Comparison

CortexOS vs Karuma

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

Head to head
About

CortexOS

Read full description

CortexOS is the journal that learns who you are. Write or speak. CortexOS listens, understands your emotions, and gives you something no other journal can. Everything runs on your device. No cloud. No data harvesting. No one reads your words. Ever. EU AI Act compliant. YOUR AI GETS SMARTER OVER TIME Most journaling apps treat every entry like the first. CortexOS builds a private Psyche layer: a living picture of your patterns, your people, and your growth. Now in its second generation, it ages like real memory: what keeps proving true grows stronger, what you've outgrown quietly fades. IT REMEMBERS WHAT MATTERS Mention something in a reflection and CortexOS can recall the moment you wrote about it months ago. Your journal becomes a memory that works for you. IT UNDERSTANDS THE MOMENT YOU'RE IN A job loss is not a bad mood. A new baby is not just "tired." CortexOS recognizes over 100 life situations and meets each one the way a thoughtful friend would: knowing what helps, and what never to say. IT LEARNS WHAT LIFTS YOU It notices what weighs on you and what reliably helps. Rate your sessions and it learns your taste. Your AI, shaped by you. PULSE Tap a mood, write a sentence, save. A 10-second check-in for busy days. Counts in every mood trend, never uses up your monthly free entries. VENT & BURN A space for the heavy stuff. Speak or type. Audio is securely wiped after transcription. When you're done, the entry burns. Nothing left, anywhere. DEEP ANALYSIS ON EVERY ENTRY After you write, an on-device LLM reads between the lines: emotional patterns, cognitive habits, growth you might not see yourself. Entries save instantly. BEHAVIORAL PATTERNS Rumination, self-compassion, stress responses, growth. Trend chips show what's emerging, fading, stable. Nothing diagnosed. Just named, so you can notice it yourself. SELF-AWARENESS CARD What CortexOS has learned about you: themes, tendencies, what weighs on you, what helps. Written entirely by the on-device AI. Visible only to you. AI REFLECTIONS Talk through what's on your mind by text or voice. The AI remembers your themes, replies faster than ever, and asks questions that take you deeper. Never judged, never uploaded. VOICE JOURNALING Speak instead of type. On-device transcription catches every word, even long, winding entries. No internet needed. INSIGHTS & PATTERNS Track 20+ emotions over time. Spot mood trends, triggers, and the connections between life events and how you feel. CHAPTERS Every week becomes a chapter in your story. Auto-titled, themed, and summarized by AI. MIND WRAPPED A shareable card deck at entry milestones and at year-end, every card stamped "0 bytes sent anywhere". YEAR IN REVIEW Your year, told from your own words: your emotional arc, your chapters, the growth you might have missed. Built on-device. SMART NOTIFICATIONS Prompts drawn from what you've been writing about. Like a quiet tap from someone who knows you. ENTRY ECHOES & GHOST TEXT Old entries resurface to remind you what you've already told yourself. A gentle prompt appears when the page sits empty. THERAPIST REPORTS A shareable PDF of your patterns and trends. No journal content included. Just what your therapist actually needs. PRIVATE BY DESIGN - AES-256-GCM encryption on every entry - Even the AI's memory is encrypted at rest - Zero-knowledge cloud backup (we can't read your data) - On-device AI. Nothing sent to servers. - Optional Deep Recall language pack: sharper memory, still 100% on your phone - Screen recording and mirroring blocked at the system level - No email, no password. Recovery phrase only. Face ID / Touch ID. - No tracking. No ads. No exceptions. Built by a solo developer in Malta, Europe. No investors, no data deals. A journal that is yours alone. AI Disclosure: https://cortexos.app/ai-disclosure Trust Center: https://cortexos.app/trust Privacy Policy: https://cortexos.app/privacy Terms of Use: https://cortexos.app/terms Your Mind, Encrypted.

About

Karuma

Features
Read full description

MORE CALM. MORE BODY AWARENESS. MORE KINDNESS TOWARDS YOURSELF. Karuma is a completely free app that helps you pause, notice what you feel, understand your nervous system and gradually experience more calm and connection. Short, accessible exercises support relaxation, self-love, body awareness and resilience. Every week, a new exercise awaits you, with clear guidance and practical tools you can use at your own pace. Karuma was developed by a music therapist and a registered healthcare psychologist. The app draws on Polyvagal Theory, positive psychology and body-based approaches. WHAT YOU’LL FIND IN KARUMA • A new exercise for calm and relaxation every week• Exercises for self-love and treating yourself with greater kindness• Practices that help you notice your body’s signals• Clear explanations of your nervous system and Polyvagal Theory• Exercises inspired by positive psychology• A check-in to pause and notice how you are, without judgement• A first-aid toolkit with short exercises for difficult or ove

Screenshots

CortexOS4 screens
Karuma4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Karuma at none against CortexOS's 3. Karuma also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence and ads 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. CortexOS sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Karuma asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

CortexOS ships an update every 5 days, Karuma every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 3 level
CortexOS versus Karuma: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCortexOSKaruma
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size32 MB29 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOrlin Ralinov MartinovBrainArts BV

In-app purchases

3 purchases

CortexOS

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Monthly7 Days trial$7.991 Month
  • Premium Yearly7 Days trial$49.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Access$99.99
None

Karuma

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is CortexOS free?
CortexOS is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Karuma free?
Karuma is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do CortexOS or Karuma have ads?
Neither CortexOS nor Karuma shows ads.
Which is updated more often, CortexOS or Karuma?
CortexOS ships an update every 5 days, and Karuma every 4 days. Most recently, CortexOS was updated on October 7, 2026 and Karuma on October 12, 2026.

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