Comparison

Mindful Affirmations vs Happy Things

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

Head to head
About

Mindful Affirmations

This app offers a vast library of positive affirmations designed to help you cultivate a more positive mindset. Listen to pre-recorded affirmations or record your own for personalized reinforcement. It's a tool to combat negative thoughts and improve self-esteem and motivation.

Highlights
  • Hundreds of pre-recorded affirmations
  • Affirmations categorized by topic
  • Record your own affirmations
  • Daily habit reminders
  • Background listening option
Features
Read full description

Mindful Affirmations is designed to provide you easy access to a wide range of positive affirmations tailored to your own goals. The affirmations can be played while relaxing, or in the background while doing everyday tasks such as brushing your teeth, or waiting for the bus. The idea is that your subconscious can absorb positive affirmations played as background noise, and this way, train your brain toward a more positive mindset. We all have areas in our lives that we think negatively about - it’s completely normal - may it be your work situation, relationships or stress and anxiety management. Sometimes it might even feel like these thoughts are taking over all of your thoughts. Good news is - as these negative thoughts are trained behaviour, it is possible (and quite easy) to train the brain in the opposite direction - to think more positively! Affirmations are a common tool in CBT psychology and life coaching, and proven to have a positive effect on our minds and personal development. By making a habit of listening to, and recording, a series of positive affirmations, we are able to improve common daily struggles such as stress, low self esteem, and motivation. For further reinforcement, you also have the option to record the affirmations yourself, and listen to your own voice. WHAT YOU GET Hundreds of pre-recorded affirmations divided into playlists and categories such as Stress, Daily Happiness, Motivation and many more! The ability to record your own affirmations for extra reinforcement Notifications to remind you of your new habit FREE sample category designed for everyday joy and happiness. The opportunity to subscribe and unlock the FULL library of affirmations tailored to a variety of life goals. BEST PRACTICES Select the topics that best suit your needs right now. Make a habit of listening to your affirmations daily, for at least 5 minutes. As with any new habit, it’s easier to incorporate a new habit to an already existing one! Listening to affirmations work the best when you are able to take a break and fully absorb the affirmations. Having said this however, we know that life can get busy sometimes, which is while we recommend keeping affirmations on in the background while doing daily tasks such as commuting, or brushing your teeth. We recommend that listening to your affirmations daily for at least a month before expecting visible results. New research actually shows that it takes on average 60 days to form new behaviours and habits, so keep this in mind too! Affirmations become more effective when you recite, or listen to them regularly. It can take time and work to reprogram your subconscious mind from past negative programming to positive empowering beliefs. Like anything, the more effort and energy you put in the more immediate and obvious the results will be. The more often you affirm something, the more your mind will accept it, thereby reaping positive changes in your life. Positive affirmations are the first step in creating the mindset you need to achieve your goals. The next step is then taking the appropriate action to see your vision become a reality. Privacy Policy: https://www.mindfulaffirmations.app/privacy-policy Terms and Conditions: https://www.mindfulaffirmations.app/terms-and-conditions

About

Happy Things

Cultivate happiness with daily, science-backed activities designed to reduce stress, improve mood, and enhance sleep. This app offers over 100 bite-sized practices to make happiness a habit, with progress tracking and reminders.

Highlights
  • 100+ science-backed happiness activities
  • Short, easy-to-follow daily practices
  • Daily activity reminders
  • Progress tracking with weekly check-ins
  • Holistic approach to wellbeing
Features
Read full description

Turn happiness into a habit with Happy Things. The Happy Things app offers 100+ simple, scientifically-proven daily activities to help you reduce stress, boost your mood, and get better sleep. At Happy Things, we believe that happiness is a skill that can be learned. That’s why we’ve taken decades of research on happiness and turned them into bite-size practices that you can do every day. Here are just a few of the benefits of Happy Things: * Over 100 activities scientifically-proven to increase happiness and wellbeing * Short, easy-to-follow practices that only take a few minutes to complete * Reminders to help you stay on track with your daily practices * Progress tracking with weekly check-ins So how does the app work? Every day you’ll get an activity out of a variety of happy things for you to do. We recommend doing at least one every day for maximum effect! You can switch activities to find the ones that are just right for you, and set reminders so you don’t forget to do them :) With our holistic approach, Happy Things can help you improve your mental and physical wellbeing, strengthen your relationships, achieve personal growth, and more. Plus, with daily practice reminders and progress tracking, you can stay on track and monitor your progress towards a happier, healthier life. To get started, simply download Happy Things today and start practicing happiness with a 7-day free trial! SUBSCRIPTION PRICING AND TERMS Happy Things offers two auto-renewing subscription options: * $7.99 per month * $59.99 per year (less than $4.99 a month!) These prices are for United States customers. Pricing in other countries may vary and actual charges may be converted to your local currency depending on the country of residence. The subscription will automatically renew unless turned off in your iTunes Account Settings at least 24 hours before the current period ends. You can go to your iTunes Account settings to manage your subscription and turn off auto-renew. Your iTunes Account will be charged when the purchase is confirmed. See the app's terms of use here: https://www.happythings.app/terms

Screenshots

Mindful Affirmations4 screens
Happy Things4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Mindful Affirmations at free with in-app purchases against Happy Things's subscription. Mindful Affirmations also leads on review sentiment (72% vs 35%) and rating (4.6 vs 4.3). Happy Things's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 6 weeks) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, ads and in-app purchases 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. Mindful Affirmations sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days and Happy Things sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Mindful Affirmations holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 662 and 151 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 72% of Mindful Affirmations's written reviews are positive against 35% of Happy Things's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mindful Affirmations ships an update every 6 weeks, Happy Things every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Mindful Affirmations versus Happy Things: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMindful AffirmationsHappy Things
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (662 ratings) — better4.3 (151 ratings)
Positive reviews71.8% of reviews — better35.0% of reviews
Number of ratings662 — better151
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS26.013.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size37 MB78 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperJoan CardonaHappy Things, Inc.

Customer experience

Mindful Affirmations

All ratings662 ratings
Positive90.5%
Neutral3.5%
Negative6.0%
Written reviews71 reviews
Positive71.8%
Neutral5.6%
Negative22.5%

Happy Things

All ratings151 ratings
Positive80.8%
Neutral5.3%
Negative13.9%
Written reviews20 reviews
Positive35.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative45.0%

Bugs and requests

Mindful Affirmations

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes on launch
  • Recorded affirmations not saving
  • Widget not functioning properly
  • Account creation issues

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to create and save custom affirmations
  • More free affirmation content
  • Option to change widget color
  • Private journal feature
  • More affirmation topics (e.g. trauma, eating disorders)

Happy Things

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Mindful Affirmations

Subscriptions9
  • 1 week subscription$2.997 Days
  • 1 month subscription$5.991 Month
  • 1 month subscription$6.491 Month
Show 6 more
  • 3 Months Premium$18.493 Months
  • 1 year subscription3 Days trial$27.991 Year
  • Mindful Affirmations Premium3 Days trial$29.991 Year
  • 1 year subscription3 Days trial$36.991 Year
  • Mindful Affirmations Premium3 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • Yearly subscription$44.991 Year
One-time1
  • One Time Purchase$159.99
3 purchases

Happy Things

Subscriptions3
  • Monthly Subscription7 Days trial$7.991 Month
  • Annual Subscription7 Days trial$59.991 Year
  • Special Offer (OLD)1 Month trial$59.991 Year

Questions

Is Mindful Affirmations free?
Mindful Affirmations is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Happy Things free?
Happy Things is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Mindful Affirmations or Happy Things?
Mindful Affirmations is rated higher. Mindful Affirmations averages 4.6 out of 5 from 662 ratings, while Happy Things averages 4.3 from 151 ratings.
Do Mindful Affirmations or Happy Things have ads?
Neither Mindful Affirmations nor Happy Things shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mindful Affirmations or Happy Things?
Mindful Affirmations ships an update every 6 weeks, and Happy Things every 3 weeks. Most recently, Mindful Affirmations was updated on October 16, 2026 and Happy Things on October 4, 2026.

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