Comparison

Escape vs How Long

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

Head to head
About

Escape

Capture, organize, and develop your ideas visually or in an outline format. Transform concepts into actionable tasks and projects with intuitive tools for planning, styling, and collaboration. Share your work in various formats to get things done.

Highlights
  • Jot down notes, images, links, and tasks
  • Switch between mind map and outline views
  • Rearrange, edit, and merge ideas
  • Turn ideas into prioritized tasks
  • Style mind maps with custom layouts and markers
  • Share maps as image, text, PDF, and more
  • Collaborate on tasks
Features
Read full description

Escape is your place to jot down notes & ideas, connect and develop them, and get things done. WHAT'S YOUR NEXT IDEA? • Jot down & Collect Notes, images, links or tasks, drop them all in a mind map. Start an outline for an organized, structured view, and switch to mind map to visually rearrange ideas or add new ones. • Plan & Organize Information is ever changing and your app should help you stay on top of things. Rearrange, edit, merge or highlight with intuitive gestures. Instantly switch between outline and mind map. Focus on details by unfolding branches. • Get Things Done Turn ideas into tasks and projects. Prioritize, sort, group and add task completion percentage. • Style Your Mind Map Create expressive maps with beautiful automatic layout, intuitive markers, Apple Pencil sketches and various text styles. Your mind map looks perfect out-of-the-box. • Share and Collaborate Easily share your maps with others as image, text, MD, OPML, PDF or MMAP. Collaborate on tasks with non-mind mapping users, by exporting the map as PDF with clickable checkboxes. ESCAPE The app comes out of the box with a full set of mind mapping features, completely free. • Create and edit topics • Fold and reorganize • Add images and markers • Add links and supplementary topic notes • Add tasks and set completion percentage and priority • Import MD, OPML, MMAP, text • Export outline text, MMAP • Widgets • Dark Mode ESCAPE PRO PRO add-on is available as in-app subscription. It gives access to all the advanced features like Outlining and Batch Actions. It is available as monthly and yearly subscription. Try all the features with a free 30-day trial. • Outlining: create your document using a hierarchical, organized approach • Batch Actions: work faster by sorting and styling topics in batches • Text Styles: highlight meaning with various text styles • Draw: sketch and annotate using Apple Pencil or your finger • Tasks: roll-ups, automatically sort and cross off tasks • Map structures: Mind Map, Org Chart • Export: MD, OPML, PDF, PNG image • Share Tasks: export PDF with checkboxes • Deep Black Theme: custom dark theme to protect your eyes during late-night sessions • Siri Shortcuts and App Actions * Escape for macOS requires a separate subscription. QUESTIONS? Reach out with questions any time at support@escapeapp.cloud, on Reddit (r/EscapeApp), Bluesky (@escapeapp.cloud), or on X (@EscapeMindMap). Terms of Use: https://escapeapp.cloud/terms.html

About

How Long

Automatically track time spent at important locations like the gym or office using geofencing and Wi-Fi. Set weekly goals, view detailed statistics, and receive smart suggestions for new places. Enjoy battery-friendly background tracking.

Highlights
  • Automatic location time tracking
  • Geofencing and Wi-Fi detection
  • Weekly goal setting and progress tracking
  • Detailed visit statistics
  • Smart place suggestions
  • Battery-friendly background operation
  • Home screen widgets
Features
Read full description

How Long answers one question: how much time do you actually spend at the places that matter? Save your gym, office, coffee shop, or a friend's house, and How Long quietly notices when you arrive and leave. No check-ins, no timers. FOR FAMILIES, WITHOUT THE TRACKING Know when your kid gets to school, when Grandma is home again, when your partner has left the office. Share just the places that matter with the people who matter, and they'll see arrivals and departures there and nothing else. No live map, no history of everywhere someone went. One Pro purchase covers your whole family through Family Sharing. BUILT TO BE TRUSTED • Detects arrivals and departures with geofencing, Wi-Fi, and Apple's visit monitoring, then double-checks before recording anything • Always watches the places closest to you and keeps that up to date as you move • Battery friendly: no constant GPS polling SEE WHERE YOUR TIME GOES • Total hours, visit counts, average session, and streaks for every place • Charts by day, week, month, or year, switchable between places and categories • A heatmap of which hours and days you tend to be there • Year in Review and Trip Recap cards you can share GOALS AND REMINDERS • Weekly goals: specific days or a number of visits per week, with streaks • Reminders when you've been somewhere longer than you meant to • Nudges when it's been too long since your last visit ORGANIZE • Categories for anything: Home Town, Paris 2024, Clients • Notes, ratings, and photos on every place • Smart suggestions for places you visit often but haven't saved • Share places or whole categories with a link FRIENDS (optional) • Share a place with a friend and see when they arrive and leave • A widget showing where a friend is right now • Everything goes through your own iCloud account; we never see it WIDGETS • Streak and weekly progress widgets for any place • Friend status widget HOW LONG PRO (one-time purchase, Family Sharing included) • Unlimited places (3 are free) • Travel Mode: automatically saves restaurants, trails, and sights you spend time at on a trip, with a photo you took there • Hiking detection for places you wander through without stopping • Place photos, and browse your photo library by place • Smart cadence reminders • iCloud backup and CSV export • Automations: send arrivals and departures to Zapier, IFTTT, or Home Assistant PRIVACY Your places and visits are stored on your device. Backup and friend sharing are optional and use your own iCloud account. We do not collect personal information, run analytics, or sell data. How Long needs "Always" location access to detect visits while it is in the background.

Screenshots

Escape4 screens
How Long4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: How Long at 5.0 against Escape's 4.4. How Long also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 3 months). Escape's advantage is ratings volume (42 vs 3) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Escape sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month and How Long sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

How Long holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Escape has 42 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Escape ships an update every 3 months, How Long fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Escape versus How Long: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEscapeHow Long
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (42 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews79.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings42 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB9 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperBogdan GherasimGDW Entertainment, LLC

Customer experience

Escape

All ratings41 ratings
Positive85.4%
Neutral2.4%
Negative12.2%
Written reviews29 reviews
Positive79.3%
Neutral3.4%
Negative17.2%

How Long

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Escape

Subscriptions2
  • PRO Monthly$1.491 Month
  • PRO Yearly$9.991 Year
4 purchases

How Long

One-time4
  • Small Tip$0.99
  • Medium Tip$2.99
  • Large Tip$4.99
Show 1 more
  • How Long Pro$5.99

Questions

Is Escape free?
Escape is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is How Long free?
How Long is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Escape or How Long?
How Long is rated higher. Escape averages 4.4 out of 5 from 42 ratings, while How Long averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do Escape or How Long have ads?
Neither Escape nor How Long shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Escape or How Long?
Escape ships an update every 3 months, and How Long fortnightly. Most recently, Escape was updated on November 2, 2026 and How Long on October 31, 2026.

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