Comparison

Ember Canvas vs Spire

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

Head to head
About

Ember Canvas

This app helps you break the smoking habit by replacing the ritual with a creative outlet. Engage in short sessions that mimic smoking, using your breath to create digital art and build a personal gallery.

Highlights
  • Replaces smoking ritual with art
  • 3-minute sessions mirroring cigarette breaks
  • Breath-activated ash animation
  • Unlock masterpieces session by session
  • Personal art gallery
  • Focuses on habit replacement, not just quitting
Features
Read full description

Why can't you quit? It's not the nicotine. It's the ritual. The pause. The deep breath. The moment of calm in a chaotic day. That's what you're actually addicted to. Ember doesn't take that away. It replaces what comes after. Light up. Breathe. Watch ash fall. Over 20 sessions, those ashes quietly become a masterpiece โ€” a Vermeer, a Van Gogh, a da Vinci. You're not quitting anything. You're collecting something. Every cigarette you don't smoke becomes a brushstroke. Every craving becomes art. - 3-minute sessions that mirror a real cigarette - Blow into your mic โ€” the ash responds to your breath - Complete masterpieces revealed one session at a time - Build a personal gallery of works you created The ritual stays. The smoke disappears. EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Spire

Features
Read full description

Spire turns every flight of stairs you climb into a daily streak and a landmark journey. Powered by HealthKit's flights climbed data, it shows today's progress, your current streak, and how close you are to your next landmark in a single screen. A Streak Freeze keeps you safe on bad days โ€” so the habit survives real life. What you get โ€ข Automatic recording from HealthKit โ€” no manual input, elevators don't count โ€ข Current streak, longest streak, and Streak Freeze for missed days โ€ข Landmark climbs โ€” Mt. Fuji, Empire State, Everest and 15 other sets โ€ข Daily goal of 5, 10, 20 floors or any custom number โ€ข Home Screen widgets (small and medium) to keep the streak in sight โ€ข Stats: total floors, calendar, recent history, personal records How it works 1. Open the app and connect HealthKit 2. Pick a daily goal and a landmark set 3. Just take the stairs โ€” Spire tracks the rest Premium (optional) A subscription unlocks an advanced stats suite โ€” floor trend charts, weekly snapshots, consistency analysis, personal records โ€” plus 3 Streak Freezes every month and app icon / widget color variants. Start with a 7-day free trial. Privacy HealthKit data stays on your device. Sync happens only through Apple's iCloud (CloudKit). Tracking ID usage follows your ATT choice. Subscription terms, privacy policy and terms of use are available in the in-app Settings, or via the links below. Terms of Use (EULA): https://spica-app.com/legal/spire/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://spica-app.com/legal/spire/privacy/

Screenshots

Ember Canvas4 screens
Spire4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Ember Canvas at none against Spire's shown. Ember Canvas also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence and in-app purchases 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

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Ember Canvas sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.79 per month and Spire sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Ember Canvas ships an update every 2 days, Spire every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences ยท 5 level
Ember Canvas versus Spire: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEmber CanvasSpire
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews100.0% of reviewsโ€”
Update frequencyEvery 2 days โ€” betterEvery 3 days
AdsNo โ€” betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesโ€”
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod โ€” betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 โ€” better17.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size49 MB17 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperSAELI, LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANYNaoki Maeda

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Ember Canvas

Subscriptions1
  • Unlimited$4.791 Month
One-time1
  • 1 Painting Pack$1.19
5 purchases

Spire

Subscriptions2
  • Spire Premium Monthly7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Spire Premium Yearly7 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time3
  • Freeze ร—3$0.99
  • Freeze ร—10$2.99
  • Freeze ร—25$5.99

Questions

Is Ember Canvas free?
Ember Canvas is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Spire free?
Spire is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Ember Canvas or Spire have ads?
Spire shows ads; Ember Canvas does not.
Which is updated more often, Ember Canvas or Spire?
Ember Canvas ships an update every 2 days, and Spire every 3 days. Most recently, Ember Canvas was updated on October 7, 2026 and Spire on October 25, 2026.

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