Comparison

Outside vs ACT OS

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

ACT OS

Read full description

Stop tracking habits. Start building a system. ACT OS isn't another habit tracker. It's your personal operating system for continuous improvement. Most habit trackers focus on checking off boxes. But ambitious goals are more than a collection of isolated habits. They're built on interconnected systems of actions working together toward a common goal. ACT OS helps you organize every action to the bigger picture, so you always know what matters most, where to focus your effort, and how each decision contributes to your overall success. Whether you're building a single healthy habit, preparing for a national championship, or designing an operating system for your entire life, ACT OS scales with your ambitions. If you believe you're capable of more than you are today, ACT OS was built for you. --- Build your system 1. Organize your goals with the Domain Framework Every goal is broken down into Domains and Sub-Categories, giving your actions structure and purpose. Instead of managing disconnected habits, you'll build a complete system that helps ensure no important area gets overlooked. 2. Prioritize what matters most ACT OS uses a transparent weighted scoring system that measures how well you executed your plan based on the priorities you define. Every week you'll receive an Execution Score showing: • Overall Execution • Domain performance • Individual action performance • Exactly how each action contributed to your final score No hidden algorithms. No mystery calculations. Just simple, transparent math that keeps you focused on what actually matters. 3. Start with expert built templates Knowing what to do is often the hardest part. Browse our growing library of professionally designed templates for a wide variety of goals and commitment levels. Every template is fully customizable, so you can: • Use it exactly as designed • Modify it to fit your needs • Combine multiple templates together • Upload a custom template • Build your own system from scratch As our library grows, you'll always have a new pursuit waiting for you. 4. Designed to fit you Your goals are unique. Your system should be too. ACT OS gives you complete control over: • Your goals • Your actions • Your priorities • Your targets • Your schedule • Your tracking style • Your appearance Choose from seven different tracking types, customize your domains and aesthetic, adjust your priorities anytime, and let your system evolve as you do. Whether you prefer a simple checklist or a detailed performance system, ACT OS adapts to you. 5. More than a tracker ACT OS supports you through all 5 stages of the Pursuit of Progress Cycle: 1. Plan 2. Act 3. Reflect 4. Analyze 5. Adjust --- Features • Domain based goal organization • Priority weighted execution scoring • Seven flexible tracking types • Expert built templates • Daily planning • Today only view • Notifications and reminders • Reflection and journaling • Daily and weekly reviews • Action quality ratings • Performance and custom reports • Progress history • Change logs • Links and attachments • Full customization • Cloud sync across devices The pursuit of progress doesn't happen by accident. Build your system. Build consistency. Build the person you're capable of becoming. Download ACT OS today.

Screenshots

Outside1 screens
ACT OS4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: ACT OS at 16.4 against Outside's 18.0. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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 and ACT OS sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Outside ships an update every 6 days, ACT OS every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Outside versus ACT OS: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOutsideACT OS
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (2.8K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews51.8% of reviews—
Number of ratings2.8K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterEvery 9 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.016.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size144 MB72 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperOutside HQ LTDspencer white

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

ACT OS

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
1 purchases

ACT OS

One-time1
  • Founder Lifetime$14.99

Questions

Is Outside free?
Outside is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ACT OS free?
ACT OS is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Outside or ACT OS have ads?
Neither Outside nor ACT OS shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Outside or ACT OS?
Outside ships an update every 6 days, and ACT OS every 9 days. Most recently, Outside was updated on October 23, 2026 and ACT OS on October 17, 2026.

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