Comparison

N'Back 10 vs Critical Thinking Trainer

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

Head to head
About

N'Back 10

Enhance sensory and working memory with this cognitive training tool. It offers various modes and difficulty levels to challenge your recall abilities by matching current stimuli to those from a specified number of steps prior.

Highlights
  • N'Back training (1-Back to 10-Back)
  • Flash Mode
  • Slow Mode
  • Step Mode
  • Sequence memorization
  • Stimulus matching
Features
Read full description

Improve Sensory Memory & Working Memory using N'Back. ◆1'Back --- 10'Back ◆Flash Mode / Slow Mode / Step Mode Tap the number key matches the one from N steps earlier in the sequence. In 1'Back 1 task1: count & memorize 2 task2: count & memorize 3 __keyboard__: answer for task1 4 task3: count & memorize 5 __keyboard__: answer for task2 6 task4: count & memorize : In 2'Back 1 task1: count & memorize 2 task2: count & memorize 3 task3: count & memorize 4 __keyboard__: answer for task1 5 task4: count & memorize 6 __keyboard__: answer for task2 7 task5: count & memorize :

About

Critical Thinking Trainer

Features
Read full description

People who grow fast can pull the essence out of a concrete event and carry it somewhere else. This app gives you a place to practice that move: a short set of questions every day, plus training you can pick up in spare moments. Practice how to: - Apply one experience to a completely different situation - Get at what actually matters in a messy story - Say the point of something in a short sentence - Follow an abstract discussion without losing the thread IT STARTS WITH A DIAGNOSIS Eight questions show where you stand on abstraction right now, and which way your wrong answers tend to lean (too broad / too narrow / bringing in assumptions). Everything you get after that is chosen with that tendency in mind. DAILY TRAINING — 5 QUESTIONS, ABOUT 4 MINUTES Five formats, matched to your level: reorder the ladder of abstraction, pick the concept that fits with no more and no less, analogy, a round trip between concrete and abstract, and one question you answer in your own words. Every question comes with an explanation of why that level of abstraction fits best and where people usually slip. PRACTICE, WHENEVER YOU HAVE A MINUTE - Abstraction Game — say "this is just like that" first, then work out the reason afterwards. Cross something you see with something unrelated and practice finding what they share. - Why Training — ask "why?" again and again about something everyone takes for granted, and practice reading the purpose behind it. Climb far enough and the method you are using now starts to look replaceable. (Premium) AI SPARRING (PREMIUM) Write an answer in your own words and the AI comes back with feedback on your answer, a question for you, and a few other angles. It is not an answer key. It is material for thinking a bit further. EVERYONE'S ANSWERS Write your own answer to a prompt first, then read how other people answered the same one. Anonymous, no likes, no ranking. RECORDS What you write builds up, so you can look back at how your thinking reads over time. WHO IT IS FOR - You need time to pull the point together in meetings and write-ups - You feel like you lose the thread in abstract discussions - You want to step one level up from the case in front of you when planning or designing - You want to work on the way you think, not on vocabulary PRICING The diagnosis, daily training, the Abstraction Game, and reading everyone's answers are free. AI responses to what you write, and Why Training, are part of Premium. On the free tier, watching a short ad once a day gives you one brief AI response. Ads are not shown to Premium subscribers. - Annual plan $70.00 per year, with a 7-day free trial - Monthly plan $10.00 per month The free trial is available only to users who have not previously used a free trial of this app. If auto-renewal is not turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the free trial, the annual plan price is charged at the end of the trial period. Payment is charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless auto-renewal is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage your subscription and turn off auto-renewal at any time in Account Settings on your device: the Settings app, your name, then Subscriptions. Any unused portion of a free trial is forfeited when you purchase a subscription. This app gives you practice opportunities for moving between the concrete and the abstract. How much you get out of it varies from person to person. Terms of Use: https://hecuhecu.github.io/apps/gutai-chusho/en/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://hecuhecu.github.io/apps/gutai-chusho/en/privacy/

Screenshots

N'Back 104 screens
Critical Thinking Trainer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Critical Thinking Trainer at Free against N'Back 10's $2.99. Critical Thinking Trainer also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 12 months) and device support (3 vs 1). N'Back 10's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ads (none vs shown). On review sentiment 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

Critical Thinking Trainer is free to download; N'Back 10 costs $2.99 up front. Critical Thinking Trainer sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $10.00 per month. N'Back 10 asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

N'Back 10 ships an update every 12 months, Critical Thinking Trainer every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
N'Back 10 versus Critical Thinking Trainer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterN'Back 10Critical Thinking Trainer
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 12 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB99 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperYasuyoshi Otahiroki kawamura

Customer experience

N'Back 10

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Critical Thinking Trainer

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

N'Back 10

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Critical Thinking Trainer

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Plan$10.001 Month
  • Annual Plan7 Days trial$70.001 Year

Questions

Is N'Back 10 free?
N'Back 10 costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Critical Thinking Trainer free?
Critical Thinking Trainer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do N'Back 10 or Critical Thinking Trainer have ads?
Critical Thinking Trainer shows ads; N'Back 10 does not.
Which is updated more often, N'Back 10 or Critical Thinking Trainer?
N'Back 10 ships an update every 12 months, and Critical Thinking Trainer every 5 days. Most recently, N'Back 10 was updated on October 3, 2026 and Critical Thinking Trainer on October 18, 2026.

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