Routine vs Zen Routine
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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
Zen Routine
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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
Verdict
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
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.
| Parameter | Routine | Zen Routine |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Weekly | — |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, Apple Watch — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 16.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 65 MB | 60 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Daniel Davis | Masakatsu Aida |
In-app purchases
Routine
- Routine Pro (Monthly)$0.991 Month
- Routine Pro (Annual)7 Days trial$9.991 Year
- Routine Pro (Lifetime)$29.99
Zen Routine
- Premium Monthly3 Days trial$3.991 Month
- Premium One-Time Purchase$39.99









