Comparison

Shimmer Care vs ADHD Thrive

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

Head to head
About

Shimmer Care

This app offers personalized, action-oriented ADHD coaching through real human interaction and expert strategies. It helps individuals understand their ADHD, improve executive function skills, and achieve their goals with a science-backed approach.

Highlights
  • Weekly 1:1 coaching check-ins
  • Personalized weekly action plans
  • Experimentation with tailored strategies
  • Text-based accountability check-ins
  • Bite-sized learning modules
  • ACT-based methodology for values alignment
Features
Read full description

Shimmer provides 'bite sized' ADHD coaching to people with ADHD or executive function challenges. Shimmer was born from a group of ADHD coaches, psychiatrists, doctors, and engineers to create a personalized, ACTION-oriented playground for you and your coach to explore. We're not another list, calendar, or app: we're REAL human interactions paired with expert strategies and experimentation, so that you can make real changes in your life. Oh, and we also have ADHD too! Shimmer is for people with ADHD or struggling with executive function challenges. We’re for those who are ready to make a change and take real action to reach their goals. We’re for those ready to put in the work. Typically our members fall into 3 categories: 1. are newly diagnosed or looking to understand their ADHD better: we provide psycho-education and guidance for you to understand ADHD & how it impacts your life 2. have concrete executive function skills they’d like to improve on and are looking for guidance to follow through: we provide the critical knowledge, resources, guidance, support, and accountability so that you actually implement the changes (routines, skills, tools) that will help you reach your goals 3. know they can achieve more and aren’t living at their potential: we use an ACT-based methodology to help you identify your values and help you live in line with them Our ADHD coaches partner with you to co-design a plan to achieve your goals. You'll experiment with strategies on a weekly basis to implement a routine fit specifically for YOU. Our program has been designed off science-backed methods in partnership with NYU, UC Berkeley, and UCSF. - Attend weekly 1:1 check-ins with your coach - Personalized plan each week catered to you - Experiment with tailored skills, strategies, and routines - Text-based accountability check-ins throughout the week from your coach - Learn ADHD skills and tips through bite-sized learning modules The biggest value we’ve heard from our members are: - An expert ADHD coach that knows ADHD inside out and understands them - An accountability partner to hold them to what they said they’d do - Someone to help them break down big tasks to feel less overwhelmed - Guidance to navigate the sea of content and resources out there - Personalized positive reinforcement, support and celebration of the little things - Weekly cadence to make baby steps for changes in their life - An affordable alternative to traditional ADHD coaching that fits into their life Our coaches are specialized in taking an ADHD-adapted approach to coaching and are skilled at helping you navigate life’s ups and downs. Not sure if you’re in the right place? Our members come to use and are working on: - Understanding their ADHD - Feeling they’re not living up to their full potential - Goal setting & habit building - Creating routines & schedules - Feelings of overwhelm, paralysis, and inability to turn brain off - Issues with self-esteem and negative self-talk - Inability to focus during working hours - Holding themselves accountable to changes, challenging “excuse” thoughts - Task initiation - Being more productive Most of our members have ADHD but you don’t need to be formally diagnosed to use Shimmer. We help all sorts of individuals with ADHD-related symptoms like executive function challenges, goal-setting, and living a fuller life! We offer a promotional discount on your first month with three auto-renewing subscription options: - Standard ($229.99/month): 30 min weekly meetings Note: The listed subscription package prices are for US customers. Pricing in other countries may vary and charges may be converted to your local currency depending on your country of residence.

About

ADHD Thrive

This app offers expert-guided, natural strategies for managing ADHD symptoms in children. It provides on-demand lessons, a supportive community, and practical tools for parents seeking holistic approaches to diet, sleep, and behavior.

Highlights
  • On-demand lessons on diet, sleep, and behavior
  • Private community for parent support
  • Downloadable resources like recipes and guides
  • Holistic strategies without medication
  • Expert-led and mom-tested content
Read full description

The ADHD Thrive Institute app brings expert-guided, natural ADHD support to your fingertips—designed by a mom who’s been there. Whether you’re juggling school runs, therapies, or mealtimes, this app puts clarity, confidence, and community in your pocket—no matter where you live in the world. What Makes It Different: Natural, holistic strategies that work – Discover how food, movement, sleep, and supplementation can reduce ADHD symptoms without medication. Expert-led and mom-tested – Everything is built by a certified holistic practitioner and mom who has walked this journey herself. Support that meets you where you are – No matter your time zone or location, you’ll have full access to expert tools and community encouragement. Real-life tools for real-life families – Practical routines, achievable changes, and flexible lessons make it easy to start and stick with your plan. Features: On-demand lessons – Learn at your pace with structured lessons on diet, gut health, detox, sleep, and behavior strategies Private community access – Ask questions, share wins, and find support from other parents who get it Push notifications – Stay motivated and on track with helpful nudges and content alerts Downloadable resources – Access recipe guides, shopping lists, cheat sheets, and templates Mobile-optimized experience – Intuitive, clean design makes it easy to find what you need fast For Who: This app is for parents and caregivers of children with ADHD who: Want to reduce ADHD symptoms naturally Prefer real-world, flexible strategies that work with family life Value expert guidance grounded in lived experience Are looking for a like-minded community of parents Live anywhere in the world and want tools that meet them there Why There’s Nothing Else Like It: No patchwork programs. No cookie-cutter plans. Just an all-in-one, supportive system that simplifies the science and empowers you with real tools. You’ll never have to ask, “Where do I even start?” again. END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Shimmer Care4 screens
ADHD Thrive4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ADHD Thrive at none against Shimmer Care's 3. ADHD Thrive also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and review sentiment (100% vs 87%). Shimmer Care's advantage is ratings volume (220 vs 2) and update cadence (weekly vs every 2 weeks). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Shimmer Care sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $139.99 per month. ADHD Thrive asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ADHD Thrive holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Shimmer Care has 220 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 87% of Shimmer Care's written reviews are positive against 100% of ADHD Thrive's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shimmer Care ships an update weekly, ADHD Thrive every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Shimmer Care versus ADHD Thrive: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShimmer CareADHD Thrive
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (220 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews86.8% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings220 — better2
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS16.0 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size180 MB49 MB
Age rating17+4+
DevelopershimmerADHD Thrive

Customer experience

Shimmer Care

All ratings219 ratings
Positive94.1%
Neutral1.4%
Negative4.6%
Written reviews53 reviews
Positive86.8%
Neutral1.9%
Negative11.3%

ADHD Thrive

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Shimmer Care

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App freezing
  • Checkmark task bug
  • Landscape mode issues
  • Forced updates interrupting usage

Requested features

3 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Improved app stability
  • More flexible update scheduling

ADHD Thrive

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Shimmer Care

Subscriptions3
  • Shimmer Essentials Plan1 Month trial$139.991 Month
  • Shimmer Standard Plan1 Month trial$229.991 Month
  • Shimmer Immersive Plan1 Month trial$344.991 Month
None

ADHD Thrive

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Shimmer Care free?
Shimmer Care is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ADHD Thrive free?
ADHD Thrive is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Shimmer Care or ADHD Thrive?
ADHD Thrive is rated higher. Shimmer Care averages 4.7 out of 5 from 220 ratings, while ADHD Thrive averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Shimmer Care or ADHD Thrive have ads?
Neither Shimmer Care nor ADHD Thrive shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Shimmer Care or ADHD Thrive?
Shimmer Care ships an update weekly, and ADHD Thrive every 2 weeks. Most recently, Shimmer Care was updated on October 27, 2026 and ADHD Thrive on October 1, 2026.

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