Comparison

grug vs Ember Goals

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

Head to head
About

grug

Receive a daily dose of simple, profound wisdom to help you navigate life's challenges. This app offers straightforward truths and accompanying artwork to inspire personal growth and contentment. It focuses on mindfulness and taking small steps each day.

Highlights
  • Daily wisdom sharing
  • Accompanying artwork
  • Home screen widget
  • Customizable themes
  • Light and dark modes
  • No login or tracking
Features
Read full description

grug know: big scary just many small rock wearing fur coat. every sunrise grug share one wisdom. help you break today rock into small piece. no fancy word. no complicated. just simple truth that work. **what grug do:** - share daily wisdom when sun rise - draw grug dream on wisdom - share with other grug - widget show wisdom on cave - grug work in light and dark cave or give grug shiny color grug not guru. grug just know: small step every day make mountain move. perfect never come. better start with broken stick today than wait for perfect stick tomorrow. wisdom come from real life. fear work love pain growth. grug speak simple but truth hit deep. like "fear just smoke. real but not solid.” and "wanting make poor. grateful make rich." each day different wisdom. truth waiting. grug help see: you already enough. just need pick up one small rock today. app simple like grug brain. open. read wisdom. maybe draw feeling. that all. no login. no cloud. no follow. just you and today truth. remember. tomorrow not here. only today real. grug help make today count. Terms of Service: https://ocho.so/terms Privacy Policy: https://ocho.so/privacy

About

Ember Goals

Features
Read full description

Tend your goals. Keep your fire burning. Ember is a different kind of goal tracker. No endless lists. No overwhelming targets. Just two simple commitments each day: something you'll do, and something you won't. HOW IT WORKS Every morning, light your ember by setting two goals: "I will..." - Something positive you'll do today "I won't..." - Something you'll avoid today Throughout the day, you tend to these commitments. Each evening, mark what you achieved. Watch your ember grow from a spark to a roaring flame as your streak builds. WHY EMBER FEELS DIFFERENT Most goal apps feel like work. Ember feels like sitting by a campfire - warm, calm, and meditative. We designed it for real life, where: Some days you nail both goals Some days you manage one Some days you miss entirely (and that's okay) Your ember dims but never goes out. Tomorrow is always a fresh start. PERFECT FOR Building better habits without the pressure Breaking patterns that don't serve you Creating daily rituals that actually stick Anyone tired of aggressive productivity apps THE COZY APPROACH No notifications spam. No guilt trips. No gamification gimmicks. Just gentle morning and evening reminders, warm design, and progress you can see. Your goals stay private. Your pace is your own. Your ember grows at exactly the right speed - yours. WHAT YOU GET Beautiful ember visualization that grows with your streak Daily "will" and "won't" goal pairs Smart streak tracking that forgives imperfect days Gentle reminders (morning & evening) Simple, distraction-free design Dark mode optimized for evening reflection START YOUR FIRE Download Ember and light your first spark. Whether you're building new habits, breaking old ones, or just want a calmer approach to self-improvement - your ember is waiting. One day at a time. Two simple goals. Infinite possibilities. https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

grug4 screens
Ember Goals4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: grug at weekly against Ember Goals's every 3 weeks. grug also leads on iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.2). On price, ads, 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

grug ships an update weekly, Ember Goals every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 12, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
grug versus Ember Goals: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParametergrugEmber Goals
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (3.5K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews96.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings3.5K — better—
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS18.0 — better26.2
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOchoJosh Littlewood

In-app purchases

None

grug

No in-app purchases

None

Ember Goals

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is grug free?
grug is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Ember Goals free?
Ember Goals is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do grug or Ember Goals have ads?
Neither grug nor Ember Goals shows ads.
Which is updated more often, grug or Ember Goals?
grug ships an update weekly, and Ember Goals every 3 weeks. Most recently, grug was updated on November 12, 2026 and Ember Goals on October 31, 2026.

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