Comparison

Aether Habit Tracker vs Trace

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

Head to head
About

Aether Habit Tracker

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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.

About

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.

Highlights
  • 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)
Features
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Your thoughts have a way of disappearing. Trace brings them back. Trace is a home for passing thoughts: ideas, notes, reflections, lists, and the things you don't want to lose. Catch one in three seconds, then get on with your day. Why people use Trace: - Open and write. No setup, no accounts, no folders to choose first - Bullet and numbered lists that continue as you type - Search everything you've ever written, including by date - Your draft is saved as you write, so a call or a crash can't take it - Deleted something by mistake? It waits 30 days - Export everything as Markdown or JSON, anytime, free - Light and Dark, free for everyone Built for everyday capture: - The idea you had in the shower - Something someone said that stuck - A list you need in ten minutes - The end of a long day Make Trace yours with Pro: - Cream, Sage, Midnight, and Cocoa themes - Four matching alternate app icons - App Lock with Face ID, Touch ID, or device passcode - Automatic iCloud sync on supported Apple devices Trace Pro is a one-time purchase. Light and Dark themes and journal export stay free for everyone. No account required. Trace runs no servers of its own. Your writing lives on your device, and Pro syncs it through your own iCloud.

Screenshots

Aether Habit Tracker4 screens
Trace4 screens

Verdict

The call

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 2 months). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Trace sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Aether Habit Tracker asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Aether Habit Tracker ships an update fortnightly, Trace every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 18, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Aether Habit Tracker versus Trace: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAether Habit TrackerTrace
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—3 — better
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.215.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB49 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLinton PhilipPedro Gomes do Nascimento

In-app purchases

None

Aether Habit Tracker

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Trace

One-time1
  • Trace Pro$0.99

Questions

Is Aether Habit Tracker free?
Aether Habit Tracker is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Trace free?
Trace is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Aether Habit Tracker or Trace have ads?
Neither Aether Habit Tracker nor Trace shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Aether Habit Tracker or Trace?
Aether Habit Tracker ships an update fortnightly, and Trace every 2 months. Most recently, Aether Habit Tracker was updated on September 18, 2026 and Trace on September 29, 2026.

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