NearThere vs Tonic
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
NearThere
This app sends smart reminders based on your physical location, not just the time. Set alerts to trigger when you're near a specific place, ensuring you never miss a task while running errands or commuting.
- Location-based reminders
- Customizable mile radius
- Automatic proximity notifications
- Intuitive interface
- Task management for errands
Read full descriptionHide full description
NearThere helps you save time and stay organized by delivering smart reminders based on your physical proximity—not just the clock. Instead of relying on time-based alerts, NearThere allows you to set reminders that trigger when you're within a specific distance of a location on your to-do list. Whether you're running errands, commuting, or traveling, NearThere ensures you never miss a task when you're near the right place. Key Features: Create location-based reminders with customizable mile radius Get notified automatically when you’re near a relevant task location Streamlined, intuitive interface for quick setup Perfect for errands, shopping, appointments, and more—NearThere keeps you productive, effortlessly.
Tonic
This app helps you build good habits by making them unlock your other apps. It allows you to set limits on distracting apps and rewards productive behavior. You can customize rules to integrate with your existing life and achieve your goals.
- Habit-based app unlocking
- Customizable screen time limits
- Integration with Apple Health
- Flexible rule setting
- Productive minute banking
- Escalating pause feature
Read full descriptionHide full description
Your phone works in the wrong order. Tonic isn't just another app blocker: your good habits unlock your apps, and the ones that only need boundaries get limits that fit. You bought the books. You downloaded Duolingo. You signed up for the meditation app. Tonic puts those things first, and lets your phone cooperate with the life you're already building. HOW IT WORKS Set any app as a reward for your good habits. Tonic tracks what would be too hard to log yourself: your progress in apps like Kindle or Duolingo, calories burned, whether you meditated this morning, even whether you've gotten outside. Require your habits each day, or bank productive minutes to spend later. For apps that only need boundaries, Tonic adapts to the problem: screen time limits by hours or by visits, cooldowns between sessions, or moments of pause that escalate the more you reach for it. You choose what locked looks like: a gentle nudge toward the good thing, a strict wall, or a pause that grows each time you haven't earned it. WORKS WITH THE APPS YOU ALREADY LOVE Reading, workouts, meditation, steps, sunlight, and sleep come straight from Apple Health and your Apple Watch, or from time spent in the productive apps you choose. No logging, no proof photos, no check-ins. And the unlock is real: when your habit counts, the shield lifts on its own. You don't open Tonic to prove anything or unlock anything by hand. Finish your reading, and your apps are simply open when you reach for them. WHAT YOU CAN SET UP Every app is a different problem. Rules can look like: "Don't let me into social media for longer than five minutes at a time until my watch has registered 20 minutes of sunlight." "Make it harder each time I reach for Instagram if I've used it more than Duolingo today." "After 5 visits on the weekend, make me pause when I reach for Slack or Teams." "When I reach for social media in the morning, redirect my phone to my journaling app." "Hard block mobile games until I've worked out three times in the last week, then give me an hour each earned day." YOURS TO CONTROL Tonic is self-directed and built for adults. You pick the apps, you set the rules, and you can change them whenever you want. No account. No parent. No lock you can't open. Your habits stay on your device. Tonic never sees which apps you chose, and your rules never leave your phone. Pick one app that gets in your way and one habit you keep meaning to do. Start there. A tonic for your habits. Break the bad, build the good. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://tonichabits.com/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: NearThere at none against Tonic's 2. NearThere also leads on iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.4). Tonic's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs monthly) and ratings volume (43 vs 1). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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. Tonic sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. NearThere asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for NearThere against 5.0 for Tonic. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Tonic has 43 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 100% of NearThere's written reviews are positive against 96% of Tonic's.
NearThere ships an update monthly, Tonic every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | NearThere | Tonic |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | 5.0 (43 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 95.8% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 43 — better |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 17.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 76 MB | 37 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | William Beaman LLC | Sets Studio LLC |
Customer experience
NearThere
Tonic
In-app purchases
NearThere
No in-app purchases
Tonic
- Tonic Unlimited7 Days trial$9.991 Month
- Tonic Unlimited7 Days trial$29.991 Year









