TenStages vs Arete
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
TenStages
This app guides users to look inward and discover their authentic selves, moving beyond societal expectations and internal struggles. It encourages self-discovery and living true to one's own nature.
- Inner self exploration
- Authenticity guidance
- Mindful minutes tracking
- HealthKit integration
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We spend most of our lives playing a character, trying to fit in and molding into societies norms and guidelines. Expecting to be accepted we look in others what we lack, expecting to be understood we look for an easy answer, expecting to be valued we let others define ours. We expect life to be other than it is, we expect us to be other than what we are. Creating an eternal fight, an endless run. This application is for you, the seeker, the curious and relentless mind. To look within and start to hear our inner self, to start to be who we really are. To be authentic and true, this is the only purpose of TenStages. With all my heart, I hope that it helps you. Ernest, The app creator. PS: We use HealthKit to write mindful minutes.
Arete
This AI-powered personal development app uses Stoic philosophy to guide self-improvement. Interact with historical figures as your personal counselors to challenge your thinking, build disciplines, and hold yourself accountable to your ideal self.
- AI-powered personal development
- Cabinet of 23 historical counselors
- Customizable daily routines
- Discipline streak tracking
- Personalized essays
- Focus timer and deep work tracker
- Journaling and goal setting
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Arete: Be Who You Want to Be Most self-improvement apps tell you what to do. Arete asks who you want to become. Arete is an AI-powered personal development app built on Stoic philosophy. At its core is your Cabinet — a council of 23 philosophers, warriors, leaders, and thinkers who know you, challenge you, and hold you to the standard you set for yourself. Speak with Marcus Aurelius about what's keeping you stuck. Ask Epictetus why you keep making the same mistake. Bring a decision to the full Cabinet and hear it debated from every angle. The conversations are grounded in the actual writings of each counselor — not generic advice dressed in historical costume. What's inside Arete: The Cabinet — 23 counselors across Stoics, warriors, athletes, builders, writers, and spiritual traditions. Each one has a distinct voice, philosophy, and way of pushing back. Daily Routine — Customizable morning and evening checklists. Build the disciplines that matter and keep the chain unbroken. Days of Discipline — A streak that tracks whether you showed up fully, every day. Your Scrolls — Personalized essays written in your counselor's voice on the topics that matter to you right now. Focus Timer — A reading and deep work tracker that logs your sessions and pages over time. Journal — Capture reflections, quotes, ideas, and beliefs. Let Socrates examine them. Goals — Set goals by category, track progress, and let your counselors hold you accountable. Arete is built for the person who genuinely wants to close the gap between who they are and who they ought to be. Not who they want others to think they are. Who they ought to be. That is what this is for. https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
TenStages and Arete are too close to call on the numbers: across 8 compared parameters — price, rating, ratings volume and ads among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for TenStages against 5.0 for Arete. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 2 respectively.
| Parameter | TenStages | Arete |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 2 — better |
| Update frequency | — | Weekly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 139 MB | 54 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ernest Barrachina Santana | Kyle Emery |
Customer experience
TenStages
Arete
In-app purchases
TenStages
No in-app purchases
Arete
No in-app purchases









