Comparison

Reset vs Marcus

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

Head to head
About

Reset

Features
Read full description

Reset is an app designed to help you reduce compulsive digital habits and regain focus, mental clarity, and control over your impulses—without guilt, shame, or judgment. Instead of treating relapses as failures, Reset turns every moment into an opportunity for learning and progress. The goal isn't perfection; it’s sustainable growth. KEY FEATURES Time-free & Streak Track how long you’ve been free from the habit with a real-time counter showing days, hours, and minutes. Brain Rewiring Your progress doesn't reset to zero after a relapse. Reset tracks your evolution gradually, showing that recovery is an ongoing process. Panic Button Feeling a strong urge? Instantly access tools to regain control: Breathing exercises Math challenges Quick physical exercises Motivational quotes Anti-urge tips Website & App Blocker Block content and apps that hinder your progress using native iPhone features. Guided Meditation Reduce anxiety, impulsivity, and stress with quick meditation and focus sessions. Personal Motivations Create your own list of reasons to change and remind yourself of what truly matters during difficult moments. Judgment-Free Recovery Reset was created to support you, not punish you. The goal is to build healthier habits through consistency and self-awareness. BUILT FOR YOU Ideal for anyone wanting to: Regain focus and discipline Reduce compulsive urges Improve productivity Minimize distractions Rebalance dopamine levels Build healthier digital habits PRIVACY Your journey is private. Your data is protected and used solely to improve your experience within the app. Start your recovery today and take the first step toward regaining control of your mind with Reset. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Marcus

This app offers a structured daily practice rooted in Stoic philosophy to foster self-improvement and living well. It includes morning and evening journaling, daily readings, and emotion logging, all designed to encourage honest self-examination and virtue.

Highlights
  • Morning journaling with Stoic prompts
  • Daily Stoic quotes with reflections
  • Evening self-examination journal
  • Emotion logging and Stoic reframing
  • Weekly review of virtues practiced
  • No account required, data stays on device
Features
Read full description

Most self-improvement apps make you feel good about yourself. Marcus asks whether you are. That's the difference. Marcus is a daily Stoic practice app built on the same system Marcus Aurelius used to govern the Roman Empire, and that Epictetus used to find freedom as a slave. Not a habit tracker. Not a meditation timer. A structured daily practice rooted in two thousand years of the most tested philosophy for living well. THE PRACTICE HAS FOUR PARTS. Morning journal. Five Stoic prompts including premeditatio malorum, the ancient negative visualization technique that modern psychology echoes as a way to reduce anxiety and sharpen decision-making. Begin each day with intention instead of noise. Daily reading. A passage each morning from Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, or Seneca, chosen against what you have said you are working on, with a practical reflection. It never gives you the same passage twice. Every quote is checked against its source: we audited our own library and removed fifty-five that were not what they claimed to be. Evening journal. The nightly self-examination Seneca practiced: examine where you acted with virtue, confess where you fell short, release what you're carrying before sleep. The gap between who you are and who you admire only closes when you look at it honestly. Emotion logger. Between stimulus and response, there is a space. This is that space. Log what moved you, identify the cognitive distortion, read the Stoic reframe. The same discipline the Stoics practiced, two thousand years before cognitive behavioral therapy gave it a name. THE STOIC COMPASS. At the center of the practice is your compass, in four parts. Why you practice. What pattern in yourself you will overcome. Who you are becoming. And your roles: the relational positions you actually occupy, parent, partner, colleague, citizen, and what each one asks of you. The Stoics called these your kathekonta. Marcus Aurelius reminded himself of his every morning. Your compass is what the daily reading is matched against, so the practice gets more specific to you the longer you keep it. BUILT DIFFERENTLY. Marcus doesn't punish you for missing a day. Your longest streak remains. Your total days practiced remain. The current streak resets, and then you begin again. That's the Stoic response to failure. Not shame. Not starting over on Monday. The return. No account required. Your journal, reflections, and logs never leave your device. The only thing collected is anonymous, aggregate usage to improve the app, never tied to you. WEEKLY REVIEW. Once a week, examine the whole. In the ledger you name the Virtue you most embodied and the one you fell short on. Week after week, the record accumulates into an honest picture of who you're becoming, not who you imagine yourself to be. THE FOUR VIRTUES. Wisdom, Courage, Temperance, Justice. The frame the whole practice hangs on. Not goals. Not habits. Ways of being you either embody in a given moment, or you don't. MEMENTO MORI. "You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do." — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations Marcus Premium is an auto-renewable subscription with monthly and annual options and a 7-day free trial. Prices are shown in the app and on this product page in your local currency. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. Your subscription renews automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the current period ends. Your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the period ends. Manage or cancel anytime in your App Store account settings. Privacy Policy: https://www.getmarcus.app/privacy.html Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Reset4 screens
Marcus4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Reset at every 5 days against Marcus's fortnightly. Marcus's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Reset sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per 7 days and Marcus sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Reset ships an update every 5 days, Marcus fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 17, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Reset versus Marcus: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterResetMarcus
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.5 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—4 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS18.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size38 MB68 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGabriel SilvaHarvana

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Reset

Subscriptions3
  • Reset - Premium Weekly$7.997 Days
  • Reset - Premium Annual$19.991 Year
  • Reset - Premium Annual3 Days trial$49.991 Year
2 purchases

Marcus

Subscriptions2
  • Marcus Monthly7 Days trial$7.991 Month
  • Marcus Premium7 Days trial$39.991 Year

Questions

Is Reset free?
Reset is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Marcus free?
Marcus is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Reset or Marcus have ads?
Neither Reset nor Marcus shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Reset or Marcus?
Reset ships an update every 5 days, and Marcus fortnightly. Most recently, Reset was updated on September 17, 2026 and Marcus on September 24, 2026.

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