Comparison

Happier vs 1000 Hours Outside

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

Head to head
About

Happier

Discover personalized tools and daily guidance to cultivate a happier life. This app helps you identify what brings you joy and build sustainable habits through flexible tracking methods and fun challenges. It adapts to your unique personality and goals for lasting self-improvement.

Highlights
  • Daily content and reflection prompts
  • Flexible habit tracking methods
  • Personalized recommendations based on personality
  • Fun, quick challenges
  • 7-day habit Jump-Starts
  • Self-improvement and personal growth focus
Features
Read full description

The Happier app gives you the tools, tips, and insights to build a happier life—based on the research of happiness expert Gretchen Rubin. Apps that tell you what to do will never work for everyone. Happier is designed to help you figure out what actually makes you happier, then gives you the tools and guidance to make it happen. WHAT YOU GET: Daily content to keep you moving forward: Learn from fresh tips, reflection prompts, quick challenges, and insights every day. Habit-building tools that match how you work: Try different tracking methods to find what clicks: streaks, photo logs, journal entries, number tracking, and more. Track any habit you choose—exercise, reading, sleep, relationships, creativity, organization, whatever matters to you. Personalized recommendations based on your personality: Take the Four Tendencies quiz to discover whether you’re an Obliger, Questioner, Upholder, or Rebel–then try the tools and approaches that fit your tendency, so you’re working with your nature instead of against it. Fun challenges when you need a boost: There’s always room for a bit of fun. Spin the Challenge Wheel for instant prompts you can complete in minutes—clear a drawer, text a friend, take ten deep breaths, try something new. Or, dive into a 7-day Jump-Start, designed to help you break out of old patterns. Whether you're focused on self improvement, personal growth, or simply building better daily habits, Happier gives you a flexible approach that adapts to your life. TRY THE HAPPIER APP FOR FREE: Download Happier for free and start building a new happiness habit. Subscribe to unlock unlimited habit tracking and full access to all tools and daily content. ABOUT GRETCHEN RUBIN Gretchen Rubin is the author of multiple New York Times bestsellers on happiness and habit formation, including The Happiness Project and The Four Tendencies. WANT TO LEARN MORE? For resources and support: https://thehappierapp.com Terms of Service: https://thehappierapp.com/terms-of-service Privacy Policy: https://thehappierapp.com/privacy-policy

About

1000 Hours Outside

Track your time spent outdoors with an easy-to-use timer that runs in the background. Enhance your experience by journaling adventures, adding photos, and creating profiles for family members. Unlock badges, connect with friends, and visualize your progress.

Highlights
  • Background time tracking
  • Journaling and photo uploads
  • Multiple family profiles
  • Milestone badges
  • Friend connections
  • Color-coded time chart
  • Community map feature
Features
Read full description

Effortlessly keep a digital record of your hours spent outside with the Official 1000 Hours Outside app. Easy timer functionality - just open the app and click play to start the timer, then put the phone down and enjoy the outdoors! The app will track your time in the background so you don't have to think about it. Additionally, you can become a member so you can: • Keep a journal of your adventures by jotting down notes • Upload photos for memory keepsakes for any day • Add up to nine additional profiles to track individual hours for members of your family • Unlock hours, place and streak milestone badges to share with friends • Add friends who also use the app to see what they've been up to • Color your own time tracking chart • Use our map feature to see where other 1KHO members have gone on adventures or left reviews - or leave some of your own! Think of this app as your outdoors companion, but one that isn't designed for endless scrolling - just simple, fun utility to help you unlock all the wonderful cognitive, physical, emotional and mental health benefits of prioritizing time outside! EULA agreement can be found here: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Happier4 screens
1000 Hours Outside4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: 1000 Hours Outside at 4.8 against Happier's 3.9. 1000 Hours Outside also leads on ratings volume (7.8K vs 57) and review sentiment (47% vs 22%). Happier's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, update cadence, 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. Happier sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month and 1000 Hours Outside sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

1000 Hours Outside holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: 1000 Hours Outside has 7.8K ratings behind it against 57, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 22% of Happier's written reviews are positive against 47% of 1000 Hours Outside's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Happier ships an update every 4 weeks, 1000 Hours Outside every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Happier versus 1000 Hours Outside: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHappier1000 Hours Outside
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (57 ratings)4.8 (7.8K ratings) — better
Positive reviews22.3% of reviews47.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings577.8K — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 weeksEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.1 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size109 MB124 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKeyboard, LLCTeam Yurich LLC

Customer experience

Happier

All ratings57 ratings
Positive64.9%
Neutral14.0%
Negative21.1%
Written reviews94 reviews
Positive22.3%
Neutral20.2%
Negative57.4%

1000 Hours Outside

All ratings7,026 ratings
Positive94.9%
Neutral1.9%
Negative3.2%
Written reviews241 reviews
Positive47.3%
Neutral14.9%
Negative37.8%

User reviews

Happier

From 57 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎡 Fun spinning wheel feature for 5-minute challenges
  • 📱 Beautiful and intuitive design
  • ✍️ Multiple tracking methods (photos, journals, numbers)
  • 💡 Personalized content based on Gretchen Rubin's Four Tendencies
  • 🎯 Effective habit tracking and accountability tools

Room to improve

  • 💰 Expensive subscription pricing ($7.99-$10/month or $80-$100/year)
  • 🐛 Frequent app crashes and freezing issues
  • 🔐 Persistent login and authentication problems
  • ❌ Cannot edit or backdate entries after creation
  • 🚫 Limited free version (only 1 active aim allowed)

1000 Hours Outside

From 7.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💻 Easy to use
  • 🎨 Motivating badges
  • 📷 Ability to save photos
  • 🗓️ Helpful for tracking hours
  • 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Tracks multiple profiles

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy timer that stops or resets
  • 🕰️ Difficult to edit or backtrack logged hours
  • 💰 Expensive subscription model
  • 🔍 Limited visibility into past data
  • 🔒 Lack of Apple Watch integration

Bugs and requests

Happier

Reported bugs

17 issues
  • Login screen freezes and prevents app access
  • App stuck on subscription page in endless loop
  • Password validation rejects valid passwords
  • App crashes repeatedly on launch
  • Daily quote doesn't update to new day
Show 12 more
  • Wheel spin challenges show as used when not completed
  • Don't Break the Chain shows false X marks for completed tasks
  • Blank white screens that cannot be closed
  • App doesn't recognize new day for daily challenges
  • Subscription not recognized despite successful payment
  • Error message 'Something went wrong' blocks access
  • 5-minute challenge instructions don't display fully on screen
  • App only fills small portion of iPad screen
  • Request timeout errors when accessing aims
  • Data loss after app updates
  • Inconsistent time zone handling causing broken chains
  • App won't accept valid password combinations during signup

Requested features

15 requests
  • Ability to backdate or edit entries for past days
  • Calendar view to see progress over time
  • Support for multiple tracking methods simultaneously (journal AND photo)
  • Ability to edit aims after creation
  • More flexible aim scheduling (specific times, days of week)
Show 10 more
  • Photo captions for tracked images
  • Community features to connect with other users
  • Lower subscription pricing
  • More diverse 5-minute challenges (currently repeats)
  • Integration of Neglected Senses quiz into app
  • Recording one-word themes within the app
  • Ability to track yearly lists and accomplishments
  • Better organization/grouping of aims
  • More substantial free version with multiple aims
  • Email notifications when app issues are resolved

1000 Hours Outside

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes frequently
  • Timer stops working when app is in background
  • Issues with logging and syncing data across profiles
  • Inconsistencies in time tracking and reporting

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to view and edit individual timer entries
  • Implement weekly/monthly summary views
  • Introduce a widget for quick access on the home screen
  • Allow syncing of data across multiple devices
  • Add more customization options and data visualizations

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Happier

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Subscription$7.991 Month
  • Yearly Subscription$79.991 Year
9 purchases

1000 Hours Outside

Subscriptions6
  • Adventure Map (Monthly)$1.991 Month
  • Premium Subscription Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Membership Monthly7 Days trial$3.991 Month
Show 3 more
  • Adventure Map (Yearly)$19.991 Year
  • Premium Subscription Yearly$24.991 Year
  • Membership Yearly7 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time3
  • Badge Set 2$0.99
  • Badge Set 3$0.99
  • PDF Journal Export$1.99

Questions

Is Happier free?
Happier is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is 1000 Hours Outside free?
1000 Hours Outside is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Happier or 1000 Hours Outside?
1000 Hours Outside is rated higher. Happier averages 3.9 out of 5 from 57 ratings, while 1000 Hours Outside averages 4.8 from 7.8K ratings.
Do Happier or 1000 Hours Outside have ads?
1000 Hours Outside shows ads; Happier does not.
Which is updated more often, Happier or 1000 Hours Outside?
Happier ships an update every 4 weeks, and 1000 Hours Outside every 3 weeks. Most recently, Happier was updated on November 3, 2026 and 1000 Hours Outside on November 3, 2026.

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