CanPlan vs Thruday
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
CanPlan
This app helps individuals with cognitive challenges gain independence by breaking down tasks into visual, step-by-step instructions. It includes scheduling and reminders to ensure tasks are completed on time, fostering confidence and self-sufficiency.
- Step-by-step task sequencing with photos
- Optional text and audio prompts
- Daily task scheduling
- Timed reminders for tasks
- Customizable task categories
- Active task reminders
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*** WHAT IS IT? *** CanPlan promotes independence and builds confidence by helping people with cognitive challenges complete tasks successfully. Virtually any activity can be broken into a sequence of easy-to-follow steps, illustrated by photos and reinforced with optional text and audio. Scheduling and reminder features ensure each task gets done on time. Support workers and therapists are providing CanPlan to their clients with cognitive, memory and other challenges, while families and caregivers are using the tool with loved ones who desire more independence. For any given task, a user initially goes through the activity with a support person or family member. Together, they take photos of each step in the task, adding text or audio as needed. The task is then filed under a customizable set of categories, which could include areas such as: Food Preparation, Household Chores, Shopping, Transportation, Exercise, Workplace Tasks, and so on. *** WHO IS IT FOR? *** CanPlan is especially beneficial to people who have difficulty performing activities that require following a sequence of steps, including those with: - Brain injury - Dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease - Autism Spectrum Disorder - Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder - Dyslexia - Developmental disabilities *** KEY FEATURES *** - Task Sequencing: breaks each task into an easy-to-follow sequence of photos, with optional text or audio - Scheduling: shows a list of tasks to be completed during the day - Prompting: provides the option of audible timed reminders - Active Task Reminder: helps the user stick with a task until it’s complete - Task Categorization: allows tasks to be filed in customizable categories for easy retrieval - CanPlan is a universal app optimized for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad *** SUPPORT *** To report a problem with the app, please email canassist@uvic.ca *** TESTIMONIALS *** “It really helps me to function and complete day-to-day tasks. I use the schedule and alarm to structure my day. It has removed so much stress in my life.” – Client with early onset Alzheimer’s disease “It works great – I can add whatever tasks I need to remember. And I’ll add more and more tasks as I get more to do at work, and when I start taking the bus to work.” – Client with brain injury “I like that each step of a task includes a photo and audio as well. I also like that we are able to add empowering messages.” – Support worker of client with brain injury *** CANASSIST at the UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA *** CanAssist at the University of Victoria is dedicated to developing customized technologies and services for people with disabilities, with a focus on clients in British Columbia, Canada.
Thruday
This app provides a visual daily planner designed for individuals with ADHD and autism. It helps users build routines, break down tasks, and track moods using images and customizable timelines. It also offers collaboration features for trusted assistants or caregivers.
- Visual daily timeline planning
- Task breakdown and routine building
- Mood tracking with visual cues
- Journal and notes functionality
- Assistant invites for collaboration
- Focus timers (Pomodoro)
- Printable daily agendas (Plus)
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An award-winning visual day planner created for forgetful people — used by 40,000+ neurodivergent humans. Build your day as a visual timeline on the go using images, break your tasks down into smaller steps and build new routines that are easy to follow and stick to, all with the help of those you trust. Built by a team with lived experience of ADHD, autism and epilepsy, it includes visual routines, mood tracking, to-do lists, a journal and support from someone you trust with assistant invites. Thruday is an app for those that need more than just another to-do list or calendar app. Brain-dump your to-dos, decide what matters first, then turn them into scheduled tasks when your energy allows - The perfect ADHD planner. Flexible visual planning, habit tracking and routines for the neurospicy brains - neurodivergent productivity that adapts when your day changes. FREE INCLUDES — Visual Daily Planner: accessible time-blocking with colors, images and visual cues. — Priority To-do Lists: Brain-dump tasks and organize them by priority. — Focus Timers: Use Pomodoro timers to pause, extend or finish tasks early. — Mood Tracker: Track moods with shapes and color, add thoughts and emotions. — Journal & Notes: Write down your thoughts, reflect on your day and save the moments you want to remember. — Invite assistants: Get assistants, coaches or caregivers to help you plan your day. — Receive reminders: configure notifications to keep focused when the day slips. Do you have an assistant, ADHD coach or caregiver? Lower your mental load and get them involved with scheduling, task tracking and reminders - they can opt-in to updates in real time about your mood and progress. INCLUDED WITH PLUS — Print daily agendas on the go. — Create unlimited extra planners for you or your family. — AI-assisted to reduce decision fatigue. — Import and sync Thruday with your device calendar. — Custom repeat pattern for routines and habits. — Use custom tags and folders to organize tasks and notes. — Create printable PECS cards for communication support. — Access to all future Plus+ features. WHY THRUDAY EXISTS — Make time blindness and executive function support accessible. — For students navigating college life and studying. — Support independent living environments and caregivers. — Accessible everyday planning tools without ads. — Neurodivergent-friendly tools that help reduce overwhelm. — Ensure ADHD planning is visual and goal orientated. Thruday was created without investment and is managed and supported by an unpaid neurodivergent team with lived experience of ADHD, AuDHD, autism and epilepsy and neurodivergent life. Privacy matters to us. We do not use your data to train AI systems. Terms of Use: https://thruday.com/terms-of-use
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Thruday at every 3 days against CanPlan's every 3 months. Thruday also leads on ratings volume (75 vs 3). CanPlan's advantage is monetization model (free vs freemium) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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
Both are free to download. CanPlan sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Thruday sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $10.00 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for CanPlan against 4.6 for Thruday. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Thruday has 75 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 78% of CanPlan's written reviews are positive against 72% of Thruday's.
CanPlan ships an update every 3 months, Thruday every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | CanPlan | Thruday |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (3 ratings) — better | 4.6 (75 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 77.8% of reviews — better | 71.8% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 3 | 75 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 46 MB | 126 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | University of Victoria | Thruday LTD |
Customer experience
CanPlan
Thruday
In-app purchases
CanPlan
- Unlimited TasksFree
Thruday
- 1 Month Premium7 Days trial$10.001 Month
- 1 Year Premium Subscription7 Days trial$50.001 Year









