Comparison

Tabata and EMOM Timer vs Penance

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

Head to head
About

Tabata and EMOM Timer

This free application provides a customizable timer for Tabata and EMOM workouts. Easily set your intervals and save multiple timer configurations for quick access during your training sessions.

Highlights
  • Customizable intervals
  • Save multiple timers
  • Tabata workout support
  • EMOM workout support
  • Free to use
Features
Read full description

Free Tabata and EMOM Timer Easily adjust intervals (and advanced settings). Save as many Tabata timers as you'd like!

About

Penance

This app offers a mindful approach to managing dietary indulgences. Instead of strict tracking, it encourages acknowledging over-budget calories with a small activity and reflection, promoting presence over performance.

Highlights
  • Personalized daily calorie budget
  • Real-time balance meter
  • Smart indulgence detection
  • Tailored exercise suggestions
  • Reflection tags for pattern tracking
  • Optional HealthKit integration
Features
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Penance — A ritual container for mindful indulgence. Not a calorie counter. Not a diet app. Penance is a different approach: when you go over your daily budget, acknowledge it with a small activity and a brief reflection, then move forward clean. How It Works Set your budget — Penance calculates a personalized daily calorie threshold based on your BMR and activity level. Adjust it anytime. Live your life — Eat what you eat. Penance syncs with HealthKit to see your food logs, or you can manually log indulgences. Face the tab — When you go over budget, those calories go "on the tab." You decide what to acknowledge—nothing is forced. Do the penance — A small, achievable activity (never more than 45 minutes). Not punishment. Not burning it off 1:1. Just a small act of presence. Reflect and move on — Tag what triggered it, add a thought if you want, receive absolution. Patterns emerge over time. What's Included • Personalized daily calorie budget based on BMR calculation • Real-time daily balance meter showing intake vs. budget • Smart indulgence detection—only over-budget calories count • Exercise suggestions tailored to your penance target • Activity credit for surplus exercise • Reflection tags to track patterns over time • Morning reckoning mode for daily check-ins • Receipts view showing your history and insights • Full privacy—all data stored locally on your device What Makes Penance Different • No streaks, no scores — Presence over performance. There's no leaderboard, no guilt-inducing streak counter, no gamification. • You decide — The app never forces a penance. See something on the tab? You can face it or "turn the other cheek" and let it go. • Achievable by design — Penances are intentionally small. The point isn't suffering—it's acknowledging a choice and taking a brief action. • Activity credit — Went for a long run yesterday? Surplus activity reduces your penance target. • Morning reckoning — Prefer to review yesterday's tab with your coffee? Set a daily check-in time instead of real-time alerts. • Private by design — All data stays on your device. No accounts, no servers, no sync, no analytics. Your indulgences are yours alone. HealthKit Integration Penance reads from Apple Health to: • Calculate your BMR-based calorie budget • Track daily food intake vs. budget • Credit extra activity toward lighter penances HealthKit is optional—you can skip it during setup and log everything manually. The Philosophy This isn't a ledger. It's a practice. Most diet apps treat eating as accounting—calories in, calories out, stay in the green. But that framing creates anxiety, guilt, and eventually abandonment. Penance takes a different view: indulgence is part of life. When it happens, you don't need punishment or permission. You need a moment of presence—a small act, a brief reflection—and then you move forward. The religious language is playful, not preachy. "Penance" and "absolution" are winks, not doctrine. The only thing sacred here is your attention.

Screenshots

Tabata and EMOM Timer2 screens
Penance4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Tabata and EMOM Timer at 4 against Penance's 1. Tabata and EMOM Timer also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.2). On price, rating, 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Tabata and EMOM Timer against 5.0 for Penance. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 1 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Tabata and EMOM Timer versus Penance: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTabata and EMOM TimerPenance
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (4 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings4 — better1
Update frequencyWeekly—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better26.2
Further details — not scored
Size23 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEvan WinogradKenneth Howe

Customer experience

Tabata and EMOM Timer

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Penance

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Tabata and EMOM Timer

No in-app purchases

None

Penance

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Tabata and EMOM Timer free?
Tabata and EMOM Timer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Penance free?
Penance is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Tabata and EMOM Timer or Penance?
Tabata and EMOM Timer and Penance are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 4 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Tabata and EMOM Timer or Penance have ads?
Neither Tabata and EMOM Timer nor Penance shows ads.

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