Comparison

Headspace vs Karavan

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

Head to head
About

Headspace

This app offers a unique 3D approach to organizing thoughts and creating hierarchical outlines. Visualize your information in a floating space, navigate with intuitive gestures, and connect related ideas with visual links. It's designed for a dynamic and engaging way to manage lists and mind maps.

Highlights
  • Build hierarchical outlines in 3D space
  • Navigate and zoom with familiar finger gestures
  • Connect related items with link lines
  • Change item color and opacity
  • Universal app for iPhone and iPad
  • Sync files with Dropbox
  • PDF export with active note links
Features
Read full description

*** PLEASE NOTE: This NOT the meditation app! *** (There is another app called "Headspace: Guided Meditation and Mindfulness" and this is NOT that app!) This is the *original* Headspace! HEADSPACE is iOS's coolest 3D outliner and mind-mapping app! Do your list-making and mind-mapping in 3D space with the *original* Headspace. "Five stars on iPhone, completely off the scale on iPad" "This is the app I've most wanted to run on the iPad since the day it was announced, and the app that anyone looking over your shoulder will immediately want to buy an iPad just to run. " "Love the program. Favorite app. Useful and looks great. " "The implementation is beautiful! In my opinion, Headspace is becoming one of the best apps in the store." "I bought Headspace last night on a whim - been fooling around with mindmapping apps lately. This is a little piece of brilliance, you know that, right? " "This app could not just be a mindmapping program, It has the capability to become a new kind of U.I. That in my opinion that improved over apples U.I." Headspace allows you to create items and groups of items on a floating plane in three-dimensional space. The hierarchy of items and their various sub-items make for a beautiful display of information as they recede into the distance. Simple and familiar finger gestures allow you to move around the space. Use the menu button to travel between various groups. Easily create links and travel between them. The beautiful animated interface is like something from a sci-fi movie, but it isn't just eye-candy. You can go from an "eagle-eye" view of your entire map to focusing on a single item with a simple pinch of your fingers. There's just something about being able to manipulate the scale and space that goes perfectly with the idea of outlining. Here's a rundown on all its cool features: ● build hierarchical outlines in 3D space ● use familiar finger gestures to navigate and zoom ● connect related items with link lines - even between files! ● change item color and opacity ● change text color ● 'Flick' up or down to travel to top or bottom of lists ● special characters and foreign-language support ● universal app -- runs on both iphone and ipad ● easy travel between groups and files ● cut-and-paste items ● search in spaces, notes, and files ● item notes for supplemental information (text/photo/url) ● optional accelerometer rotate ● customizable color palette ● "to-do" style item checkboxes ● 2D orthogonal mode ● sync files between your iphone and iPad with Dropbox ● file support for Freemind, the free multi-platform desktop mind-mapping program ● stunning PDF export w/ active note links Get some perspective on your thoughts. Try Headspace today! Let us know what else you'd like to see added, email headspace@flatblackfilms.com!

About

Karavan

Visually organize projects with customizable Kanban boards. Break down tasks, attach files, and track progress with features like subtasks and a built-in Pomodoro timer. Syncs automatically across devices and works offline.

Highlights
  • Customizable Kanban boards
  • Subtasks and checklists
  • File attachments with Quick Look
  • Up Next view for urgent tasks
  • Undo/Redo with change log
  • Built-in Pomodoro timer
  • Automatic offline sync
Features
Read full description

Organize projects visually with Karavan – a native Kanban board app with automatic sync. Key Features • Flexible Kanban boards with customizable columns and swimlanes • Eisenhower Matrix – not sure what to tackle first? Switch any board to a 2×2 priority grid, drag tasks by effort and impact, and preview every change before it's applied – priorities you've set by hand are never silently overwritten • Subtasks – break any task into a checklist, track progress right on the card, and let Karavan suggest moving a task to Finished once everything's checked off • Attachments – attach photos and files to any task, and preview them with Quick Look • Up Next – see your most urgent and high-priority tasks across every project in one place, and jump straight to the board • Undo & Redo, plus a full Change Log of every change with one-tap revert • Powerful search – find any task instantly; it scrolls into view and highlights itself so you never lose track • Custom notification time per task, independent of its due date • Task priorities, due dates, auto-archive, and overdue/due-soon warnings • Configurable Finished Columns – decide exactly which columns count as done, not just the last one • Board templates – use the built-ins, customize them to fit your workflow, or build your own from scratch • Custom Project Icons – drag your own photo onto a project, or pick one from Photos or Files, and it replaces the icon everywhere the project shows up • Pin your favorite projects and give each one its own color for quick recognition • Customizable task types – 19 built-in types or create your own with custom colors and icons from the full SF Symbols library (6,900+ icons) • Built-in Pomodoro timer – start a Focus Session with a tap; the timer appears on your Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island • Markdown support in task descriptions with live preview • Per-board filters and sorting that persist across sessions • Drag and drop, swipe between columns, and reorder with a tap – navigate your board however feels natural • Automatic sync across all your devices – works offline, syncs when you're back online Perfect For: Software developers, event planners, homeowners, students, and anyone who wants visual project management without the complexity. Questions, feedback, or suggestions? Feel free to email us at Karavan@heckel.tech – we'd love to hear from you!

Screenshots

Headspace4 screens
Karavan4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Karavan at Free against Headspace's $3.99. Karavan also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.4) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months). Headspace's advantage is ratings volume (10 vs 2) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 18.6). On ads, in-app purchases 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

Karavan is free to download; Headspace costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Karavan holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Headspace has 10 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Headspace ships an update every 2 months, Karavan every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Headspace versus Karavan: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHeadspaceKaravan
Price$3.99Free — better
Rating4.4 (10 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews71.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings10 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS9.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFlat Black FilmsTobias Heckel

Customer experience

Headspace

All ratings10 ratings
Positive90.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative10.0%
Written reviews182 reviews
Positive71.4%
Neutral12.6%
Negative15.9%

Karavan

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Headspace

Reported bugs

15 issues
  • App crashes on creating new groups
  • Crashes when entering text on iPad
  • Text color picker fails to change colors
  • Instant crash when closing text color picker
  • Crashes on Dropbox connection
Show 10 more
  • Data loss with file format updates
  • Existing links lost after updates
  • Screen flickers between files
  • Text display issues after multiple app launches
  • Color brightness settings lost
  • Keyboard popup without dialog box
  • Accelerometer causes erratic screen movement
  • Incompatibility with iOS/iPadOS updates
  • Performance lag with large maps
  • Syncing issues between devices

Requested features

24 requests
  • Desktop/Mac version for syncing
  • iCloud syncing between iOS devices
  • Google Drive and OneDrive support
  • Evernote integration
  • Ability to drag items between groups
Show 19 more
  • Undo functionality
  • Export to email directly
  • Different arrow/connector styles
  • OPML export format
  • Reminders and deadline notifications
  • Different text box shapes
  • Photo/image import and support
  • Web-based version
  • Ability to move items outside groups
  • Simpler gesture controls for text entry
  • List view option
  • Icons and visual indicators for content types
  • Advanced search functionality
  • Child count indicators on parent nodes
  • Customizable 3D graphics
  • Movie recording with preset paths
  • Structured data visualization capabilities
  • Automatic color selection for new groups
  • Bullet points for children items

Karavan

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Headspace

No in-app purchases

None

Karavan

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Headspace free?
Headspace costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Karavan free?
Karavan is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Headspace or Karavan?
Karavan is rated higher. Headspace averages 4.4 out of 5 from 10 ratings, while Karavan averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Headspace or Karavan have ads?
Neither Headspace nor Karavan shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Headspace or Karavan?
Headspace ships an update every 2 months, and Karavan every 2 weeks. Most recently, Headspace was updated on September 22, 2026 and Karavan on September 8, 2026.

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