Ready Time vs NextStep
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Ready Time
This app helps you avoid being late by working backward from your deadline to schedule each task. It provides alerts for every step, allowing you to adjust your plan on the fly. Features include live activity tracking, Siri integration, and shared plans for group coordination.
- Backward scheduling from deadlines
- Step-by-step alerts
- Live Activities on Lock Screen/Dynamic Island
- Siri integration for voice commands
- Shared plans for group coordination
- Calendar integration
- Step suggestions and buffers
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Always running late? Ready Time works backward from your Deadline to schedule every Step and alerts you when it's time to start each one. Add your Steps (pack, shower, drive, whatever). Set your Deadline. Ready Time calculates start times and sends a notification for each one. ・Morning routines: know when to start each thing so you're not rushing ・Catching a flight: pick your airport and flight time, and get every Step from the final pack to boarding ・Getting kids out the door: the version where nobody yells ・Dinner prep: work backward from "guests arrive at 7" Features: ・Alerts for each Step in your Plan ・Running early or late: tap Done to move the rest of your Plan up, give a Step 5 more minutes, or skip it ・Live Activities: follow a running Plan on your Lock Screen, in the Dynamic Island, and in StandBy ・Ask Siri when to leave or what's next, or tell it to move a one-time Plan's Deadline and Ready Time updates your start times ・Wide-screen layout for iPad and iPhone Duo ・Add a destination to any Step to see travel time by driving, cycling, or walking ・Shared Plans: share with friends and family; they get the same reminders, so you're all ready together ・Calendar integration: tap a flight or event to start a new Plan with the details filled in, or drop one on your Plan list on iPad and iPhone Duo ・Step suggestions from your history ・Time Lock: pin a Step to a fixed time and schedule everything else around it ・Buffers between Steps ・Repeating Plans: daily, weekdays, or weekly ・Sync, duplicate, and archive ・Find your Plans in Spotlight search and open them from the Shortcuts app ・Start a new Plan from a Routine, including plans for 57 airports in the US and Canada Free to use. A one-time Premium unlock adds Live Activities, Time Lock, repeating Plans, and more. No subscription. No ads. No login. You already know what you need to do. Ready Time just tells you when. --- Terms & Conditions: https://getreadytime.com/terms-and-conditions/ Privacy Policy: https://getreadytime.com/privacy/ Ivan ivan@getreadytime.com
NextStep
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One step on screen and your finish-by time right beside it. NextStep turns getting ready, heading out or winding down into a short run of steps that you follow on iPhone or Apple Watch. Every step counts down its own estimate. When the countdown hits zero, nothing jumps ahead: the step waits for you to tap Done. PLAN THE ROUTINE • Up to 30 steps per routine, each with a time estimate, a short note and an optional flag • Give the routine a finish-by time and keep an eye on the estimated finish while you go • Begin from a starter such as Leave for work, Evening reset or Start a focus block, or write your own • Break a task into steps: NextStep suggests steps and times from its own templates for common tasks and, on iPhones with Apple Intelligence, from the on-device model for the rest. You check every step before it is added • Reorder, duplicate or archive routines • Recurring reminders nudge you at the time you pick; a reminder never starts a routine by itself FOLLOW ALONG, STEP BY STEP • Done, Skip, Pause, Add 1 minute and End are always your call • Running behind? Adjust plan lists the optional steps still ahead and the minutes each one would save. Skip a few, or move the finish time for this run only • Pausing or adding a minute leaves your deadline where you set it, so you see straight away what it does to the plan APPLE WATCH, WIDGETS AND LOCK SCREEN • The Apple Watch app runs saved routines by itself, even with iPhone out of reach, and the two catch up when they reconnect • An optional Live Activity follows routines started on iPhone, with a Done button for the current step • The Home Screen widget shows the current step with a Done button, or your next routine • A Start routine control in Control Center or on the Action button opens your next routine, ready for you to confirm • Watch complications show your current progress at a glance ESTIMATES THAT LEARN YOUR PACE • History lists the routines you completed or ended • After enough real runs, NextStep proposes new step times based on your own pace, and you choose which ones to keep WITHOUT PRO • Two saved routines, run as often as you like • Routine editing, reminders, widgets, the Live Activity, the Start routine control, the last seven days of history, estimate suggestions and file export and import • Three tries of Break a task into steps • Watch complications, if you used NextStep before version 1.1 • A 45-second demo run that stays out of your history NEXTSTEP PRO • No two-routine limit • Full history plus planned-versus-actual time comparisons • Extra ready-made programs, such as Ready to go and A calmer evening, each one open to preview before you buy • Break a task into steps as often as you like • Watch complications, when NextStep was first installed at version 1.1 or later • If Pro ends, every routine you made stays available to view, edit and run • A paywall never interrupts a routine in progress KEPT ON YOUR DEVICES There is no NextStep account, no advertising and no outside AI service; Apple Intelligence suggestions are made on the iPhone itself. Routines and history stay on the devices that run them, and you can export a file whenever you want a copy. PAYING FOR PRO Pro is sold three ways: a monthly subscription, an annual subscription, or a lifetime unlock bought once. Before you confirm, the purchase sheet lists what Pro costs in your region and how often it bills, and payment comes from your Apple Account. A subscription carries on into each new period by itself. To stop that, turn off auto-renewal at least a day before the current period ends, since the coming period is billed in the final 24 hours. Manage or cancel from Settings, then your name, then Subscriptions. A lifetime unlock does not end a subscription you already pay for; cancel that separately. Privacy: https://mubaraklabs.com/privacy/nextstep/ Terms: https://mubaraklabs.com/terms/nextstep/ License: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
Ready Time and NextStep are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
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. Ready Time sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per year and NextStep sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Ready Time | NextStep |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (11 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 11 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 14 MB | 12 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nerd Tower | Mubarak Almahmeed |
In-app purchases
Ready Time
- Countdown: Premium7 Days trial$19.991 Year
- Repeating Plans, Themes & More$9.99
NextStep
- Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
- Pro Annual7 Days trial$29.991 Year
- Pro Lifetime$49.99








