Comparison

Routine vs On

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

Head to head
About

Routine

Build a structured daily schedule with time-blocks, notes, and music. Incorporate morning and evening reflections, and utilize flexible features like 'Late Start' and 'Day Off' to adapt to your needs. Personalize the app's appearance with various visual styles and colors.

Highlights
  • Time-blocking with start and duration
  • Notes, todos, and music links per block
  • Morning and evening reflection prompts
  • Flexible 'Late Start' and 'Day Off' options
  • Eight visual styles and custom accent colors
  • Lock Screen Live Activities and Home Screen widgets
  • Cloud-synced across iPhone, iPad, and Mac
Features
Read full description

Routine helps you live by a daily rhythm. Set your wake time. Build your day in time-blocks. Add notes, todos, and music. Morning and evening reflection questions to bookend the day. Late Start when you start late. Day Off when you need one. The routine flexes; you don't break. Eight visual styles, including Solar — a gradient that follows the sun. Custom accent colors per routine, or per block. On iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Cloud-synced. Live Activities on the Lock Screen. Home Screen widgets. Free for everyone. No paywall, no Pro features. If Routine helps your days, support development with a Monthly, Yearly, or Forever subscription. Either way, everything's unlocked. My dog keeps a routine. I built this app for us. We hope you like it too! — Daniel & Mac • Time-blocks with start, duration, purpose • Notes, todos, and music links per block • Morning and evening reflection questions • Late Start when you start late • Day Off without losing your place • Eight visual styles, including Solar • Custom accent colors per routine or per block • Lock Screen Live Activities and Home Screen widgets • iPhone, iPad, and Mac — cloud-synced Questions or feedback? getroutineapp@gmail.com Terms of Use: https://getroutine.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://getroutine.app/privacy

About

On

Read full description

On-Timer helps people with ADHD be on time for meetings with a 3-stage alarm sequence that coaches you through preparation. HOW IT WORKS On-Timer reads your calendar and lets you set three coaching alarms for any meeting: • Get Ready (30 min before) — "Time to wrap up!" • Get Set (15 min before) — "Head to your desk!" • Go! (1 min before) — "Join now — you've got this!" All timings are configurable in Settings. TWO REMINDER LEVELS • Alert (blue bell) — Standard time-sensitive notification • Alarm (red bell, iOS 26+) — Prominent AlarmKit alarm that breaks through Focus and silent mode, so you'll always hear it VISUAL COUNTDOWN A full-screen countdown view with a kitchen-timer dial and chevron stage indicator shows exactly how long until your meeting. The chevron motif (orange → yellow → green) tracks your progress across the app, widgets, Dynamic Island, and Live Activity. Tap any meeting to view full event details — attendees, notes, location — without leaving the app. APPLE WATCH A full Apple Watch app with meeting list, countdown view, alarm toggle, and "I'm Ready" rewards. Paired iPhone and Watch sync over Bluetooth for near-instant updates, so an alarm set on one appears on the other right away. Four complication styles — corner, circular, rectangular, and inline — keep your next alarm visible on any watch face. ICLOUD SYNC Blue-bell Alerts sync between your iPhones and iPads via iCloud, so the alarms you set on one device follow you to the others. LIVE ACTIVITY & DYNAMIC ISLAND A persistent countdown on your Lock Screen and Dynamic Island from the first alarm stage until the meeting starts. HOME & LOCK SCREEN WIDGETS Small and medium Home Screen widgets, plus circular, rectangular, and inline Lock Screen widgets — all with chevron progress indicators. AI MEETING PREP On-device Apple Intelligence suggestions help you prepare for each meeting based on its title, timing, attendees, and notes. Requires an Apple Intelligence-capable device on iOS 26+. "I'M READY" REWARDS Tap the button during Get Ready or Get Set to celebrate with confetti and unlock a personal micro-reward from your custom list. ALSO • Volume-off detection warns you if your phone is silenced and offers to upgrade to the red Alarm tier • Past alarmed meetings shown for quick reference • Pull-to-refresh, and automatic refresh when your calendar changes REQUIREMENTS • iOS 17.6+ (core features) • watchOS 10+ (Apple Watch) • iOS 26+ on an Apple Intelligence-capable device (red Alarm tier and AI prep) • iCloud account for cross-device sync • Calendar and notification permissions

Screenshots

Routine4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: On at none against Routine's 3. On also leads on iOS requirement (17.6 vs 26.0). Routine's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 6 weeks) and device support. On price 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. Routine sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. On asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Routine ships an update weekly, On every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 5 level
Routine versus On: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRoutineOn
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNo—
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, Apple Watch — better—
Requires iOS26.017.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size65 MB13 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDaniel DavisDigital Advisory Limited

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Routine

Subscriptions2
  • Routine Pro (Monthly)$0.991 Month
  • Routine Pro (Annual)7 Days trial$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • Routine Pro (Lifetime)$29.99
None

On

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Routine free?
Routine is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is On free?
On is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which is updated more often, Routine or On?
Routine ships an update weekly, and On every 6 weeks. Most recently, Routine was updated on September 23, 2026 and On on October 7, 2026.

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