Comparison

Needs Bars vs The Growth Diaries

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

Head to head
About

Needs Bars

This app provides a visual cue for activities you need to do regularly but don't fit into traditional to-do lists or calendars. It acts like a 'hunger bar' for any habit, reminding you when too much time has passed without completing a task. Useful for self-care, staying connected, or practicing skills.

Highlights
  • Visual cue for regular tasks
  • Syncing between devices
  • Dark mode
  • Home and lock screen widgets
  • Customizable reminders for self-care
Features
Read full description

Are there things you need to remember to do regularly, that don’t make sense in a to-do list or as calendar events? Needs Bars can give you a visual cue for when you have gone too long without doing something. Needs Bars is useful for things which you know are important, but don’t have a way of feeling it until it’s too late. It’s like the hunger bar in video games, but for anything you like. I know for this developer, todos and reminders don’t work because you miss the notification or they pile up. Some things don’t need to be done at an exact time, you just need to do them fairly regularly. Needs Bars can be helpful for different people in different ways. Some things that others take for granted and can just feel, are things that you would benefit having an external reminder for. For example, maybe you become very focused and would like something that reminds you to eat. The same concept can apply to short and long periods of time. Other examples include: • Staying in touch with family and friends • Self-care like reading, face masks, playing games • Musical instrument practice • Taking a vacation from work • Trying a new recipe At the moment, Needs Bars is a free and basic proof of concept. It already includes: • Syncing between devices • Dark mode • Home screen and lock screen widgets so you can always see your bars If Needs Bars is popular enough I will add paid subscription features to support development: • Custom bar colors • Color changing as the bar gets low • More than 6 bars • Apple Watch app • Slider for editing bar fullness • IFTTT integration for depleting and filling bars • Quick actions from bars like contacts or opening Books app • Completely customizable theming with any art you like, think early Tumblr and MySpace

About

The Growth Diaries

Features
Read full description

Unleash your inner beast and crush your weight-lifting goals with The Growth Diaries! With lightning-fast workout tracking, you'll never miss a beat. Visualize your progress and see your gains come to life with detailed workout analysis, metrics, and dashboards. Impress yourself with how much you're growing every week. The AI-based workout importer makes it easy to import and track your workout plans, simply by uploading a photo of your workout program. Reach new personal records and dominate your weightlifting journey with our app. Get motivated and grow faster with our app that emphasizes on your progress and weekly growth. Key features: * Blazing fast workout tracking * Visualize progress * Detailed workout analysis, metrics and dashboards * AI-based workout importer * Progress and weekly growth charts * Personal Records tracking * Easy-to-use interface for for quick and efficient tracking * Progress tracking to visualize the progress over time. * Advanced set-tracking with metrics such as reps-in-reserve, failure sets, super-sets, drop-sets, giant-sets, notes, reps and weight. TERMS OF USE: https://lily-olive-645.notion.site/The-Growth-Diaries-Terms-Of-Use-50242fc30dc44da0b0eccc1e35c68521

Screenshots

Needs Bars4 screens
The Growth Diaries4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Needs Bars at none against The Growth Diaries's 1. The Growth Diaries's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs every 3 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. The Growth Diaries sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $19.99 per year. Needs Bars asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Needs Bars ships an update every 3 weeks, The Growth Diaries every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on September 16, 2026 and September 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Needs Bars versus The Growth Diaries: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNeeds BarsThe Growth Diaries
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS16.416.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB20 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFergal ArmstrongJazzlab Tech AS

In-app purchases

None

Needs Bars

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

The Growth Diaries

Subscriptions1
  • Full access7 Days trial$19.991 Year

Questions

Is Needs Bars free?
Needs Bars is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is The Growth Diaries free?
The Growth Diaries is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Needs Bars or The Growth Diaries have ads?
Neither Needs Bars nor The Growth Diaries shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Needs Bars or The Growth Diaries?
Needs Bars ships an update every 3 weeks, and The Growth Diaries every 9 days. Most recently, Needs Bars was updated on September 16, 2026 and The Growth Diaries on September 11, 2026.

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