Behave Buddy vs Thumsters
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Behave Buddy
This app acts as a personal behavior coach for children, helping them identify areas for improvement and offering tips to correct negative behaviors. Children earn points for good conduct, which can be redeemed for non-monetary rewards, and parents can track progress and approve reward redemptions.
- Behavior improvement tips
- Points for good behavior
- Customizable non-monetary rewards
- Badge collection system
- Daily mini-game for bonus points
- Behavioral insights and stats
- Parental reward approval
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Behave Buddy is our Behave companion app that is designed specifically for your kids. Parents use the Behave app, kids use the Behave Buddy app. Behave Buddy is your child's behavior coach. Your child will be able to clearly identify which behaviors need improvement and will be presented tips to correct bad behavior. Behave Buddy will always notify your child when their behavior needs improvement and what they can do to improve. Your child will earn behave points for exhibiting good behavior. They can then choose from a selection of non-monetary rewards or you can create your own rewards that fit your families needs. You'll be notified on your device that your child has redeemed a reward and can approve it when you're ready. We feel it's important that these rewards aren't material, such as toys or money. Some examples include: 1 on 1 time with mom or dad Stay up 15 minutes past bedtime Extra internet or video game time Choose a family activity No chores for a day & more Yes there are badges There are a ton of badges your kids can earn to encourage them to keep up their good behaviors. Our study has shown that this works incredibly well. Your child will continue to try to earn good behavior points to collect all the badges. Daily Engagement To keep your child motivated to open the app every day we've included a mini game. Once per day your child can spin the wheel to earn bonus points. Behavior Insights. behave keeps track of all the good and the bad so you can can see the complete picture. Your kids will have access to these stats as well. It's good for them to be aware of what they need to work on. We'll take it from there and notify your child why they lost points and even help coach them with tips on how to improve their behavior. Praise is key. Naturally we don't praise our kids enough. When your kids exhibit good behavior, let them know. We'll notify your child for all the awesome things they do. You can even award bonus points for reasons we haven't thought of. You see what they see. The behavior meter is a powerful tool in keeping your child aware of their behavior. A great tactic we've seen parents use is that as long as this meter is yellow or green their child can go to or have that sleepover they've been asking about. Bad behavior isn't rewarded. We follow this rule in behave as well. Kids cannot redeem rewards while their behavior is poor.
Thumsters
This app helps parents foster positive behavior and build stronger connections with their children through a reward-based tracking system. It offers tools for habit formation, emotional coaching, and consistent parenting across multiple caregivers, designed for children aged 4-12.
- Real-time behavior tracking (thumbs up/down)
- Kid-friendly chore list and reward system
- Emotional coaching and awareness tools
- Multi-device syncing for caregivers
- Customizable reward system
- Designed for ages 4-12
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You didn’t sign up for tantrums, power struggles, or endless nagging. You just want your kids to listen, without losing your cool. Meet Thumsters – the award-winning parenting app that helps you build better behavior, calmer routines, and deeper connection with your kids. Whether you’re dealing with defiance, meltdowns, or chore resistance, Thumsters gives you a proven, easy-to-use system based on positive reinforcement and emotional coaching—not yelling or punishment. WHY PARENTS LOVE THUMSTERS Track behavior in real-time – Log thumbs up/down and reasons to see patterns at a glance. Create better habits – Reinforce routines and tasks with a kid-friendly chore list and reward system. Coach, don’t correct – Build your child’s confidence and emotional awareness with our Emotions Tracker. Stay consistent – Sync across multiple devices for caregivers, co-parents and therapists. Backed by science – Built with child professionals and recommended by therapists worldwide. HOW IT WORKS Use Thumsters to log your child’s behavior choices—good or bad. Assign tasks or daily routines. Set goals and rewards. Thumsters builds a clear picture of their progress, helping you parent with purpose and coach your child toward better emotional regulation and decision-making. BUILT FOR REAL FAMILIES Works with multiple kids & carers Includes a customizable reward system Designed for ages 4–12 Used by families, teachers, and therapists Recognized by the US National Library of Medicine for behavior support Join thousands of families who’ve said goodbye to chaos and hello to calm and connection. Download Thumsters today and transform your home—one thumbs up at a time. Terms of Use: https://www.thumsters.com/legal/terms-of-use
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Thumsters at 69% against Behave Buddy's 15%. Thumsters also leads on rating (4.7 vs 2.2) and ratings volume (873 vs 9). Behave Buddy's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 7) and iOS requirement (6.0 vs 15.1). On price, update cadence, ads 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
Both are free to download. Thumsters sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Behave Buddy asks for nothing beyond the download.
Thumsters holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Thumsters has 873 ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 15% of Behave Buddy's written reviews are positive against 69% of Thumsters's.
Behave Buddy ships an update every 4 weeks, Thumsters fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Behave Buddy | Thumsters |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.2 (9 ratings) | 4.7 (873 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 15.4% of reviews | 68.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 9 | 873 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 weeks | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 6.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 29 MB | 92 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | +4 |
| Developer | Applauz Media Solutions | KØBEN digital |
Customer experience
Behave Buddy
Thumsters
Bugs and requests
Behave Buddy
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Thumsters
Reported bugs
4 issues- Crashes when adding child profiles
- Sync issues between devices
- Thumbs up/down disappearing or not registering properly
- Inconsistent behavior after app updates
Requested features
5 requests- Allow kids to track their own progress
- Add more customization options for goals and rewards
- Implement better reporting and analytics
- Improve Apple Watch integration
- Simplify the process of giving thumbs up/down
In-app purchases
Behave Buddy
No in-app purchases
Thumsters
- Weekly Premium Subscription$1.997 Days
- Monthly Premium Subscription3 Days trial$7.991 Month
- Monthly Premium Subscription14 Days trial$12.991 Month
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- 6 Month Premium Subscription3 Days trial$39.996 Months
- Yearly Premium Subscription7 Days trial$47.991 Year
- 6 month premium subscription14 Days trial$59.996 Months
- ThumbsUp full account - 1 year14 Days trial$79.991 Year
Questions
Is Behave Buddy free?
Is Thumsters free?
Which has better reviews, Behave Buddy or Thumsters?
Do Behave Buddy or Thumsters have ads?
Which is updated more often, Behave Buddy or Thumsters?
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