Unheld vs Small Start
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side β with what reviewers say about each.
Unheld
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Unheld is a quiet space for focus. Most focus apps make you watch the clock. Unheld does the opposite. Start a session, put your phone down, and focus without thinking about time. There are no ticking countdowns, no pressure, and no productivity scores. Time is held quietly in the background so you can stay present with your work. Unheld is designed for people who want calm focus instead of urgency β students, creatives, professionals, and anyone who finds traditional timers stressful. Features β’ One-tap focus sessions β’ No countdown by default β’ Gentle end reminders (optional) β’ Session history for reflection, not tracking β’ Apple Watch support β’ Local-only storage β your data stays on your device Premium (One-time purchase) Unlock session history, weekly summaries, and optional tags with a single purchase. No subscriptions. Designed for calm Unheld is not a Pomodoro timer and not a productivity system. Itβs a quiet container for focus β so you can stop thinking about time and simply work.
Small Start
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An ADHD brain fights lists. That is exactly why routines are so hard to keep. Small Start shows you one step at a time. Not a checklist you have to re-read, not twelve boxes waiting to be ticked β one step, one timer, one big Done button. When it's finished, the next one appears. WHY IT WORKS β’ One step on screen to focus on. The list is the problem, so it stays hidden. β’ Every step gets a timer, so time stops being invisible. β’ The timer runs on real clock time. Lock your phone, take a call, come back β it never drifts. β’ Every step chimes when it ends, with Done and +1 minute right there β the phone can stay on the shelf while you brush your teeth. β’ Skip and +1 minute are always there. A routine that can't bend gets abandoned. REMINDERS THAT DON'T BECOME WALLPAPER Most apps send the same notification forever until you switch them off. Small Start rotates through more than a dozen messages, so it never becomes background noise. And if you ignore three in a row, it doesn't nag harder β it changes the subject and asks whether the time is wrong, then offers to move the reminder or turn it off. Your 7:00 alarm was never going to work if you're never awake at 7:00. IT STARTS WITHOUT YOU OPENING THE APP Opening an app is the same problem as starting a routine, so it doesn't insist. β’ A home-screen widget starts today's routine at step one, in one tap β’ The running step counts down on your Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island β’ Apple Watch: start, finish a step or add a minute from your wrist β’ Ask Siri, or let a Shortcuts automation start it when your alarm goes off STREAKS THAT DON'T PUNISH YOU Missing today doesn't break your streak until the day is actually over, and a missed day is shown as a day, not a failure. A habit survives one of those. No red, no guilt, no "you've lost your progress". Half a routine counts as half, not as nothing: get through at least half the steps and the day still counts. And if you walk away mid-routine, the app offers to pick it back up where you left off. BUILT FOR PRIVACY No account. No sign-up. No email. No ads, ever. Your routines, steps and history stay on your phone β never uploaded anywhere. Your data can also leave with you. One tap exports every routine, step and completion to a file you keep, so a new phone doesn't cost you your setup. WHAT YOU GET β’ Three ready-made routines to start in one tap β Morning, Evening Wind-down, Getting Out the Door β all editable β’ Unlimited routines and steps of your own β’ Step lengths from 30 seconds to 90 minutes, or the one-tap presets β’ Per-routine schedules, weekday-by-weekday β’ Streaks, completion rates, a calendar of your days, and the pattern of which weekdays actually work for you β’ Measured step lengths, so the plan matches how long it really takes β’ Export and import, so your routines and history are yours to keep β’ Light and dark themes TRY THE WHOLE THING FOR 14 DAYS Everything is unlocked for 14 days. No card, no account, nothing to cancel β we never asked for a payment method, so we cannot charge you by accident. After that you decide, once. There's a pay-once option if you never want to think about a subscription again. Small Start is a timer and a routine keeper for adults living with ADHD. It isn't a medical device and doesn't diagnose or treat anything β it's built by and for people who find starting hard. Small Start Premium is available as a yearly subscription ($19.99/year) or a monthly subscription ($3.99/month). A one-time Lifetime purchase ($29.99) is also available and never renews. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel in your Apple ID account settings after purchase. Terms of Use: https://unverfirat.github.io/fireflysoftware/smallstart/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://unverfirat.github.io/fireflysoftware/smallstart/privacy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
Unheld and Small Start are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters β price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them β neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Unheld sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Small Start sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
| Parameter | Unheld | Small Start |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | β | Fortnightly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPod, Apple Watch β better |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | 15.0 β better |
| Further details β not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 46 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Guo Yu | Ali Firat Unver |
In-app purchases
Unheld
- Unheld Premium$5.99
Small Start
- Monthly$3.991 Month
- Yearly$19.991 Year
- Lifetime$29.99









