Comparison

Forward vs Thought Path

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

Head to head
About

Forward

Capture ideas and tasks to be delivered to you at a future date, up to a week in advance. This app acts as a rapid note-taking tool and a time-independent reminder system.

Highlights
  • Quickly capture ideas
  • Schedule notes for future dates
  • Set reminders up to a week ahead
  • Time-independent reminders
  • Rapid note taking
Features
Read full description

Have a thought you don't need right now? Email it to your future self. forward is part rapid note-taker, part time-shifted reminder. Type what's on your mind, pick the day it matters - now, tomorrow, or any day this week - and it lands in your inbox that morning. All of a day's notes arrive gathered into a single email: one tidy list, not ten pings. Your inbox is the one list you already check - forward simply puts things there on time. WHY IT WORKS • Capture instantly - open the app and type; your note is one tap from sent. • Share from anywhere - push links, text, and ideas into forward from any app. • Schedule by day - notes for the same day travel together, in one email. • Forget on purpose - write it tonight, see it Thursday morning, think about it never in between. NEW IN 1.7 • Dark Mode - follows your system theme, or stays dark for good. • Sign in with your email - no usernames to remember. • More dependable scheduled delivery. A SMALL APP WITH A LONG STORY forward began as a weekend project by Dan Hopwood of drivn.co - an app called Jot, born in 2014. We used it every single day, so when it shut down in January 2017, we bought it and brought it back, renamed for what it does: pushing notes forward to the day you need them. We've been emailing our future selves ever since.

About

Thought Path

Quickly capture thoughts, ideas, and tasks in a digital inbox. Visualize your mental output over time through maps or search. Automate capture and review with integrations.

Highlights
  • Quick thought capture
  • Task management
  • Idea organization
  • Visual output (map/search)
  • Automation with Shortcuts
  • On-device storage
  • iCloud sync
Read full description

Thought Path is an inbox to quickly capture all your thoughts, ideas, and tasks. Easily see the output of your brain over time, on a map, or in search results. You can integrate Thought Path with Shortcuts, to automate capturing and reviewing your thoughts. Though Path is free to use indefinitely, but you will need to review and archive all your thoughts once you reach a cap of 15. Pro users can remove this limit with a subscription fee. This app is made by a sole indie developer, and that means I care about user experience, not collecting user data. All your thoughts and ideas are saved on device and synced over iCloud - nothing is ever sent anywhere else for any reason. Terms of Use: https://andhash39.com/thoughtpath/terms Privacy Policy: https://andhash39.com/thoughtpath/privacy

Screenshots

Forward4 screens
Thought Path4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Forward at 100% against Thought Path's 25%. Forward also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.3) and in-app purchases (none vs 2). Thought Path's advantage is price (Free vs $4.99). On ratings volume, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Thought Path is free to download; Forward costs $4.99 up front. Thought Path sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Forward asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Forward holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 9 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Forward's written reviews are positive against 25% of Thought Path's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Forward ships an update every 2 weeks, Thought Path monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Forward versus Thought Path: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterForwardThought Path
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (5 ratings) — better4.3 (9 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better25.0% of reviews
Number of ratings59 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFreemium — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size24 MB37 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperwestlinkMatthew James O'Donnell

Customer experience

Forward

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Thought Path

All ratings8 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral25.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive25.0%
Neutral75.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Forward

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Thought Path

Subscriptions2
  • Thought Path Pro (1 Month)7 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Thought Path Pro (1 Year)7 Days trial$14.991 Year

Questions

Is Forward free?
Forward costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Thought Path free?
Thought Path is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Forward or Thought Path?
Forward is rated higher. Forward averages 5.0 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while Thought Path averages 4.3 from 9 ratings.
Do Forward or Thought Path have ads?
Neither Forward nor Thought Path shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Forward or Thought Path?
Forward ships an update every 2 weeks, and Thought Path monthly. Most recently, Forward was updated on October 8, 2026 and Thought Path on October 9, 2026.

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