Comparison

ACT On It vs Optimal State

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

ACT On It

This app introduces Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) techniques to help users improve their mental well-being and live a more fulfilling life. It offers tools to manage unhelpful thoughts and uncomfortable feelings, enabling users to focus on what truly matters.

Highlights
  • Introduction to ACT principles
  • Tools for managing thoughts and feelings
  • Focus on living a values-driven life
  • Empowerment for personal growth
  • Suitable for all ages
Features
Read full description

‘ACT On It’ is a completely free app, accessible for teenagers, but suitable for all ages. Our charity, with the same name (ACT On It) created this app. Why? To help young people improve their health and overall mental well-being. You can say ACT like the word 'act'. It stands for Acceptance Commitment Therapy or Acceptance Commitment Training. This app is an introduction to ACT. ACT is about you. It's suitable for almost anybody. We all need tips and tools to help us make the most out of life. It's like this: Open up to what is here and now, get clear about what's important to you, then act on it. This includes making space for the unhelpful thoughts and unwanted feelings that get in the way of us fully living our lives. Those thoughts and feelings that we all have from time to time. Here's some more info about thoughts, feelings and how this app ‘ACT On It’ can help: Some thoughts are helpful. But science shows us that most of our automatic thoughts are not that helpful. Our minds are like a broken radio, skipping channels. When we're absorbed in the voices on this radio, they can take us away from fully connecting to life. This happens to every single human being from time to time. Life programmes us to be safe in our comfort zones. It also programmes us to try and get rid of uncomfortable emotions. But this means we spend time caught up in our own struggles. When this happens, we tend to avoid things that matter to us deep down. Acceptance and commitment therapy is about you taking hold of your life compass and living by the life you really want to live. So, this is what this app is for. To take control of our lives more effectively by using some of the tools within this app. These tools can empower us to unhook from our struggles with unhelpful thoughts and uncomfortable feelings. Then we have more space and energy to focus on the things in life that actually matter. These things that we really care about. ACT is for anybody that wants to • Explore what really matters to them and act on it • Use tools to help make space for unhelpful thoughts and uncomfortable feelings • Use tools to focus and engage more in the moment of now. It doesn't matter who you are... ACT can be for almost everybody. Give some of these tools a try. Experiment. Choose which ones you prefer. MORE INFO ABOUT ACCPEPTANCE COMMITMENT THERAPY There's 40 years of science behind ACT. The primary organisation behind this movement is the Association for Contextual Behavioural Science (ACBS), dedicated to the alleviation of human suffering and the advancement of human well-being through contextual psychology. The therapy that is based on this science is Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). ACT is a specialist branch of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). ACT has moved away from the traditional CBT emphasis on symptom reduction to alleviate suffering. Instead, ACT aims to change the relationship we have with these 'symptoms', our unwanted thoughts and feelings, so we can become free of their grip, and free from the unhelpful things we tend to do that bind us and prevent us from acting on what matters deep down. The science behind ACT suggests that when we judge our thoughts as 'negative', they become a problem. But from this perspective, these 'symptoms' don't have to be bad. It all depends on the context; thus the name 'contextual psychology'. If we can change our relationship to them, they often cease to be something that is a problem. They become part of the normal human experience, even if they are uncomfortable. As a consequence to this, symptom reduction happens as a by-product, without primarily focusing upon it, but with primarily focusing upon things that really matter in life instead. If you're interested, you can visit ACBS and find a range of resources. If necessary, you can also get help from health professionals that are dedicated to normalizing the human condition and advancing human well-being through ACT.

About

Optimal State

Track your mental and emotional state alongside physical sensations. Gain insights into your patterns with visual charts and receive personalized tools and suggestions for improvement. Daily reminders help you stay balanced and make positive life changes.

Highlights
  • Mental/Emotional State Tracking
  • Body Feeling Assessment
  • Visual Pattern Charts
  • Daily Check-in Reminders
  • Personalized Tools & Suggestions
  • Intuitive Navigation
Features
Read full description

Track your Mental/Emotional State & how that’s connected to how you feel in your body! We now have 6 assessment charts, 2 for Mental Health & 4 regarding how your body feels. Simply click on the app chart title at the top of the page to bring up the full list and choose one of the 6 chart options. Navigate Easily: We get it, navigating through apps can be stressful. We’ve designed our app to make things easier for you by being extremely intuitive. You will always be a click away from wherever you want to go – so there’s no stress. Our App is simple enough that we know your main focus will still remain on what really matters: improving your life! See our Getting Started Guide. Intuitive Way to Track: We have used colors and a visual representation to help you track your patterns more easily. We feel that the language of the red, blue, white and gold zones makes it easy for everyone to have self-awareness and check in throughout the day. Clear Snapshot of Habits & Patterns: Get a quick snapshot of your habits & patterns, giving you a better overview of your mental and physical health. Once you learn your personal patterns at different times of day, days of the week, months or seasons of the year, you will have valuable insight into why and how you get out of balance. Check in Reminder: Daily reminders for ideal times to have you check in will help us create personalized real-time targeted interventions to bring you back into balance. There are certain times of day that are the best time to check in, allowing us customize your intervention based on what might be most helpful at this particular point. Personalized Tools & Suggestions: Whether you’re looking for a way to change your energy levels, or trying to improve how you feel, or you want to have more contentment, we have the tools and suggestions that can help you change your life from the inside out. We offer personalized plans that will help bring out your state of health both mentally and emotionally, as well as on a physical level. The newest research in neuroscience is showing that our mental health resides not only in our brain, but also in our nervous system and our tissues. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

ACT On It4 screens
Optimal State4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ACT On It at none against Optimal State's 1. ACT On It also leads on iOS requirement (11.1 vs 15.1). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Optimal State sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.99 per month. ACT On It asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for ACT On It against 5.0 for Optimal State. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7 and 4 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ACT On It ships an update every 9 months, Optimal State every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on September 8, 2026 and September 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
ACT On It versus Optimal State: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterACT On ItOptimal State
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (7 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings7 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 9 monthsEvery 5 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.1 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size46 MB36 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperReuben LoweOptimal State LLC

Customer experience

ACT On It

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Optimal State

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

ACT On It

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Optimal State

Subscriptions1
  • Optimal State$4.991 Month

Questions

Is ACT On It free?
ACT On It is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Optimal State free?
Optimal State is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, ACT On It or Optimal State?
ACT On It and Optimal State are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 7 and 4 ratings respectively.
Do ACT On It or Optimal State have ads?
Neither ACT On It nor Optimal State shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ACT On It or Optimal State?
ACT On It ships an update every 9 months, and Optimal State every 5 months. Most recently, ACT On It was updated on September 8, 2026 and Optimal State on September 10, 2026.

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