Comparison

Outside vs Sparkli

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

Head to head
About

Outside

Plan, share, and remember important moments with loved ones. Ideal for long-distance relationships, trip planning, and creating a visual diary of your year. Features live widgets and offline access.

Highlights
  • Shared countdowns for long-distance couples
  • Trip planning with group coordination
  • Yearly memory archive and profile
  • Live widgets for home and lock screens
  • Calendar sync (Apple & Google)
  • Offline functionality
  • Photo sharing for Lock Screen
Features
Read full description

Waiting is better together. Turn every date you can't wait for—weddings, trips, birthdays, reunions—into a countdown you share, with widgets you'll both smile at every day. Use Outside for trips, birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, reunions, concerts and every date worth looking forward to. CREATE AND SHARE Create a countdown, send an invite and let friends, family or your partner join the same moment. WIDGETS AT A GLANCE Keep your next countdown on your Home Screen, Lock Screen or in StandBy. PLAN TOGETHER Add the date, place and details so everyone knows what is happening. FREE TO START The free plan includes creating, sharing and joining countdowns, plus Home Screen, Lock Screen and StandBy widgets. OUTSIDE PRO Outside Pro is optional and adds custom reminders, calendar sync, recurring events, attachments, camera-roll wallpapers, group chat, custom app icons, photo uploads and search, premium countdown styles, links and checklists. Available plans, prices and introductory trial eligibility are shown before purchase. Terms: https://outside.so/terms Privacy: https://outside.so/privacy Support: https://outside.so/support

About

Sparkli

Discover personalized date ideas based on your mood, budget, and location. This app helps couples plan memorable experiences, from quick outings to full-day adventures, and stores important partner details for easy reference. It aims to simplify romance and foster authentic connections.

Highlights
  • Personalized date suggestions
  • Location-based discovery
  • Customizable date planning
  • Partner information storage
  • Smart event reminders
  • Save ideas to Boards
  • Community idea sharing
Features
Read full description

Sparkli is the relationship sidekick that does the thinking for you. • Explore nearby gems on an emoji-tagged map with Yelp® ratings. • Swipe 850 + date ideas—from cheap thrills to all-day adventures. • Plan dates built around your vibe: set time, budget, mood, even “random”. • Partner Notes (“Spark Notes”) keep sizes, allergies & coffee orders handy. • Smart reminders nudge you before birthdays, anniversaries and big moments. • Save sparks to Boards so inspiration never disappears. • Add your own ideas and inspire the community. Why couples love Sparkli • Less scrolling, more doing. • Stops the “what do you want to do?” loop. • Turns tiny details into unforgettable gestures. • Built for real relationships—no hookup vibes. How it works Create a profile for you & your partner. Set your location and interests. Swipe or generate the perfect plan—then go live the moment. Log notes & memories so the next surprise is even better. Made by a team who believes romance should be easy, affordable and authentic. Join the #BringBackRealRelationships movement and spark something amazing tonight.

Screenshots

Outside1 screens
Sparkli4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Sparkli at none against Outside's 17. Sparkli also leads on review sentiment (78% vs 52%) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 18.0). Outside's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (2.8K vs 26). On price and device support 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. Outside sells 17 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Sparkli asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Outside holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Outside has 2.8K ratings behind it against 26, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 52% of Outside's written reviews are positive against 78% of Sparkli's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Outside ships an update every 6 days, Sparkli every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on October 17, 2026.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Outside versus Sparkli: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOutsideSparkli
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (2.8K ratings) — better4.4 (26 ratings)
Positive reviews52.1% of reviews77.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.8K — better26
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemiumAd-supported — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.014.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size144 MB51 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperOutside HQ LTDSprklii, LLC

Customer experience

Outside

All ratings2,759 ratings
Positive91.7%
Neutral2.6%
Negative5.7%
Written reviews217 reviews
Positive52.1%
Neutral8.3%
Negative39.6%

Sparkli

All ratings26 ratings
Positive84.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative15.4%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive77.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative22.2%

Bugs and requests

Outside

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Widget not working after iOS updates
  • Countdown events suddenly blocked by paywall
  • Paid subscription not working as expected

Requested features

4 requests
  • More customization options for widgets
  • Ability to delete or edit events
  • Improved Android support
  • Memories/map feature to track past events

Sparkli

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

17 purchases

Outside

Subscriptions10
  • Monthly subscription$2.991 Month
  • Outside Pro Monthly3 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Monthly Plan$4.491 Month
Show 7 more
  • Monthly subscription3 Days trial$6.991 Month
  • Yearly Pro Deal3 Days trial$12.491 Year
  • Annual Pro3 Days trial$12.491 Year
  • Outside Pro Annual$19.991 Year
  • Annual Plan7 Days trial$29.491 Year
  • Outside Pro Annual3 Days trial$31.491 Year
  • Annual plan3 Days trial$44.491 Year
One-time7
  • Unlock Countdown styles$0.99
  • Ad supported tier$4.99
  • All Time Deal$5.49
Show 4 more
  • All Time Deal$7.49
  • All Time Pro$9.99
  • Lifetime Access$29.99
  • Lifetime access$44.49
None

Sparkli

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Outside free?
Outside is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Sparkli free?
Sparkli is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Outside or Sparkli?
Outside is rated higher. Outside averages 4.7 out of 5 from 2.8K ratings, while Sparkli averages 4.4 from 26 ratings.
Do Outside or Sparkli have ads?
Sparkli shows ads; Outside does not.
Which is updated more often, Outside or Sparkli?
Outside ships an update every 6 days, and Sparkli every 3 weeks. Most recently, Outside was updated on October 17, 2026 and Sparkli on October 17, 2026.

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