Just Checking In. vs Check Up
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Just Checking In.
Stay connected with loved ones by sharing your well-being status with simple check-ins. Receive notifications if a check-in is missed, ensuring safety and peace of mind for both you and your contacts. Strengthen bonds and support mental health with this convenient companion app.
- Simple check-ins to share well-being
- Notifications for missed check-ins
- Customizable check-in reminders
- Create circles of friends and family
- Emergency text alerts for missed check-ins
- Vacation mode
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Know how the people you love are really doing. Just Checking In is a private daily emotional check-in app that helps you, your family, friends, and trusted circle share how you feel, stay connected, and know when it may be time to reach out. With one tap, let the people you choose know you’re okay without another phone call or crowded text thread. If someone suddenly stops checking in, their circle can be notified. Premium can also send a missed check-in SMS to a chosen alert contact, even if that person does not have the app. No pressure. No performance. Just an honest emotional check-in and a simple way to show you care. HOW IT WORKS 1. Choose how you’re feeling. 2. Share your check-in with your private circle. 3. Build a consistent emotional wellness habit. 4. If a scheduled check-in is missed, the right people can be notified. FEATURES DAILY EMOTIONAL CHECK-INS Share your emotional status in one tap. PRIVATE BY DEFAULT Only the people you choose can see your check-ins. TRUSTED CIRCLE Create a private group of family members, friends, and supporters. MOOD TRACKER AND HISTORY Review your check-ins over time, notice emotional patterns, and build greater self-awareness. CUSTOM REMINDERS Choose a daily check-in time that fits your routine. Premium supports multiple check-in times. MISSED CHECK-IN ALERTS Your circle can be notified when a scheduled check-in is missed. Premium can also alert a chosen contact by SMS, even if they do not use the app. PRIVATE CHAT Stay connected with your circle inside the app without starting another group text. VACATION MODE Pause scheduled check-ins while traveling or off the grid to avoid unnecessary alerts. FULL CONTROL Manage your circle, check-ins, and account. Delete your account anytime. CHOOSE YOUR PLAN FREE • Multiple daily check-in times (scheduled or surprise) • Add All Friends and Family • 30-day check-in history • 30-day chat history • Core in-app notifications PREMIUM • Stored check-in history • Stored chat history • Annual Check-In Pattern • Missed check-in SMS alerts WHO IT’S FOR Just Checking In is designed for people living alone, families separated by distance, aging parents and the people who care about them, students away from home, veterans, close friends, and anyone building a daily emotional wellness or safety check-in routine. It is also for the friend group that promised to check on one another more often and wants an easy way to follow through. Just Checking In supports real human connection, emotional awareness, and peace of mind. It is not therapy, medical care, an emergency service, a safety guarantee, or a crisis line. If you or someone you know is in immediate danger or crisis, contact local emergency services or an appropriate crisis resource. Because the people who care about you shouldn’t have to wonder. Download Just Checking In and start your first emotional check-in today. SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION Premium is offered as an auto-renewing annual subscription. Pricing varies by location and is shown before purchase. Your subscription renews automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime through your App Store. Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy [support@justcheckingin.co]
Check Up
Easily manage your social connections by logging interactions, taking notes, and setting reminders to check in regularly. Strengthen relationships by ensuring you stay in touch with friends and family.
- Add and manage contacts
- Log interactions and notes
- Set regular check-in reminders
- Track time spent with contacts
- Unlimited contacts with Premium
- Privacy-focused, data stays local
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Check Up helps you stay connected with the people who matter most. Easily add your friends, family, and loved ones to your list, log your interactions, take notes, and set reminders to check up on them regularly. Whether it's a phone call, video chat, or meet-up, keep track of your time together and never let months pass by without checking in. With Check Up, maintaining and strengthening your relationships is effortless. Check Up is free to use with a limit on the number of contacts you can add. Upgrade to Check Up Premium to unlock unlimited contacts. Your privacy is important; all contact data you import remains solely on your device and is never transmitted elsewhere. Terms of Use: https://checkup.ginkgolabs.dev/checkupterms.html Privacy Policy: https://checkup.ginkgolabs.dev/privacycheckup.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Check Up at 5.0 against Just Checking In.'s 4.1. Check Up also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 76%). Just Checking In.'s advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 6 months) and ratings volume (87 vs 12). 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
Both are free to download. Just Checking In. sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Check Up sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Check Up holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Just Checking In. has 87 ratings behind it against 12, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 76% of Just Checking In.'s written reviews are positive against 100% of Check Up's.
Just Checking In. ships an update weekly, Check Up every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Just Checking In. | Check Up |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.1 (87 ratings) | 5.0 (12 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 75.9% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 87 — better | 12 |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 6 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 17.2 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 57 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Heraclius LLC | Ginkgo Labs LLC |
Customer experience
Just Checking In.
Check Up
Bugs and requests
Just Checking In.
Reported bugs
11 issues- App freezes during onboarding/tour
- Cannot scroll through setup screens
- Keyboard covers input fields during registration
- Inconsistent reminder notifications
- False alerts about missed check-ins
Show 6 moreShow fewer
- Check-in data not syncing to circle members
- Random data deletion
- App crashes when checking in
- Emergency contact feature not working properly
- Subscription pricing confusion
- UI freezing and locking up
Requested features
16 requests- Dark mode option
- Mental health articles and educational content
- Mood trend graphs and analytics
- Direct messaging between circle members
- Suggested mood descriptors/prompts
Show 11 moreShow fewer
- Self-care activity suggestions
- Motivational quotes based on mood
- Task/checklist functionality
- Meditation and breathing exercise reminders
- Community forums for peer support
- Contact import from phone
- Multiple fixed check-in times per day
- Adjustable alert windows (not just 24 hours)
- Activity tracking correlated with mood
- Better contact discovery within app
- Engagement features between circle members
Check Up
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Just Checking In.
- JCI Premium Account$4.991 Month
- Duo Plan$30.001 Year
- Advocate$42.001 Year
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- Premium$42.001 Year
- Family Plan$80.001 Year
Check Up
- Check Up Premium - Monthly$1.991 Month
- Check Up Premium - Yearly14 Days trial$9.991 Year









