Comparison

H2O vs Cactus

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

Head to head
About

H2O

This application helps you monitor your daily water consumption to ensure you stay adequately hydrated. It offers a visually appealing interface with features for quickly logging intake and reviewing your progress.

Highlights
  • Log water intake quickly
  • Preset water amounts
  • Weekly intake graph
  • Full history of entries
  • HealthKit integration
  • Intuitive interface
Features
Read full description

Most water apps give you the same goal every day. H2O raises yours on hot days and after workouts, so you drink what your body actually needs. Log a glass in one tap from your iPhone, Apple Watch or Home Screen, and watch your streak grow on the calendar. H2O makes staying hydrated the easiest habit you'll build. H2O has helped people stay hydrated since 2016, and version 2.0 is rebuilt from the ground up. FEATURES ◉ Daily goals that adapt to the local weather and your workouts in Apple Health. ◉ Quickly add entries with preset water amounts, or enter a custom amount. ◉ An Apple Watch app with complications for your watch face. ◉ Home Screen widgets that log water with one tap. ◉ Gentle reminders to drink throughout the day. ◉ A calendar that shows every day you hit your goal. ◉ Charts of your weekly and monthly water intake. ◉ A full history of water entries. ◉ Apple Health integration and iCloud sync across your devices. ◉ Export your water history as a PDF. ◉ Track in ounces or milliliters. ◉ Support for VoiceOver, Voice Control, Larger Text and Reduced Motion. ◉ A beautiful and intuitive interface! H2O PRO H2O requires H2O Pro, available as a monthly or yearly auto-renewing subscription, or as a one-time lifetime purchase. The yearly plan includes a 7-day free trial for eligible new subscribers. If you used H2O before version 2.0, the app stays free for you, and H2O Pro adds adaptive goals and PDF export. Payment is charged to your Apple Account. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel your subscription anytime in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ H2O Terms: https://lunarbits.io/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://lunarbits.io/privacy.html

About

Cactus

This app simplifies hydration tracking with quick logging, personalized goals, and smart reminders. Watch a virtual cactus flourish as you meet your daily water intake targets, making healthy habits rewarding and stress-free.

Highlights
  • Quick drink logging
  • Personalized daily hydration goals
  • Smart, schedule-aware reminders
  • Visual progress with a growing cactus
  • Detailed history and stats
  • Tracking for 9 drink types
Features
Read full description

There's a tiny cactus living on your phone — and right now, it's thirsty. Every glass of water you drink brings it back to life. Skip your water and it slowly wilts; hit your daily goal and it stands tall, blooming and proud. Cactus turns drinking water into a habit you actually want to keep — because nobody likes to see their cactus sad. A MASCOT THAT MIRRORS YOUR DAY Your cactus has 5 moods, from bone-dry to thriving. It follows your hydration in real time: every drink you log perks it up a little. And each morning it wakes up thirsty again — your daily little reason to drink water. A WATER GOAL MADE FOR YOU No generic "8 glasses a day". Cactus calculates your daily water intake from your weight, your activity level and your climate — so you drink toward YOUR number. Prefer to pick your own target? You can. EVERY DRINK COUNTS — JUST NOT EQUALLY Water, tea, coffee, juice, milk, smoothies, sparkling water… each drink has a real hydration value. Coffee only counts half, and (sorry) alcohol counts zero. Your progress reflects what your body actually gets. REMINDERS THAT NUDGE, NEVER NAG A water reminder at the pace you choose, only between your wake-up time and bedtime. No guilt trips, no buzzing at 3 AM — just a friendly nudge to drink water. ALSO IN THE POT • Log a drink in two taps, with quick-add amounts • A drink-by-drink timeline of your day, plus your best-day record • Daily streak and weekly hydration stats • Light, fast, works offline — no account, no sign-up • Your data stays on your phone FREE, WITH A SIMPLE DEAL Cactus is free to use, supported by ads. The optional Premium upgrade just removes the ads — every feature stays free for everyone. Whether you're looking for a water reminder, a simple water tracker, or just a little green friend who cheers every time you hydrate — Cactus is waiting for you. Fair warning: it's a bit thirsty. Terms of Use: https://trainrboost.com/cactus-terms Privacy Policy: https://trainrboost.com/cactus-privacy

Screenshots

H2O4 screens
Cactus4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Cactus at 5.0 against H2O's 4.5. Cactus also leads on iOS requirement (16.4 vs 26.0). H2O's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (166 vs 1). On price, in-app purchases and device support 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. H2O sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Cactus sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Cactus holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: H2O has 166 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

H2O ships an update every 3 days, Cactus every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
H2O versus Cactus: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterH2OCactus
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (166 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews84.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings166 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterAd-supported
DevicesiPhone, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS26.016.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size48 MB81 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperLunarbits LLCAlexandre Jouanne

Customer experience

H2O

All ratings129 ratings
Positive86.8%
Neutral3.9%
Negative9.3%
Written reviews53 reviews
Positive84.9%
Neutral1.9%
Negative13.2%

Cactus

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

H2O

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App crashes when accessing settings
  • App shuts off when accessing settings
  • Graph feature not working
  • App closes when goal is reached
  • Glitches when reaching goal

Requested features

20 requests
  • Add reminder notifications
  • Allow editing of previous day's entries
  • Add metric units (ml/L)
  • Add widget support
  • Add export to HealthKit option
Show 15 more
  • Add ability to flip to a second profile
  • Add Apple Watch integration
  • Add dark mode
  • Add support for other beverages (coffee, tea)
  • Add Shortcuts support
  • Fix app closing when goal is reached
  • Fix glitches when reaching goal
  • Clarify how to delete entries
  • Add total fluid intake of previous days by each day in history
  • Allow changing the date/time of an entry
  • Allow the app to read HealthKit data
  • Automatically update daily goal with age, weight, and gender
  • Refine daily goal with location and activity data
  • Add a way to donate to the developer
  • Screen adjustment sizes for newer iPhones

Cactus

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

4 purchases

H2O

Subscriptions3
  • H2O Pro Monthly2 variants$1.991 Month
  • H2O Pro Yearly7 Days trial$9.991 Year
  • H2O Pro Yearly$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • H2O Pro Lifetime2 variants$19.99
1 purchases

Cactus

One-time1
  • Remove Cactus Ads$6.99

Questions

Is H2O free?
H2O is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Cactus free?
Cactus is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, H2O or Cactus?
Cactus is rated higher. H2O averages 4.5 out of 5 from 166 ratings, while Cactus averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do H2O or Cactus have ads?
Cactus shows ads; H2O does not.
Which is updated more often, H2O or Cactus?
H2O ships an update every 3 days, and Cactus every 2 weeks. Most recently, H2O was updated on October 29, 2026 and Cactus on October 25, 2026.

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