Thought Path vs Defer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Thought Path
Quickly capture thoughts, ideas, and tasks in a digital inbox. Visualize your mental output over time through maps or search. Automate capture and review with integrations.
- Quick thought capture
- Task management
- Idea organization
- Visual output (map/search)
- Automation with Shortcuts
- On-device storage
- iCloud sync
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Thought Path is an inbox to quickly capture all your thoughts, ideas, and tasks. Easily see the output of your brain over time, on a map, or in search results. You can integrate Thought Path with Shortcuts, to automate capturing and reviewing your thoughts. Though Path is free to use indefinitely, but you will need to review and archive all your thoughts once you reach a cap of 15. Pro users can remove this limit with a subscription fee. This app is made by a sole indie developer, and that means I care about user experience, not collecting user data. All your thoughts and ideas are saved on device and synced over iCloud - nothing is ever sent anywhere else for any reason. Terms of Use: https://andhash39.com/thoughtpath/terms Privacy Policy: https://andhash39.com/thoughtpath/privacy
Defer
This app acts as a quick capture inbox for your thoughts and tasks. Simply input items to get them out of your head and into a secure, private space. It syncs across devices and offers export options for your data.
- Quick task capture
- Private data storage
- Automatic syncing
- CSV export
- Siri and Shortcuts integration
- Customizable appearance (Pro)
- Export to Apple Reminders/JSON (Pro)
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Defer is the app to get things out of your head. It's a task inbox or a capture inbox. Simply open the app, type (or paste!), and move on, knowing the thing will be there when you need it later. It works best with the accompanying Mac app: capture something on your phone, act on it when you're back at your Mac. - Private by Design: All your data is either stored on device or in a private iCloud container if you've got an Apple ID. - Simple: No bloat. Fast. Just write! - Synced Automatically: No account creation needed. If you're signed in with the same Apple ID on multiple iOS devices, everything will just sync. - Export anytime: Take your data with you in the form of a very compatible .csv file. - Integrated with Siri, Shortcuts, and Widgets (activate Siri and then say "Defer Something") - Add dates, or don't! Put stuff out of site / out of mind until you need it. - Pro feature: Make the app your own by customizing colors and fonts. - Pro feature: Export to Apple Reminders or JSON - Pro feature: Use webhooks to send tasks to other apps, on demand or automatically. We take privacy seriously. Really. We don't track anything about you or how you use Defer. More here: https://deferapp.com/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Defer at 91% against Thought Path's 25%. Defer also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.3) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs monthly). On price, ratings volume, 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
Both are free to download. Thought Path sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Defer sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Defer holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9 and 23 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 25% of Thought Path's written reviews are positive against 91% of Defer's.
Thought Path ships an update monthly, Defer every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on July 8, 2026 and September 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Thought Path | Defer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (9 ratings) | 4.8 (23 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 25.0% of reviews | 90.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 9 | 23 — better |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 17.2 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 37 MB | 12 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Matthew James O'Donnell | Levi Nelson, LLC |
Customer experience
Thought Path
Defer
In-app purchases
Thought Path
- Thought Path Pro (1 Month)7 Days trial$1.991 Month
- Thought Path Pro (1 Year)7 Days trial$14.991 Year
Defer
- Pro Monthly$0.991 Month
- Pro Yearly$5.991 Year
