Comparison

Life vs Couchside

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

Head to head
About

Life

A streamlined life tracker for competitive 1v1 Magic: The Gathering matches. It offers simple controls, game state tracking for common counters, and integrated note-taking for post-game analysis. Supports deck importing and Scryfall integration for quick card lookups.

Highlights
  • 1v1 life tracking
  • Game state counter tracking
  • Integrated note-taking
  • Deck importing and linking
  • Scryfall card lookup
  • Event history logging
  • Match timer
Features
Read full description

A life tracker for competitive 1v1 Magic: The Gathering. Clean layout, simple controls, and nothing unnecessary. Most players already know how to track a game. A notepad, two columns, a running tally of life totals. It's simple and it works. Life-Pad follows the same structure. The layout uses two columns like a notepad, adjustments happen with a tap, and the interface requires little explanation. This app has been designed to get out of your way so you can focus on the match. Life tracking here works the way you'd expect: every life change recorded in order. Adjustments can be staged before committing, so a complex combat step doesn't require rushed math. Common game counters (poison, monarch, initiative, night/day, and floating mana) are accessible without needing extra dice or separate tracking. For tournaments that require it: notes can be locked to the main screen so they're visible to players at all times. Recording known card information has been designed from the ground-up to be as quick and simple as possible in game - one tap to enter a card and one tap to dismiss it with customizable 'quick card' buttons available as well. Most other apps just can't provide the utility of pen and paper. Whether it's a Commander-focused app with four-player interfaces and a multitude of sub-menus, or a minimal counter with just plus and minus buttons, most life trackers don't offer match structure, notes, or history. Once the game ends, the information is gone. When at a tournament or FNM simply set up the event by giving it a name and every match and game are automatically tracked while they're happening. After the match, Life-Pad supports notetaking while details are still fresh and reviewing past matches across all saved events. It's a practical way to identify patterns or just to simply remember to add more lands. Import decks and link them to events as a snapshot so that you can always reference what was played on that day. Add your decks and track their history by attaching them to events. Scryfall integration provides quick card lookup in deck view or during a game - perfect for confirming modern printings and for the guy who always plays with foreign language cards. Pin up to 5 cards to the side of your play screen for quick reference during a game. All cards in deck or previously searched are stored on device for fast reference even when cell quality isn't perfect. -- Features include: - Clean two-player life tracking built for 1v1 play - Optional top/bottom simplistic tracking for quick games - Full game life total history - Quick access card-name notes for revealed info at a glance - dismiss with a single tap - Game state tracking for player-counters, monarch, initiative, and day/night - Track floating mana in-game - Scryfall integration for fast card lookup - iOS integration allows for Siri and Quick Action card lookup without opening the app - Calculator for determining the correct amount of each basic land for your Limited deck - Optional ability to lock notes to main screen if required per tournament rules - Event logging and persistent in-game and post-game notes - Deck importing, editing, and linking to events as snapshots. - Sideboard guide per deck with notes - Deck exporting as images or as a formatted PDF for tournament submittal - Event history exporting via JSON for backup, restoring, or additional analysis - Top/Bottom traditional 2-player mode for quick games - Match timer with Dynamic Island and Live Activity support - Pre-Set themes including 6 with the classic Magic: the Gathering card borders - iCloud data backup for added reliability on updates & phone migration

About

Couchside

Transform your iPhone into a remote console, game launcher, and controller for your Linux gaming PC. Monitor system health, fix issues without a keyboard, and launch games directly from your couch.

Highlights
  • Live system monitoring dashboard
  • One-tap runbook actions for troubleshooting
  • Browse system logs remotely
  • Launch Steam games and custom applications
  • Virtual Xbox 360 game controller
  • Trackpad and swipe control modes
  • Easy QR code pairing
Features
Read full description

Couchside turns your iPhone into a dashboard, remote, game launcher and controller for your living-room Linux gaming PC: SteamOS, Bazzite, a docked Steam Deck, or another supported systemd Linux box. WHAT TO PLAY NEXT Find your next game with suggestions from your box’s game history. See what is running, choose another suggestion, and launch after confirming. The Play tab keeps recent content ready as you move between tabs. Optional demo mode lets you explore sample games away from your box. YOUR STEAM COMPANION Connect Steam on your box for profile and library stats, playtime trends, achievement progress, wishlist discounts and price-drop alerts. Add an optional IsThereAnyDeal integration for historical-low price comparisons. These opt-in features contact Steam and IsThereAnyDeal. Background wishlist notifications are best-effort and need your phone to reach the box. LIVE CONSOLE Check CPU temperature, load, memory, storage, uptime and service health. Supported handhelds also show battery and power information. See what is playing and manage multiple boxes from unified cards with live vitals and connection controls. When the TV is black, inspect the box from your phone. FIX IT FROM THE COUCH Read recent service logs, restart the display session, switch between Desktop and Game Mode, or reboot and shut down with confirmation. Available actions depend on your box’s capabilities and permissions. GAMES, STREAMING AND CONTROLS Browse installed games with cover art, search and filters. Launch a game on the TV or start Steam Remote Play from another PC. Use a virtual gamepad, swipe navigation, trackpad with two-finger gestures, or keyboard input. Landscape controls give you more room when you need it. TV AND LIGHTING Control power, volume and input on supported TVs, including compatible LG and Google TV models. Compatible HDMI-CEC hardware lets the box control the TV. On supported lighting hardware, adjust strip effects, reactive meters and artwork-inspired Game Aura presets. Create custom sequences with frame-by-frame timing and true on/off strobe effects. EASY PAIRING A welcome guide introduces Couchside and optional integrations. Install the free Couchside service on your box, then scan its QR code or enter its pairing PIN. Refined animations can be turned off in Preferences and respect Reduce Motion. Your phone and box must be on the same local network. WAKE FROM THE COUCH Wake supported Ethernet-connected boxes with progress and reconnection confirmation. On iPhone, waking may require another awake Couchside box on the same network to relay the request. Hardware, firmware and network settings must support Wake-on-LAN. PRIVATE LOCAL CONTROL Remote-control traffic stays on your local network, with no cloud relay or Couchside account. Pairing supports an encrypted, pinned connection. Optional online features, store purchases and update checks contact their respective services. No analytics. The Linux service is open source and the app is source-available. TRY FREE FOR 7 DAYS, PAY ONCE Download free and try the full app for 7 days. A one-time purchase unlocks continued use; there is no subscription. Existing unlocks carry forward. REQUIREMENTS • A supported Linux gaming box on your home network • The free Couchside service installed on that box • Your iPhone and box on the same LAN • Optional integrations and hardware for Steam account features, TV control and lighting

Screenshots

Life4 screens
Couchside4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Life at none against Couchside's 1. Couchside's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs weekly) and iOS requirement (16.4 vs 18.6). On price, rating, ratings volume 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. Couchside sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Life asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Life against 5.0 for Couchside. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 8 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Life ships an update weekly, Couchside every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Life versus Couchside: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLifeCouchside
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (4 ratings)5.0 (8 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings48 — better
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS18.616.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size44 MB57 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJoseph BertoliniTaylor Emery

Customer experience

Life

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Couchside

All ratings8 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Life

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Couchside

One-time1
  • Couchside Forever Unlock$4.99

Questions

Is Life free?
Life is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Couchside free?
Couchside is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Life or Couchside?
Life and Couchside are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 4 and 8 ratings respectively.
Do Life or Couchside have ads?
Neither Life nor Couchside shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Life or Couchside?
Life ships an update weekly, and Couchside every 2 days. Most recently, Life was updated on October 16, 2026 and Couchside on October 10, 2026.

Other comparisons