
| History | None, unless you copy the file | Undo, versions and a recovery area |
| Where it lives | Your files, or a cloud account | Your own files, offline, no account |
| Cost | Free | From ₹149 a month after a free 27-day trial |
It reads and writes Excel files, so you can start from the sheet you have today.
Next to hosted production trackers
Tools such as Flow Production Tracking (ShotGrid), ftrack and Kitsu run on a server, usually in the cloud, and charge per person per month. Check each vendor's own pricing page for current prices.
| Hosted trackers | Outlinedesk | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the data lives | On the vendor's servers, or a server you run | In your own files and folders |
| Network | Needs a connection to the server | Works offline; shares through a folder |
| Price model | Per person per month | A flat plan for a team size |
| Live editing | Yes, in the browser | No. Changes arrive when files sync |
| Review and playback | Built in | Not included |
| Asset and version tracking | Built in | Not included. It links to files and notices when they change |
| Integrations | Many, built over years | A Blender add-on today |
| Set-up effort | An account, a server or a subscription, and often a pipeline engineer | Install, import a sheet, start planning |
When to choose something else
Choose a hosted tracker if you need live editing for many people in a browser, built-in review and playback, or deep integrations with your tools today.
Choose Outlinedesk if you want planning and tracking without a server, if client rules keep your data off the cloud, if the per-seat price is the obstacle, or if you want a planner beside the tool you already use.
Can I use Outlinedesk beside a hosted tracker?
Yes. Many teams plan departments in Outlinedesk and keep review and delivery in another tool. You can import a tracker's export as a CSV file.
Can I move from a tracker to Outlinedesk?
Import the CSV export and map the columns. Presets for common trackers are included.
Compare on your own data
Import your sheet or tracker export and see what the plan calculates.