Aether Habit Tracker vs Trace
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Aether Habit Tracker
Read full descriptionHide full description
The Philosophy of Aether In ancient Greek philosophy, Aether was the pure, clear essence of the cosmos—unaffected by chaos, embodying clarity, balance, and quiet order. The Aether app brings this philosophy to habit tracking: eliminating the noise, gamification bloat, and stress of daily routines, and turning consistency into something natural, light, and sustainable. With a beautiful, animated mesh gradient background and an ultra-clean layout, Aether helps users build routines—not just lists. Key Feature Highlights 1. Interactive iOS Widgets: Track at a Glance Checking off a habit should be friction-free. With brand new Interactive Widgets (built for iOS 17+), users can log habit completions directly from their Home Screen without ever opening the app. Today’s Habits Widget: Interactive check circles let you log habits with one tap. Supports small and medium formats. Progress Widget: A clean, circular circular gauge style widget displaying daily completion percentages. Seamless Updates: Actions taken on the Home Screen automatically sync across the app. 2. Live Activities & Dynamic Island Focus Sessions Stay in the zone with live, glanceable habit tracking. Dynamic Island Integration: Shows active focus sessions, timers, and completions directly at the top of the iPhone screen. Lock Screen Interactivity: Active focus banners feature a "Complete" button directly on the Lock Screen. Celebration Activity: Once all scheduled habits for the day are checked off, a celebratory Live Activity pops up featuring a playful companion and congratulations text ("Woof! You did it!") to reward daily consistency. 3. Visual Analytics & Insights Tab Understand your progress over time with built-in statistical visualization. SwiftUI Charts integration: A beautifully rendered 7-day completion chart shows weekly consistency. Aggregate Insights: Displays overall success rate, average streaks, best streaks, and total completion counts. Nuanced Status Tracking: Log habits as Completed, Skipped, Failed, or Rest—so rest days are protected and never penalize active streaks or success rates. 4. Interactive Streak Medals & Gamification Unlock milestones that reward patience and dedication. Immersive Medals: Earn badges for streaks, starting at "First Step" (first habit completed) to "Flawless Fortnight" (14 days), "One Month Master" (30 days), "Two Month Titan" (60 days), and the legendary "Century Club" (100 days). Tactile Celebration: Tapping unlocked medals triggers a delightful 3D card flip animation, a physical bounce, and custom haptic feedback to make achievements feel tangible. 5. Custom Scheduling & Reminders Build habits that fit your schedule, not the other way around. Flexible Schedules: Define daily frequencies, target weekly frequencies (e.g. 3 times a week), or select specific weekdays. Smart Reminders: Localized notifications scheduled for daily, weekly, or custom days with precise time-of-day execution. 6. CSV Data Export & Backups Your data belongs to you. Export your history anytime. Local CSV Generation: Exports habit title, status, streaks, notes, schedule, and reminders in a clean table format. Share Sheet Support: Share data instantly with Spreadsheet apps, AirDrop, files, or email.
Trace
A minimalist and private space for capturing thoughts, notes, lists, and memories. It offers a clean interface for free writing and quick searching, with optional Pro features for customization and enhanced security.
- Minimalist and calm interface
- Free writing and reflections
- Bullet and numbered lists
- Quick entry search
- Local-first private storage
- Customizable themes (Pro)
- App Lock with biometric support (Pro)
Read full descriptionHide full description
Catch a thought in three seconds, by voice or text, then get on with your day. Private by design: no account, no servers, no tracking. Everything stays on your device. No subscription, ever. Pro is a one-time purchase. Trace is a home for passing thoughts: ideas, notes, reflections, lists, and the things you don't want to lose. Open it and write, or just talk. FAST CAPTURE - Open and write. No setup, no folders to choose first - On-device dictation, with optional on-device "Tidy my words" cleanup - "New Trace" control in Control Center (iOS 18) - Drafts save as you type, so a call or a crash can't take them - Bullet and numbered lists that continue as you type FIND IT LATER - Timeline grouped by day - Search everything you've ever written, including by date - Tags to group related thoughts - Reflections that link back to past entries - Traceback resurfaces a past entry every month, free YOURS, NOT OURS - Data Not Collected. Trace runs no servers of its own - Export everything as Markdown or JSON, anytime, free. Great with Obsidian - Deleted something by mistake? It waits 30 days in Recently Deleted BUILT FOR - Brain dumps and racing thoughts - The idea you had in the shower - Something someone said that stuck - The end of a long day TRACE PRO — ONE-TIME PURCHASE, NO SUBSCRIPTION - Extra inks and themes: Cream, Sage, Midnight, Cocoa - Matching alternate app icons - App Lock with Face ID, Touch ID, or passcode - iCloud sync through your own iCloud - Weekly Traceback review Paper and Slate inks, Markdown/JSON export, and monthly Traceback stay free for everyone.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Aether Habit Tracker at none against Trace's 1. Aether Habit Tracker also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 6 weeks). Trace's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.2). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Trace sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Aether Habit Tracker asks for nothing beyond the download.
Aether Habit Tracker ships an update fortnightly, Trace every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Aether Habit Tracker | Trace |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 3 — better |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 6 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.2 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 89 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Linton Philip | Pedro Gomes do Nascimento |
In-app purchases
Aether Habit Tracker
No in-app purchases
Trace
- Trace Pro$4.99
Questions
Is Aether Habit Tracker free?
Is Trace free?
Do Aether Habit Tracker or Trace have ads?
Which is updated more often, Aether Habit Tracker or Trace?
Other comparisons















