Pulse vs Orbit
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side ā with what reviewers say about each.
Pulse
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Your pulse, your day, your journal. Pulse is intentionally kept lean: no subscription, no cluttered interface ā just you, a moment, and an honest read on how you're actually doing. Free and open source. HOW IT WORKS ⢠Capture moments: a short thought, a rating from ā2 (bad) to +2 (good), optional tags and location. Done in seconds. ⢠Reflect on your day: one sentence of forecast in the morning, the summary in the evening ā with your own metrics like sleep, deep work, exercise, or family time. Stoic reflection questions get you started. ⢠Discover patterns: daily, weekly, and monthly views show you what lifts you up ā and what doesn't. Filter by a single tag to look at one area of your life on its own. Good days have reasons. ⢠AI coach: on request, Apple Intelligence analyzes your entries and surfaces insights about your patterns ā running entirely on your iPhone, no cloud. YOUR DATA STAYS YOURS Everything lives on your iPhone and in your private iCloud. No tracking, no ads, no accounts. The full source code is public on GitHub. Export to JSON anytime. WHO IS PULSE FOR? For everyone who has failed at classic journaling: no long entries, no pressure, no streak guilt. A micro-journal that fits your life ā not the other way around. Questions or ideas? Pulse is actively developed ā your feedback shapes the roadmap.
Orbit
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Orbit is a focus timer designed for brains that drift ā built for ADHD, friendly for everyone. Start a focus block and watch the ring fill like an orbit. Each completed block is one orbit ā no streaks to shame you, no harvest to lose. Just gentle momentum you can actually feel. FOCUS, SIMPLY ⢠A large, glanceable countdown ring ⢠Turn the Digital Crown (watch) to set your focus length ⢠Distinct haptics for focus and break completions ⢠Automatic focus ā break ā long-break cycles ON YOUR WATCH FACE ⢠Add a complication and your countdown lives right on your watch face ⢠Glance from the Smart Stack without opening the app BUILT TO ADAPT ⢠Orbit learns from your finished blocks and "I got distracted" taps ⢠Optional heart-rate awareness suggests shorter blocks when you're agitated ⢠Every suggestion is transparent ā you stay in control GENTLE MOTIVATION ⢠Orbits completed today, focus minutes, and a no-pressure streak ⢠A 7-day chart and a focus heatmap of your history ⢠End-of-block alerts so you never lose track iPHONE + APPLE WATCH ⢠Start on your phone, continue on your wrist ā they sync live ⢠History follows you through iCloud PRIVATE BY DESIGN ⢠No accounts, no ads, no tracking ⢠Your data stays on your device and your own iCloud ⢠Completed focus time can be saved to Health as Mindful Minutes Find your orbit.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Orbit at 17.0 against Pulse's 26.6. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
| Parameter | Pulse | Orbit |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days | ā |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, Apple Watch ā better |
| Requires iOS | 26.6 | 17.0 ā better |
| Further details ā not scored | ||
| Size | 18 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Marcus Dr. Raitner | Tejas Bharambe |
In-app purchases
Pulse
No in-app purchases
Orbit
No in-app purchases









