Comparison

Hone vs Pocket Stoa

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

Head to head
About

Hone

This app offers a suite of five cognitive exercises designed for adults to improve logic, memory, attention, and language skills. It provides a serious, research-backed approach to brain training, focusing on precision and depth.

Highlights
  • Logic & Spatial Reasoning puzzles
  • Working Memory exercises
  • Divided Attention challenges
  • Dual N-Back task
  • Language & Semantic Reasoning games
  • Progress tracking
Read full description

Most brain training apps are designed for children. Bright colors. Cartoon mascots. Scores that go up no matter what you do. Hone is a suite of five cognitive disciplines — each targeting a distinct domain of brain function, each backed by established research, each designed with the precision of professional equipment. Built for adults who take their health seriously. Who already exercise, already eat well, and know that cognitive health is the next frontier. —— DEPTH — Logic & Spatial Reasoning A naval grid puzzle combining the constraint logic of Sudoku with the deduction of Battleship. 400 sequential missions across four difficulty tiers. No randomness. Pure reasoning. SIGNAL — Working Memory Observe a sequence. Reproduce it exactly. Each round grows longer. One mistake ends it. Simple to understand, genuinely difficult to master. ORBIT — Divided Attention Control a physics-based system of satellites tethered to a core point. Guide them through target zones before time runs out. Managing multiple moving objects simultaneously is one of the most demanding cognitive tasks you can perform. FORGE — Dual N-Back The dual n-back task is the most rigorously studied working memory protocol in cognitive science. FORGE implements it cleanly — track position and sound simultaneously, stay current, and watch your N level climb. THREAD — Language & Semantic Reasoning Five words. Four share a hidden connection. One is the impostor. Find it. Semantic retrieval is a core marker of cognitive health and one of the first things to decline with age. —— Designed like precision equipment. Every detail considered, nothing added without reason. The serious brain training app you've been waiting for. Train daily. Stay sharp. —— Hone Pro unlocks full access to all games, all missions, and complete performance history. Annual or weekly subscription. No ads. Ever. Access to challenges requires a subscription. All purchases are managing through your Apple account. NOTE: Hone is designed for cognitive training and mental fitness. Results may vary. It is not a medical or mental health treatment and does not prevent, diagnose, or treat any condition. For professional advice, consult a qualified provider. Support: hone@15x1.com Privacy Policy: 15x1.com/hone/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Pocket Stoa

Features
Read full description

Feel calmer in 1 to 3 minutes, and get to know yourself. Pocket Stoa gives you guided breathing and short exercises for stressful moments, quick quizzes that show how your mind works, and an AI chat to talk things through. For heavy days and good days. Every calming exercise is free. HELP ON A HEAVY DAY (1–3 MINUTES) Tap how today feels: good, okay or heavy. On a heavy day, pick what's weighing on you: worried, drained, stuck, on edge, low, or can't switch off. You get one short exercise for that feeling, with nothing to read first: slow breathing, sorting what you can control, shrinking a big task, or setting tomorrow's worries aside until morning. Every exercise is free, every time. BREATHING, ANY TIME Five guided breathing exercises: calm down fast, steady and focus, fall asleep, a longer calm, and cool down. Each says why it works. Breathe in one of six painted places. SLOW DOWN Nothing to read, nothing to get right. Paint a place with a tap, watch a slow window, or read one of 18 short picture stories. GOOD DAYS TOO Keep a good moment so it stays with you. Send good news to someone who'll be glad. KNOW YOURSELF Three quick everyday moments a day, like "After a party, you replay a chat with someone new." Pick what you'd do, and see the habit of mind behind it, like the spotlight effect. 54 patterns, each from published research. Your profile fills in as you go: your patterns, values, and what helps you. After about 5 days of answers, see which of 8 schools of thought you lean towards. A new dilemma on Today every day shows a little more. Your day's painting fills in as you go, and your good days light up a little painted world. QUICK GAMES Spot It: spot 5 thinking traps in 60 seconds. Would You?, This or That, Who Said It? (100 quotes), the Trolley (180 hard choices), a values auction, and 25 famous thought experiments. TALK IT THROUGH (AI CHAT) It listens, asks one question at a time, and ends with one line worth keeping. Or practise a hard conversation, or ask a great thinker. Replies come from an AI, Anthropic's Claude, and the app says so. It isn't a therapist. GO DEEPER: PHILOSOPHY 8 short courses, from the Stoics and Aristotle to Plato, Kant and the Buddha, 5 to 8 minutes a lesson. Plus the Meditations, the Enchiridion, 30 of Seneca's letters and 62 classic books. LITTLE THINGS A home-screen widget to check in with one tap. Soft sounds you can turn off. A weekly goal instead of a streak: miss a day and nothing resets. Milestones, and a look back at your month. FREE, AND PRO Free: every exercise, every time; 3 daily moments and their patterns; one "Why?" a day; your profile and your school; the games, with Spot It once a day; one AI talk a week; the first lesson of every course; two lives of The Last Day. Pro: every course, all the way; AI talks every day; every "Why?"; how you're changing, week by week; every Spot It deck; all 180 Trolley choices; all of The Last Day, a guided reflection on what matters to you. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your check-ins and the moments you keep stay on your phone. After a help, you can tell us anonymously if it helped. No ads, no tracking across apps, and we don't sell your data. Start without an account. Sign in to back up and to talk, and delete your account in Settings at any time. FOR EVERYDAY STRESS Pocket Stoa isn't therapy or medical care, and not a substitute for professional help. "I'm not okay" is always one tap away, with support lines for your country. SUBSCRIPTION Pocket Stoa Pro is an auto-renewing subscription, monthly or yearly. The App Store shows the price in your currency, and any free trial, before you confirm. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase, or when a free trial ends. It renews automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel in your App Store account settings. Privacy Policy: https://pocketstoa.com/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://pocketstoa.com/terms

Screenshots

Hone4 screens
Pocket Stoa4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Pocket Stoa at 16.4 against Hone's 18.0. 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. Hone sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per 7 days and Pocket Stoa sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
Hone versus Pocket Stoa: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHonePocket Stoa
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequency—Every 5 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS18.016.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size33 MB75 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperPaxton Lancaster SedlerThanh Nguyen

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Hone

Subscriptions2
  • Hone Pro - Weekly$5.997 Days
  • Hone Pro - Annual$29.991 Year
2 purchases

Pocket Stoa

Subscriptions2
  • Pocket Stoa Pro (Monthly)$5.991 Month
  • Pocket Stoa Pro (Yearly)7 Days trial$39.991 Year

Questions

Is Hone free?
Hone is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pocket Stoa free?
Pocket Stoa is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Hone or Pocket Stoa have ads?
Neither Hone nor Pocket Stoa shows ads.

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