Comparison

Ikiru vs Clary

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

Head to head
About

Ikiru

Organize your life with this versatile app for creating lists, taking notes, and setting reminders. It helps you focus on what's important with a beautiful, user-friendly design and powerful features like nested lists and due dates.

Highlights
  • Create nested lists
  • Set due dates and reminders
  • Add photos to list items
  • Sort list items dynamically
  • Sync data via iCloud
  • Protect data with Touch ID/passcode
  • View items on Apple Watch
Features
Read full description

Ikiru is a simple but powerful app for making lists, keeping notes and setting reminders. It aims to help you live a productive and meaningful life, by enabling you to focus on the things that are most important to you. IKIRU IS VERSATILE Use it to create to do lists, shopping lists, take notes, store contact information, keep track of books to read, or movies to watch... or anything else you'd want to make a list for. IKIRU IS BEAUTIFUL With a clean and easy to use design, choose from over 2000 icons to assign to your lists. IKIRU IS POWERFUL - create lists within lists - assign a due date and reminder to list items - view all items with a due date in one convenient timeline - add a photo to list items - drag and drop to sort list items, or automatically keep a list sorted alphabetically, by modification date, completion date, and more - easily copy or move items from one list to another - mark items incomplete to return them to their original position in the list (this makes lists easy to reuse) - send a list via email, and the receiver can import your list into their copy of Ikiru - view items with due dates on your Apple Watch IKIRU KEEPS YOUR DATA SAFE - automatically back up and sync lists between iOS devices using iCloud - use Touch ID or a custom passcode to protect your information IKIRU HAS PURPOSE The word "ikiru" (ee-kee-roo) means "to live" in Japanese. It's also the title of an Akira Kurosawa film about a man who decides to do something meaningful with his life. Ikiru (the app) is my attempt at doing something meaningful with my life, and hopefully help others live meaningful and productive lives. IKIRU HAS HISTORY In 2010 I released a list-making app called "Paperless". From busy moms to airplane pilots to people who needed a little help remembering things after suffering a brain injury, Paperless has been used by hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. Ikiru is built upon that legacy - incorporating the best ideas from Paperless, greatly improving upon them, and adding big features that people have requested. IKIRU NEEDS LOVE If you find Ikiru useful, please rate and review it in the App Store. Thank you!

About

Clary

This AI-powered productivity app offers frictionless task capture through voice, text, or photos. It intelligently organizes your to-dos, schedules them, and provides tools like a Pomodoro timer and Eisenhower Matrix to boost focus and goal achievement.

Highlights
  • AI-powered task capture (voice, photo, text)
  • Smart scheduling and prioritization
  • Kanban board and list views
  • Pomodoro timer and Eisenhower Matrix
  • Google Calendar sync
  • Home screen widgets
  • Siri and Shortcuts integration
Features
Read full description

We didn’t just update Clary; we completely reimagined it. We realized that for a productivity app to actually work, it needs to disappear. It shouldn't feel like "using an app"—it should feel like an extension of your brain. So we rebuilt everything—from the UI to the AI—to create the first frictionless planner. Clary is designed for "zero-thinking" capture. You don't fill out forms. You don't manually set dates. You simple speak, type, or snap, and Clary's completely overhauled AI engine understands exactly what you mean, where it goes, and when you should do it. It just works. Clary is different. We believe organizing your life shouldn't feel like a chore. It should feel like a conversation with a brilliant executive assistant who just gets it. Clary is the first task manager designed to be your AI co-pilot, handling the administrative drag so you can focus on what you do best: achieving your goals. WHY CLARY? Most to-do apps feel like data entry. Clary feels like magic. We use advanced AI to handle the tedious parts of planning—sorting, tagging, scheduling, and breaking down tasks—so you can focus on doing the work that matters. CAPTURE ANYTHING, ANYHOW Speak Your Mind: Just say, "Remind me to email the proposal tomorrow morning and follow up next week." Clary understands the context, sets the due date, and prioritizes it for you. Snap Your Notes: Have a messy whiteboard or a handwritten sticky note? Snap a photo. Clary's AI reads it and converts it into a digital checklist instantly. Brain Dump Freely: Overwhelmed? Type a messy paragraph of everything on your mind. Clary will deconstruct it into clear, manageable subtasks and organize them into your projects. MASTER YOUR WORKFLOW Smart Scheduling: Clary doesn't just list tasks; it helps you plan them. Our AI respects your wake-up times and working hours to suggest the best times to get things done. Visual Clarity: Switch between a powerful Kanban board for projects or a standard list for daily agendas. Focus Tools: Built-in Pomodoro timer to help you work in sprints, plus an Eisenhower Matrix to ensure you’re always working on what’s actually important, not just what’s urgent. Gamified Consistency: Build a productivity streak with our "Reflect" system. Track your progress daily and stay motivated. SEAMLESS INTEGRATION Google Calendar Sync: See your events alongside your tasks. Never double-book yourself again. Home Screen Widgets: distinct and beautiful widgets keep your goals front and center. Siri & Shortcuts: Capture tasks completely hands-free while driving or walking. CLARY FREE The perfect starting point for getting organized. Unlimited tasks and notes Standard reminders Up to 2 projects Basic AI capture CLARY PRO Unlock your ultimate productivity potential. Unlimited AI Intelligence: Unlimited voice-to-task, photo-to-task, and brain dump breakdown. Calendar Sync: Real-time 2-way sync with Google Calendar. Unlimited Projects: Organize every aspect of work, home, and side hustles. Advanced Analytics: Deep insights into your productivity trends and streaks. Stop fighting with your planner. Start getting things done. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.tryclary.com/privacy.html

Screenshots

Ikiru4 screens
Clary4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Clary at 100% against Ikiru's 54%. Clary also leads on price (Free vs $4.99) and rating (4.4 vs 3.9). Ikiru's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5) and ratings volume (101 vs 8). On ads 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

Clary is free to download; Ikiru costs $4.99 up front. Clary sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Ikiru asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Clary holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ikiru has 101 ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 54% of Ikiru's written reviews are positive against 100% of Clary's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Ikiru ships an update every 3 weeks, Clary every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on August 30, 2026 and August 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 1 level
Ikiru versus Clary: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterIkiruClary
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating3.9 (101 ratings)4.4 (8 ratings) — better
Positive reviews54.2% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings101 — better8
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFreemium — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS11.1 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size62 MB54 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJames RhoadesMonish Saravana Kumar Divya Sundari

Customer experience

Ikiru

All ratings101 ratings
Positive68.3%
Neutral13.9%
Negative17.8%
Written reviews131 reviews
Positive54.2%
Neutral18.3%
Negative27.5%

Clary

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Ikiru

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Reminders not working properly
  • Syncing issues causing data loss
  • Crashes after iOS updates
  • Inability to disable Face ID lock

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more formatting options (bold, italic, etc.)
  • Improve search to allow searching within sublists
  • Provide more customization options for themes and icons
  • Add location-based reminders
  • Implement better backup and restore functionality

Clary

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Ikiru

No in-app purchases

5 purchases

Clary

Subscriptions4
  • tudu Pro Monthly Discounted$4.991 Month
  • tudu Pro Monthly7 Days trial$8.991 Month
  • Tudu Pro Yearly Discounted$34.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • tudu Pro Yearly7 Days trial$69.991 Year
One-time1
  • tudu Pro Lifetime$69.99

Questions

Is Ikiru free?
Ikiru costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Clary free?
Clary is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Ikiru or Clary?
Clary is rated higher. Ikiru averages 3.9 out of 5 from 101 ratings, while Clary averages 4.4 from 8 ratings.
Do Ikiru or Clary have ads?
Neither Ikiru nor Clary shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Ikiru or Clary?
Ikiru ships an update every 3 weeks, and Clary every 5 days. Most recently, Ikiru was updated on August 30, 2026 and Clary on August 7, 2026.

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