Stral vs HydroBuddy
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
Stral
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It's not your fault your habits don't stick. It's the app's fault. Miss just one day and a 100-day streak resets to zero. Traveling? Sick? Too bad. That's how every other habit app works. Stral is different. โ Streak Recovery -- Break it, then bring it back If your streak breaks, just start again the next day and you'll enter "recovery mode." Complete a short recovery period and your full streak is restored. No more starting over from zero. โ Habit Lifecycle -- Take a break without losing progress Pause: Set a pause period for travel or illness. Your streak stays safe. Exclusion days: Need to skip just today? No problem. It won't count against you. End & Resume: Archive completed habits. Your records are kept forever. Features no other habit app offers. Only in Stral. โ All of this is free Up to 6 habits 4 tracking modes (Check / Negative / Count / Timer) Streak recovery Habit lifecycle management (Pause / Exclusion days / End / Resume) Apple Health auto-tracking (Steps, Exercise, Calories, Water, Sleep, Weight, Mindfulness, and 11 categories total) Apple Watch support Home screen widget iCloud sync Smart notifications 3 themes Features that other apps charge for are completely free in Stral. โ 4 modes for any habit Check: Did you read? Floss? Journal? One tap to record. Negative: Quit smoking, no drinking, skip the snacks. Days you didn't do it build your streak. Count: 8 glasses of water, 50 push-ups. Tap +1, auto-complete at your target. Timer: 10 min meditation, 15 min stretching. Built-in countdown timer. Works in the background. โ Automatic Apple Health integration Steps, exercise minutes, calories burned, water intake, sleep, weight, mindfulness, workouts, walking distance, swimming distance, stand hours. 11 categories of data are read automatically to complete your habits. Just exercise with your Apple Watch -- no need to even open the app. โ Go Pro and make it yours (just 2 cents a day) Unlimited habits 15 rich themes (the entire look and feel of the app changes) Unlimited motivation photos Pro isn't about unlocking features behind a paywall. It's about making an already fully functional app even more personal and fun. Try it free for 7 days. Stral is the habit tracker that helps you keep going. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
HydroBuddy
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Most water apps give everyone the same goal. HydroBuddy doesn't. Your daily target adapts to your weight, your Apple Health activity, and the climate you live in โ so it fits your actual day. Hydro, your water buddy, keeps you on track with friendly nudges, streaks, and one-tap logging from your iPhone, Apple Watch, Home Screen, and Lock Screen. Now on Apple Watch: log water, track progress, use HydroBuddy widgets, and add HydroBuddy complications to supported watch faces. WITH HYDROBUDDY YOU CAN: - get a smart daily goal based on your profile and activity - connect Apple Health to read steps, active energy, and workouts - log water quickly with preset amounts or custom entries - track progress from Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets - stay consistent with streaks, history, charts, and a monthly heatmap - unlock premium reminders, deeper insights, and expanded history tools APPLE HEALTH, YOUR WAY Connect Apple Health to make your goal more personalized. HydroBuddy reads step count, active energy, and workout data with your permission. If you allow write access, logged water can also be written back to Apple Health. DESIGNED FOR REAL LIFE HydroBuddy is built to make hydration feel simple. Quick logging, clear progress, and Hydro's friendly guidance help you stay on track without overthinking it. HYDRO PRO Hydro Pro includes: - premium insights and goal breakdowns - smart reminder tools - monthly heatmap and expanded history views - themes and Hydro customization options PRIVATE AND SIMPLE HydroBuddy is a wellness app, not a medical app. It provides a general hydration estimate to support everyday habits. See the Privacy Policy for details about permissions and data handling. Build a better water habit, one day at a time. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://shubhamjada.github.io/privacy/privacy-policy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Stral at every 3 weeks against HydroBuddy's every 2 months. HydroBuddy's advantage is iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Stral sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and HydroBuddy sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Stral ships an update every 3 weeks, HydroBuddy every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Stral | HydroBuddy |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks โ better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | 16.0 โ better |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 14 MB | 33 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nichful | Shubham Jada |
In-app purchases
Stral
- Stral Pro$0.991 Month
- Stral Pro$4.991 Year
HydroBuddy
- Monthly$1.991 Month
- Yearly3 Days trial$14.991 Year









