Comparison

Pebblebee vs Beacon

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

Head to head
About

Pebblebee

This app helps you locate your belongings like keys and bags using Bluetooth and crowdsourced networks. It also offers safety features like an emergency alert and secure messaging with finders.

Highlights
  • Bluetooth item finding
  • Global crowdsourced tracking
  • Emergency alert with strobe and siren
  • Location sharing with trusted contacts
  • Phone finder via device double-tap
  • Secure messaging with finders
  • Device firmware management
Features
Read full description

Pebblebee keeps your keys, bags, and phone close – and now keeps you safer, too. Pair your rechargeable Clip, Card or Tag as well as manage your item finding Link Labels. Our products use Bluetooth to find close-by items and Apple Find My or Google Find Hub for global crowdsourcing - millions of phones helping you track anything, anywhere. With powerful additional features Pebblebee turns a simple item finder into a powerful addition to your everyday life. New for Summer of 2025 - Alert – A free feature inside every Clip, turns an ordinary key ring into a lifeline: rapid presses activate a strobe, blasts a siren, and sends your location straight to the people you trust. - Phone Finder - Double tap your Pebblebee device to find your phone! Other Features - Device management – activate, rename, and update firmware for Clip, Card, Tag in one place. - Safety Circle - manage a list of people you trust that get notified when Alert is triggered. - Link Label management – add return instructions, chat securely with finders, and get instant scan alerts. - Secure messaging - Communicate safely with people who may find your items without revealing personal information. - Instant alerts - Get notified when your Link Labels are scanned so you know where your item was found More upgrades roll out all year, including expanded Alert support, new device features and Link types. Find us anywhere! support@pebblebee.com facebook.com/pebblebee instagram.com/pebblebee reddit.com/r/Pebblebee Track What Matters Most

About

Beacon

This app helps individuals with ADHD manage tasks and time effectively. It breaks down large tasks into smaller, manageable steps and uses gentle reminders to keep users on track without causing overwhelm or guilt. It integrates with existing Apple Reminders and Calendar.

Highlights
  • One task at a time display
  • Visual countdown timers
  • Guilt-free task management
  • Task shrinking for easier starts
  • Task parking lot
  • Integration with Apple Reminders/Calendar
  • Smart capture and energy tags
Features
Read full description

Your to-do list keeps growing, time keeps slipping, and starting feels impossible. Beacon is the calm, ADHD-friendly way to finally get things done, one gentle step at a time. Beacon is a reminders app built for the way real brains actually work, especially brains that get overwhelmed by long lists, lose track of time, or freeze at the thought of beginning. Think of it as a calm external brain: it remembers, times, and shrinks your tasks, so you do not have to hold it all in your head. WHY BEACON FEELS DIFFERENT One thing at a time. Beacon shows your next action, not your entire backlog. Less overwhelm, more starting. Time you can actually see. Every task has a calm countdown, so "later" stops turning into "too late." No red alarms, no panic. Kind on the hard days. Miss something? There is no shaming OVERDUE, no broken streak, no guilt. Beacon reframes gently and celebrates every win, the small ones too. Shrink the first step. Any task can collapse into a two-minute starting move, so the hardest part, beginning, gets easier. Park it, guilt-free. Not ready today? Set a task aside in the Parking Lot and Beacon brings it back softly when the time is right. Nothing gets lost. WORKS WITH WHAT YOU ALREADY USE Beacon sits on top of Apple Reminders and Calendar, so you keep everything you already rely on. Say a reminder to Siri and it shows up in Beacon, sorted and doable. Check it off in Beacon and it syncs right back. No migration, no starting over. WHAT YOU GET Smart capture: brain-dump a messy thought and Beacon finds the task and the time for you. Focus timer and body-double sessions to help you start and keep going. Energy tags to match tasks to how you actually feel right now. Gentle, well-timed nudges instead of a wall of notifications. Home Screen widgets, Lock Screen Live Activities, and an Apple Watch app, so your next step is always a glance away. Private by design: no account, no tracking, no cloud sync. The only thing Beacon ever sends is an anonymous crash report. WHO IT IS FOR Beacon was made for people with ADHD, and that turns out to be a lot of us: anyone who has felt buried by their own list, lost time without meaning to, or been too hard on themselves for it. If that sounds familiar, welcome. TRY BEACON FREE Start with a 7-day free trial, then keep going with an affordable subscription. Cancel anytime. Beacon. Your calm external brain. SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS Beacon Pro gives you full access with a 7-day free trial, then a monthly or annual auto-renewing subscription. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. Your subscription renews automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and you can manage or cancel anytime in your App Store account settings. Privacy Policy: https://waypointapps.app/beacon/privacy/ Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Pebblebee4 screens
Beacon4 screens

Verdict

The call

Pebblebee and Beacon both sit at 4.9 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of Beacon's written reviews are positive against 35% of Pebblebee's. Beacon also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 3 weeks). Pebblebee's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ratings volume (143 vs 1). On price, rating, ads 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. Beacon sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Pebblebee asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Pebblebee against 5.0 for Beacon. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pebblebee has 143 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 35% of Pebblebee's written reviews are positive against 100% of Beacon's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pebblebee ships an update every 3 weeks, Beacon every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Pebblebee versus Beacon: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPebblebeeBeacon
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (143 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews35.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings143 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS16.2 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size56 MB15 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPebbleBee LLCWaypoint Apps LLC

Customer experience

Pebblebee

All ratings143 ratings
Positive97.9%
Neutral0.7%
Negative1.4%
Written reviews20 reviews
Positive35.0%
Neutral5.0%
Negative60.0%

Beacon

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Pebblebee

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Beacon

Subscriptions2
  • Beacon Pro (Monthly)7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Beacon Pro (Annual)7 Days trial$19.991 Year

Questions

Is Pebblebee free?
Pebblebee is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Beacon free?
Beacon is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pebblebee or Beacon?
Beacon is rated higher. Pebblebee averages 4.9 out of 5 from 143 ratings, while Beacon averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Pebblebee or Beacon have ads?
Neither Pebblebee nor Beacon shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pebblebee or Beacon?
Pebblebee ships an update every 3 weeks, and Beacon every 2 days. Most recently, Pebblebee was updated on September 26, 2026 and Beacon on September 7, 2026.

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