Comparison

Thru vs Yonder

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

Head to head
About

Thru

Conquer legendary hiking trails virtually by tracking your real-world steps. Progress through illustrated landscapes, collect badges, and check in at landmarks on an interactive map. Every mile walked brings your virtual hiker closer to the finish line.

Highlights
  • Virtual thru-hiking expeditions
  • Real-world step tracking integration
  • Interactive progress map
  • Illustrated landscape representations
  • Trail badge collection
  • Landmark check-ins
Features
Read full description

Ever dreamed of completing a legendary thru hike? Now you can conquer epic trails like the Pacific Crest Trail, Appalachian Trail, Grand Tour des Alpes, and more using nothing but your daily steps! Thru connects your real-world activity to a breathtaking virtual expedition. Whether you're walking the dog, running a marathon, or simply pacing around the office, every single mile moves your hiker further along the virtual trail. See your progress unfold on a beautifully designed, interactive map. As you clock the miles, you'll pass through illustrated representations of iconic landscapes. Stay motivated by collecting unique trail badges, checking in at landmarks, and watching your virtual self complete the journey.

About

Yonder

This app helps you establish a healthy eye-care habit by timing screen breaks. It provides customizable reminders and alerts to ensure you rest your eyes regularly, promoting digital well-being.

Highlights
  • Automated 20-20-20 rule timing
  • Customizable work and break durations
  • Persistent alarm notifications (iOS 26+)
  • Lock Screen and Dynamic Island progress
  • Standalone iPhone functionality
  • Optional Apple Watch integration
Features
Read full description

Yonder — turn the 20-20-20 eye break habit into something you don't have to track yourself Staring at screens for long stretches tires your eyes. The 20-20-20 rule is a widely mentioned habit: after focusing for a while, look at something about 20 feet (6 meters) away for about 20 seconds. Yonder turns that habit into a simple tool that keeps time for you. · Start a work cycle — you'll get a clear, hard-to-miss reminder when it's time to look away · After the reminder, a short gaze break follows, ending with a gentle sound and haptic cue · When the break ends you get an alert to come back; the moment you confirm it, a full-length work cycle starts timing from that instant · On iOS 26 or later, with the Alarms permission granted, reminders use an AlarmKit persistent alert that keeps going until you stop it by hand — harder to miss than a regular notification. On iOS 18 through 25 the framework does not exist (the app supports iOS 18.0 and up), and the same applies if the permission isn't granted: reminders automatically fall back to a standard notification that fires once, and the core cycle still works · No Apple Watch required — the full flow works standalone on iPhone. Pair a Watch for coordinated two-device reminders; which device actually presents the alert is decided by the system · Lock Screen and Dynamic Island show your current progress without opening the app Core reminders are free and ad-free: the standard 20-minute work / 20-second gaze-break cycle and the default alert cost nothing, and they are never weakened just because you haven't paid. Pro is a one-time purchase (not a subscription, and it doesn't auto-renew) that unlocks four settings — custom work duration, custom gaze-break duration, alert tone selection, and custom snooze duration — so you can tune the rhythm to fit you. Whether a reminder actually goes off on time depends on your system version, your notification and Alarms permissions, the state of your device, and system settings such as Silent Mode and Focus. The app does not promise that every reminder will sound, and it does not force its way through Silent Mode or Focus. Yonder is a screen-break timer. It does not provide medical diagnosis or treatment, and it cannot prevent or cure any eye condition; if your eyes keep bothering you, please see a professional. No account, no data upload, no server — all cycle state and personalization settings stay on your device only.

Screenshots

Thru4 screens
Yonder4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Thru at none against Yonder's 1. Thru also leads on ratings volume (127 vs 1). Yonder's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 9 days). 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. Yonder sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Thru 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 Thru against 5.0 for Yonder. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Thru has 127 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Thru ships an update every 9 days, Yonder every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Thru versus Yonder: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThruYonder
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (127 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews93.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings127 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS17.6 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size29 MB10 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAaron La Lau伟斌 杨

Customer experience

Thru

All ratings121 ratings
Positive98.3%
Neutral0.8%
Negative0.8%
Written reviews46 reviews
Positive93.5%
Neutral2.2%
Negative4.3%

Yonder

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Thru

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Yonder

One-time1
  • Yonder Pro (One-time)$3.99

Questions

Is Thru free?
Thru is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Yonder free?
Yonder is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Thru or Yonder?
Yonder is rated higher. Thru averages 4.9 out of 5 from 127 ratings, while Yonder averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Thru or Yonder have ads?
Neither Thru nor Yonder shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Thru or Yonder?
Thru ships an update every 9 days, and Yonder every 2 days. Most recently, Thru was updated on October 28, 2026 and Yonder on October 22, 2026.

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