Comparison

Ritual vs AARP Staying Sharp

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

Head to head
About

Ritual

Explore a library of guided audio practices for personal, spiritual, and collective growth. Save favorite sessions, build a wellbeing rhythm, and track your progress. Features daily new practices and a collection of over 1,000 audio sessions from renowned wisdom teachers.

Highlights
  • Living library of wellbeing practices
  • Curate your journey with saved practices
  • Daily guided practices
  • Over 1,000 audio practices
  • Practices from human wisdom teachers
  • Tools for reflection and awareness
  • Supportive community features
Features
Read full description

Welcome to Ritual—a spiritual practice for the life you are living. Ritual is where you tend to your spiritual life: a few minutes each day, guided by trusted voices, rooted in practices that have sustained people for centuries. Not a surface level meditation app, not a single tradition—a place to build a practice that is genuinely your own. Inside Ritual: • Guided spiritual practices across many traditions. Christian contemplative practices—like Lectio Divina and The Examen—live alongside practices such as poetry, gratitude, and guided reflection. • Practice alongside theologians, poets, and contemplatives—guides like Kate Bowler, Cole Arthur Riley, Barbara Brown Taylor, Father James Martin, and Parker Palmer, each with decades of their own practice and lived experience. • Go deeper than the moment. Sit with a word that means something to you, and let Ritual help you carry that into your day through written and photo reflections. • Build your spiritual life, over time. A spiritual life isn’t found in one session—it’s built through faithful return. Ritual helps you see the long arc of your spiritual journey over time. • Bring your faith, your doubt, and everything in between. Whether you’re rooted in a tradition or finding your own way, Ritual meets you there. Subscription Pricing & Terms: Try Ritual with three practices, free. To practice without limits, Ritual offers an auto-renewing annual subscription for $69.99 (USD; pricing varies by country). Your subscription renews automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage your subscription or turn off auto-renew anytime in your Apple account settings. Payment is charged to your Apple account. Terms and conditions: ritual.io/terms-of-service Privacy policy: ritual.io/privacy-policy

About

AARP Staying Sharp

This app offers science-based challenges and expert advice to improve brain health, focusing on memory, focus, and digital well-being. It provides interactive tools and exercises to help users build lasting, brain-healthy habits.

Highlights
  • Science-based brain health challenges
  • Expert advice on memory and focus
  • Digital decluttering strategies
  • Interactive tools and exercises
  • Progress saving across devices
  • Earn AARP Rewards points
Features
Read full description

Need to learn a variety of healthy-lifestyle skills? The AARP™ Staying Sharp® app is based on a holistic, lifestyle-based approach to brain health and features expert advice on memory, focus and more. Are you sometimes irritated by little memory slips like forgetting where you placed your keys or phone? In our “Memory Loss – Is it Inevitable?” challenge, you can learn how memory works. In addition, our Digital Declutter challenge teaches you ways to manage your digital world. Discover strategies for shifting technology away from being a distracting force in your life and into something that helps you live life more fully. And if you’re tired of forgetting details about new people you meet, our Faces & Names challenge can help you learn the secrets of those impressive people who never forget a name. Here’s what the app lets you do: Take challenges that are designed to help you learn about the brain and its ongoing health, including tips to incorporate healthy habits into your daily life. Take Staying Sharp challenges on the go. Your progress will be saved, no matter where you start or stop your challenge. And that works on a smartphone, computer or tablet. Who can use the app? Anyone can download and preview the Staying Sharp® app. AARP members and other authorized users have access to it. Plus, there’s more. Access includes the following: * Take the challenges to earn AARP Rewards points*. This loyalty program lets you gain points for participating in activities, including eligible Staying Sharp challenges. * Take advantage of easy access to the AARP Now app. This app lets users tap into news, events and savings, plus earn AARP Rewards points. *Unused AARP Rewards points expire 12 months after they are earned, in monthly batches on a rolling basis. About Staying Sharp and AARP Staying Sharp is an AARP program that shows you how to incorporate the six pillars of brain health into your life. Staying Sharp empowers you to develop meaningful and lasting brain-healthy practices that are based on these pillars: Be social, Eat right, Manage stress, do Ongoing exercise, get Restorative sleep and Engage your brain. The program has received industry recognition in multiple national competitions — including the Digital Health Awards and eHealthcare Awards — earning accolades for videos, interactive content and site design. AARP is the nation’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering people 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With a nationwide presence, AARP strengthens communities and advocates for what matters most to the more than 100 million Americans 50-plus and their families: health security, financial stability and personal fulfillment. AARP also produces the nation’s largest circulation publications: AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin. Terms of Service: https://stayingsharp.aarp.org/about/terms-of-service/ Privacy Policy: https://www.aarp.org/privacy/privacy-policy/

Screenshots

Ritual4 screens
AARP Staying Sharp4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Ritual at none against AARP Staying Sharp's shown. Ritual also leads on update cadence (every 9 days vs every 5 weeks) and review sentiment (69% vs 52%). On price, rating, ratings volume 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. Ritual sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and AARP Staying Sharp sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $20.00 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Ritual against 4.7 for AARP Staying Sharp. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3.6K and 3.3K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 69% of Ritual's written reviews are positive against 52% of AARP Staying Sharp's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Ritual ships an update every 9 days, AARP Staying Sharp every 5 weeks. Both last shipped on November 7, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Ritual versus AARP Staying Sharp: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRitualAARP Staying Sharp
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (3.6K ratings) — better4.7 (3.3K ratings)
Positive reviews69.4% of reviews — better52.4% of reviews
Number of ratings3.6K — better3.3K
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.115.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size86 MB76 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperRitual MediaAARP

Customer experience

Ritual

All ratings3,615 ratings
Positive96.5%
Neutral2.0%
Negative1.5%
Written reviews72 reviews
Positive69.4%
Neutral8.3%
Negative22.2%

AARP Staying Sharp

All ratings2,705 ratings
Positive93.5%
Neutral4.3%
Negative2.2%
Written reviews42 reviews
Positive52.4%
Neutral4.8%
Negative42.9%

Bugs and requests

Ritual

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

AARP Staying Sharp

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Games not launching properly
  • App freezing or crashing
  • Inability to access core features

Requested features

4 requests
  • Expand game library
  • Improve login and navigation experience
  • Add more accessibility features
  • Provide clearer instructions and guidance

In-app purchases

8 purchases

Ritual

Subscriptions8
  • Premium Subscription7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Unlimited Subscription7 Days trial$7.991 Month
  • Unlimited Monthly Subscription7 Days trial$9.991 Month
Show 5 more
  • Unlimited Annual Subscription7 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • Unlimited Annual Subscription7 Days trial$59.991 Year
  • Unlimited Annual Subscription$59.991 Year
  • Unlimited Annual Subscription$69.991 Year
  • Unlimited Annual Subscription7 Days trial$69.991 Year
1 purchases

AARP Staying Sharp

Subscriptions1
  • AARP Membership1 Year trial$20.001 Year

Questions

Is Ritual free?
Ritual is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is AARP Staying Sharp free?
AARP Staying Sharp is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Ritual or AARP Staying Sharp?
Ritual is rated higher. Ritual averages 4.8 out of 5 from 3.6K ratings, while AARP Staying Sharp averages 4.7 from 3.3K ratings.
Do Ritual or AARP Staying Sharp have ads?
AARP Staying Sharp shows ads; Ritual does not.
Which is updated more often, Ritual or AARP Staying Sharp?
Ritual ships an update every 9 days, and AARP Staying Sharp every 5 weeks. Most recently, Ritual was updated on November 7, 2026 and AARP Staying Sharp on November 7, 2026.

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