Comparison

Routine vs Zen Routine

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

Zen Routine

Features
Read full description

Zen Routine is a simple reminder app for plans that repeat on specific days of the week. “Every Monday at 9:00” “Tuesdays and Thursdays at 18:00” “Saturday at 10:00” Set the day and time once, then receive recurring reminders each week. Zen Routine is also useful for college and university class schedules. If Monday has first and third period and Tuesday has second period, you can register those weekly schedules once instead of entering the same plans again every week. Use it not only for classes, but also for part-time work, workouts, trash day, cleaning, medication checks, recurring chores, and other weekly plans. [Main features] - Register routines (up to 10 on the free plan) - Recurring reminders by weekday and time - Manage plans by day of the week - Turn notifications ON or OFF for each routine - Review registered plans in a simple list - No complicated calendar setup [Premium features] - Unlimited routine registration - Choose a color for each routine - Configure swipe actions - Back up registered data - Remove in-app ads Premium is available as a monthly subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase. Eligible users can start with a 3-day free trial of the monthly subscription. After the trial, the subscription renews automatically unless canceled. Please check the purchase screen for the current price. Zen Routine is not designed to pack in as many features as possible. Weekly plans should be simple to register and simple to check. What to do. Which day. What time. Set only what you need and manage your week with less effort. Make every week simpler. Terms of Use: https://zen-series.site/application-terms-of-use/ Privacy Policy: https://zen-series.site/zen-routine/privacy-policy/ Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Routine4 screens
Zen Routine4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Routine at none against Zen Routine's shown. Zen Routine's advantage is iOS requirement (16.4 vs 26.0). On price, 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

Both are free to download. Routine sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Zen Routine sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Routine versus Zen Routine: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRoutineZen Routine
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyWeekly—
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS26.016.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size65 MB60 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDaniel DavisMasakatsu Aida

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
2 purchases

Zen Routine

Subscriptions1
  • Premium Monthly3 Days trial$3.991 Month
One-time1
  • Premium One-Time Purchase$39.99

Questions

Is Routine free?
Routine is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Zen Routine free?
Zen Routine is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Routine or Zen Routine have ads?
Zen Routine shows ads; Routine does not.

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