Comparison

Clean Days vs DaoTrace

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

Head to head
About

Clean Days

This app helps users build self-discipline and track personal growth through daily check-ins. Monitor your progress with detailed statistics, earn achievements, and maintain your streak with a user-friendly interface. It's designed to celebrate every step of your journey towards positive change.

Highlights
  • Daily check-ins to track streaks
  • Detailed statistics and growth trends
  • Achievement titles for progress
  • Backfill feature to maintain streaks
  • Multi-language support
  • User-friendly interface
Features
Read full description

Clean Days is a check-in app designed specifically for self-discipline and personal growth. With a clean and elegant interface, it helps you: β€’ Daily check-ins to track your streak β€’ View detailed statistics and growth trends β€’ Earn achievement titles and witness your progress β€’ Reliable data β€’ Backfill feature to maintain your streak β€’ Multi-language support with user-friendly interface Start your journey of self-discipline and prove the power of change through action. Every day of persistence deserves to be recorded, and every step of progress deserves to be celebrated.

About

DaoTrace

This app guides users through a daily self-reflection process to uncover underlying fears and desires. It uses a 7-layer journaling system and NLP to identify recurring patterns, visualized in a dynamic river graphic. All data is stored locally for privacy.

Highlights
  • 7-layer guided journaling
  • NLP-based pattern identification
  • Dynamic river visualization
  • On-device data storage
  • iCloud sync with encryption
  • Face ID/Touch ID app lock
  • Multi-language support
Features
Read full description

Do you ever feel anxious, but can't figure out what you're actually afraid of? DaoTrace is a self-reflection tool built on the "River World" philosophy from the book "Ren Xuan Tian Xuan Lun" (On Human and Heavenly Choice). Each day, seven guided layers help you reach the bottom of your mind's river β€” and pick up a stone. Pick a Stone Every Day 7 layers, each deeper than the last: Layer 1 Β· Fact: What happened today that stirred the water? Write only what occurred. Layer 2 Β· First Reaction: What did you feel immediately? Not the "right" answer. Layer 3 Β· Greed: What did you actually want? Be specific β€” no grand words. Layer 4 Β· Fear: What are you actually afraid of? Write the ugliest, smallest, most direct fear. Layer 5 Β· Self-justification: What excuse did you use to feel better? Layer 6 Β· Main Stone: What stone did you pick up today? One sentence only. Layer 7 Β· Simulate Choice: If you face the same thing tomorrow, what will you choose? Once sealed, entries cannot be edited β€” whatever you pulled up is what it is. Understand Your Patterns Every sealed entry triggers automatic NLP clustering to surface recurring stones. - Semantic clustering groups similar stones (Apple NaturalLanguage framework, fully on-device) - Stone timeline shows which stones keep reappearing - Weekly / monthly reports highlight repeated patterns - Stone comparison: view entries from the same group side by side to see if you've actually changed See Your River A dynamic SpriteKit visualization maps your data into a living river: River width (variety of topics), water depth (7-layer completion rate), flow speed (recording frequency), surface ripples (how many excuses you wrote), and river stones (your top recurring patterns). Radically Minimal β€” Written for Yourself DaoTrace intentionally does not include: - AI commentary on your entries (thinking is yours, not the tool's) - Streaks or check-in rewards (no manufactured anxiety) - Social sharing (your stones don't need anyone's approval) - Psychological assessments All data stays on your device (SwiftData local storage). iCloud sync available via Apple CloudKit encryption. More Details - Supports Simplified Chinese / Traditional Chinese / English β€” switch instantly in Settings - Face ID / Touch ID App Lock to protect deeply private content - Full dark mode support, system-synced or manual - Home screen Widget: today's status + current river type - Auto-save drafts every 30 seconds and on layer switch - Later Notes: add reflections after sealing, shown in a different color beside the original DaoTrace is a self-awareness tool and does not provide mental health counseling, therapy, or medical advice. If you are experiencing serious psychological distress, please seek professional help. Privacy Policy: https://daohen.me/privacy.html Terms of Service: https://daohen.me/terms.html

Screenshots

Clean Days4 screens
DaoTrace4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: DaoTrace at none against Clean Days's shown. DaoTrace also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 4 months) and price ($0.99 vs $1.99). Clean Days's advantage is review sentiment (67% vs 50%) and device support (3 vs 1). On in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Clean Days costs $1.99 and DaoTrace $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Clean Days ships an update every 4 months, DaoTrace every 5 days. Both last shipped on November 5, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences Β· 2 level
Clean Days versus DaoTrace: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterClean DaysDaoTrace
Price$1.99$0.99 β€” better
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews β€” better50.0% of reviews
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 5 days β€” better
AdsYesNo β€” better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod β€” betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 β€” better17.6
Further details β€” not scored
Size35 MB4 MB
Age rating12+4+
Developer翠芬 撁珊 杨

Customer experience

Clean Days

Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral33.3%
Negative0.0%

DaoTrace

Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

None

Clean Days

No in-app purchases

None

DaoTrace

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Clean Days free?
Clean Days costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is DaoTrace free?
DaoTrace costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Clean Days or DaoTrace have ads?
Clean Days shows ads; DaoTrace does not.
Which is updated more often, Clean Days or DaoTrace?
Clean Days ships an update every 4 months, and DaoTrace every 5 days. Most recently, Clean Days was updated on November 5, 2026 and DaoTrace on November 5, 2026.

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