Comparison

Stoa vs Thrive

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

Head to head
About

Stoa

Engage in daily mental training with an AI-powered Stoic mentor. Explore ancient wisdom, unlock deeper teachings, and cultivate resilience and peace of mind through guided reflections and personalized learning paths.

Highlights
  • AI Chat with Stoic philosophers
  • Wisdom levels and mastery paths
  • Daily Stoic reflections
  • Personalized learning journeys
  • Mental training for clarity and calm
Features
Read full description

Train Your Mind. Live With Clarity. Stoa is your modern Stoic mentor: a daily practice to help you think deeper, feel calmer, and live with purpose. In just minutes a day, chat with ancient philosophers reimagined by AI, explore wisdom levels, and master Stoic habits that build resilience and peace of mind. Stoa turns Stoic philosophy into a powerful mental training method,helping you stay grounded, focused, and unshakable in any situation. Features You’ll Love: - AI Chat With Stoicians: Learn directly from Zeno, Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius, brought to life with AI. - Wisdom Levels: Progress through mastery paths and unlock deeper teachings as you grow. - Daily Practice: Simple Stoic reflections to start and end your day with clarity. - Personal Learning path: Follow a tailored journey that adapts to your progress, unlocking new lessons as you grow. Download Stoa and begin your path from chaos to clarity. Learn calm. Live clear. Grow wiser. . A subscription is required to access the full app experience and features. Terms of Use: https://legal.rocapine.com/terms Privacy policy: https://legal.rocapine.com/privacy

About

Thrive

Features
Read full description

The most important subject you'll ever study is yourself. Thrive is a private self-discovery practice designed to surface what you've been carrying without quite putting into words. Ten questions per session. One at a time. A personalized synthesis at the end. No advice, no fixes, and no one else listening. Just the kind of deep conversation you don't usually get to have, in a space quiet enough to answer them honestly. Most apps tell you what to do. Thrive asks you what you actually think. — THREE TERRAINS — • Past — Trace the patterns, bonds, and stories that shaped how you move through the world today. • Present — Sit with what's alive in you right now: thoughts, feelings, values, what you're resisting. • Future — Name who you're becoming, what you actually want, and what it will ask of you. — 38 LENSES ON YOUR INTERIOR — Thrive is organized into 38 distinct "modes" — each a different lens for looking at yourself, rooted in a real psychological or philosophical tradition. Open the one that fits today; the others are waiting. PAST — what shaped you • Your Hidden Self (Jungian shadow work) • Your Core Beliefs (schema therapy) • Your Relational Self (attachment theory) • Your Younger Self (IFS / inner child) • Your Honored Losses (grief work) • Your Forged Self (kintsugi / wabi-sabi) • Your Family Patterns, Your Story, Your Resilience, and more. PRESENT — what's alive in you now • Your Emotional World (DBT / affect labeling) • Your Thought Loops (CBT) • Your Thought Distance (ACT defusion) • Your Inner Parts (IFS) • Your Kinder Voice (self-compassion) • Your Values (Stoic philosophy) • Your Observing Self (Advaita Vedanta) • Your Natural Flow (Taoist wu wei) • Your Flourishing (Aristotelian eudaimonia), and more. FUTURE — what you're moving toward • Your Real Why (motivational interviewing) • Your Future Self (future-self research) • Your Purpose (ikigai) • Your Legacy (existential therapy) • Your Worst Case (Stoic premeditatio) • Your New Identity (identity-based change) • Your Commitments, Your Energy, Your Circle, and more. — PRIVATE BY DESIGN — What you're willing to say changes completely when you know no one else is listening. Thrive is built around that fact. • Conversations are never stored on our servers. • Sessions clear from your device automatically. • No sign-up required to begin — anonymous account by default. • Optional Face ID / fingerprint lock on the app itself. • Voice input is processed by your phone's built-in speech recognition; we never receive the audio. Bring the version of yourself no one else gets to meet. That's the one worth getting to know. — BUILT ON 2,500 YEARS OF KNOWING YOURSELF — Thrive draws from the traditions that have actually helped humans live well — Stoicism, Taoism, Buddhism, Advaita Vedanta, Jungian depth psychology, IFS, CBT, ACT, DBT, schema therapy, narrative therapy, logotherapy, and more. The frameworks are real; the questions come from them. Thrive simply makes the practice easy to return to. — FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE DONE WITH SHALLOW — Thrive is for you if you've outgrown affirmations and surface-level mood trackers. If you journal but want better questions. If you're between therapy sessions and want somewhere to take a thought. If you're curious about shadow work, parts work, Stoic reflection, or the examined life — and want a structured place to actually do it. A single session is a conversation. A thousand sessions are a transformation. — WHAT'S INCLUDED — • A free trial, then monthly or annual subscription. • 30 guided sessions every month, across all 38 modes. • Goals that quietly carry forward between sessions. • A reading library of short essays, beautifully typeset for slow attention. • Optional gentle notification reminders. — WHEN TO OPEN THRIVE — • When a thought won't leave you alone. • When trying to get clarity on your life. • On the days you'd usually scroll instead.

Screenshots

Stoa4 screens
Thrive4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Thrive at none against Stoa's shown. Thrive also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 3 months). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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. Stoa sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per 7 days and Thrive sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Stoa ships an update every 3 months, Thrive every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Stoa versus Thrive: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStoaThrive
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 3 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.115.1
Further details — not scored
Size65 MB53 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLes NantsTrends Technology LLC

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Stoa

Subscriptions6
  • Weekly Plan3 Days trial$7.997 Days
  • Weekly Subscription$7.997 Days
  • Monthly Plan$9.991 Month
Show 3 more
  • Monthly Plan3 Days trial$14.991 Month
  • Yearly Plan7 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • Yearly Plan7 Days trial$49.991 Year
5 purchases

Thrive

Subscriptions2
  • Thrive Pro Monthly3 Days trial$14.991 Month
  • Thrive Pro Annual3 Days trial$79.991 Year
One-time3
  • 10 Session Pack$4.99
  • 25 Session Pack$9.99
  • 50 Session Pack$17.99

Questions

Is Stoa free?
Stoa is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Thrive free?
Thrive is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Stoa or Thrive have ads?
Stoa shows ads; Thrive does not.
Which is updated more often, Stoa or Thrive?
Stoa ships an update every 3 months, and Thrive every 3 days. Most recently, Stoa was updated on October 30, 2026 and Thrive on October 25, 2026.

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