ThoughtsLeft vs VariAlarm
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ThoughtsLeft
Capture your fleeting thoughts, ideas, and worries quickly through typing or voice. Organize them into tasks or notes, or simply let them go. Gain insights into your thinking patterns and maintain mental clarity.
- Instant thought capture (type or voice)
- Organize thoughts with swipe gestures
- Spoken Thought for hands-free capture
- Time-based task manager
- Notes repository
- Activity insights
- Optional Pro upgrade for advanced features
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Thoughts Left is a brain dump app for people who think too much: late-night spirals, half-finished ideas, things you keep checking, things you're scared to forget. Get them all out fast, before the mental clutter takes over. Capture however it comes to you. Type it, speak it as a Spoken Thought, or snap it. No structure required, no "right way" to do it. Then decide on your own time. Turn thoughts into a task or a note, or simply let them go with one swipe, because not every thought needs to become something. NEW IN 2.0: SNAP DUMP Did you lock the door? Turn off the stove? Where did you park? Snap a photo once and stop wondering. Snaps clear themselves after 24 hours and never leave your phone. KEY FEATURES: • Instant capture for ideas, worries, and reminders • Snap Dump: photo capture that clears itself in 24 hours • Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets for quick capture • Long-press the app icon to jump straight to Snap Dump or a new thought • Capture from anywhere with the Action Button or Siri • Spoken Thought for hands-free, voice-based capture • Swipe gestures to turn thoughts into tasks or notes • Just let go mode: hide Tasks and Notes for a simpler app • Batch processing sessions for inbox zero • Time-based task manager (Today, Tomorrow, This Week, Someday) • Notes for everything you want to keep • Activity insights into your thinking patterns • App Lock with Face ID or Touch ID • Dark and light themes • Private by design: no account, and your thoughts and snaps stay on your device (optional iCloud sync) • Export all your thoughts or delete them anytime OPTIONAL PRO UPGRADE Thoughts Left works fully without upgrading. For deeper reflection, focus, and mental clarity, an optional PRO upgrade is available. Keep Snaps Longer • Keep a snap for 3, 7 or 30 days, or forever Thought Timeline & History • View your complete thought history • See how thoughts become tasks, notes, or released items • Reflect on your thinking patterns over time Pattern Insights • Discover when your mind is loudest • Understand your overthinking habits Custom Scheduling • Set exact dates and times for tasks and get notified • Plan with more clarity and precision iCloud Sync • Keep your thoughts backed up and synced with iCloud • Your thoughts stay private, sync is always optional Apple Calendar Sync • Automatically sync your Thoughts Left tasks to your Apple Calendar • View your to-dos right alongside your daily events Premium Themes • Unlock 5 calming, nature-inspired themes • Personalise your space for reflection and focus Available as a one-time purchase or an annual subscription. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
VariAlarm
Automate your wake-up routine with customizable alarm templates. Sync alarms to your calendar events and easily manage recurring schedules. Fine-tune volumes, sounds, and skip individual alarms without disrupting your overall plan.
- Reusable alarm templates
- Calendar event automation
- Customizable alarm sequences
- Skip individual alarms
- Lock Screen and Homescreen widgets
- Custom volumes and sounds
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Rotating shifts. On-call weeks. A gym class that moves every day. If your alarms can't keep up with your schedule, VariAlarm can. VariAlarm is an alarm clock and schedule planner for people whose weeks don't repeat. Plan alarms on real dates, reuse your shift patterns, and change one morning without touching the rest. CHANGE ONE DAY, NOT THE WHOLE WEEK • Skip tomorrow's alarm – the schedule carries on by itself, nothing to switch back on • Move or edit a single occurrence without breaking the series • Pause alarms until tomorrow, the end of the week, or any date PLAN BY DATE, NOT JUST BY WEEKDAY • Set alarms for specific future dates • Repeat every 2–12 weeks and choose an end date • See alarms and calendar events side by side SAVE YOUR SHIFTS ONCE, REUSE THEM ANYWHERE • Alarm Templates: save the alarms for an early, late, or night shift and apply them to the days you work • Alarm Routines: a sequence of alarms spaced from one start time – move the start and every alarm follows • Running late? Shift every alarm in a routine or template by the same number of minutes in one step • Alarm Groups keep work, gym, and weekend alarms apart LET YOUR CALENDAR SET THE ALARM Calendar Automation matches events by keyword and creates the alarm for you. Example: every event called “Early shift” at 7:00 AM gets a wake-up alarm 2 hours before. Run rules yourself or through Shortcuts. Get Ready estimates when to start getting ready from the event time, where you're going, and the expected weather. WAKE UP YOUR WAY • Crescendo fades the volume in gently • Use your own songs as alarm sounds • Challenge Wake helps you stay up • Sleep Sounds to wind down, Timer Sets for multi-step countdowns ALWAYS ONE GLANCE AWAY Lock Screen widgets, Live Activities, Apple Watch, Siri, Shortcuts, and optional iCloud sync across your devices. SMARTER PLANNING Turn a photo or screenshot of your roster into events you review first. Create alarms, routines, and templates by voice. Smart Prep looks over tomorrow, and Weather-Aware Wake can suggest an earlier alarm when conditions may slow you down. Nothing is created or changed until you approve it. VARIALARM PRO Free to download. VariAlarm Pro is available monthly, yearly, or as a one-time lifetime purchase. Feature availability depends on your VariAlarm plan, iOS version, device, region, and permissions. Apple Intelligence features require a compatible device. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: VariAlarm at 4.6 against ThoughtsLeft's 3.0. VariAlarm also leads on review sentiment (92% vs 50%) and update cadence (daily vs every 2 weeks). ThoughtsLeft's advantage is iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. ThoughtsLeft sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per year and VariAlarm sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.49 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
VariAlarm holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: VariAlarm has 24 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of ThoughtsLeft's written reviews are positive against 92% of VariAlarm's.
ThoughtsLeft ships an update every 2 weeks, VariAlarm daily. Both last shipped on October 28, 2026.
| Parameter | ThoughtsLeft | VariAlarm |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.0 (2 ratings) | 4.6 (24 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | 92.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 24 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Daily — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 49 MB | 112 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jayasrinivasan Varadharajan | Nhat Le |
Customer experience
ThoughtsLeft
VariAlarm
In-app purchases
ThoughtsLeft
- Thoughts Left PRO7 Days trial$19.991 Year
- Thoughts Left Pro$39.99
VariAlarm
- VariAlarm Pro Monthly3 Days trial$2.491 Month
- VariAlarm Pro Annual$24.991 Year
- Buy me a coffee$1.99
- VariAlarm Pro Lifetime$69.99








