Comparison

Current vs Cadence

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

Head to head
About

Current

This app transforms time into a sensory experience, using color and motion to indicate progress without a distracting countdown clock. Designed for focus, it helps users stay engaged with their work by providing a non-intrusive way to track time.

Highlights
  • Sensory time tracking
  • Color and motion indicators
  • No countdown clock
  • Customizable time intervals
  • Haptic feedback
  • Designed for distractible minds
Features
Read full description

The last thing a distracted mind needs is a distracting timer. Countdown clocks make you watch the clock. Pomodoro systems give you another system to manage. Most focus tools pull your attention away from the work you're trying to do. Current turns time into something you feel rather than watch. Pick 5, 15, 30 minutes, or set your own. The screen shifts slowly from green to red — color, motion, and haptics telling you where you are without pulling your attention from what you're doing. No countdown clock. No system to follow. No dashboard to optimize. Built for distractible minds, and anyone who doesn't want the tool to get in the way of the work. One-time purchase. No subscription.

About

Cadence

This app helps you build positive routines or break bad ones with a focus on daily progress. It offers flexible tracking options, visual progress overviews, and on-device data privacy. Unlock unlimited habits and sync features with a one-time purchase.

Highlights
  • Flexible habit scheduling
  • Visual progress grids and heatmaps
  • Momentum rings for 30-day performance
  • Apple Watch and widget support
  • Actionable lock screen alerts
  • Private, on-device data storage
Features
Read full description

Cadence is a calm, strictly private habit tracker with no subscriptions that helps you focus on your daily progress. No cluttered interfaces and no account signups. Whether you want to build a positive routine or break a bad one, Cadence gives you the clarity to actually stick to it. Log habits by hand, or connect Apple Health and let them log themselves. AUTOMATIC WITH APPLE HEALTH • Connect Once: Link a habit to a Health metric like steps, workouts, water, sleep, or mindful minutes. • Logs Itself: The moment you reach your goal, Cadence marks the habit done for you. Your streak keeps going without a single tap. • You Decide: Connect only the habits you want, and switch it off any time. TRACK IT YOUR WAY • Target Goals: Set "at least" goals to build up or "at most" limits to cut back. • Simple Habits: Track "yes or no" routines like reading or meditating. • Any Schedule: Every day, specific weekdays, 3 times a week, 5 times a day, every other day. If it fits your life, Cadence can track it. • Skip Days: Mark a day as "not applicable" without breaking your streak. Life happens. SEE THE FULL PICTURE • Overview: Your home base to visualize all your habits and progress at a glance. • The Visual Grid: View your long-term consistency on a beautifully color-coded calendar heat map. • Habit Details: Track streaks, personal bests, and completion rates across weeks, months, and years. • Momentum Rings: Instantly gauge your 30-day rolling performance directly from your habit list. ON YOUR WRIST & HOME SCREEN • Apple Watch: Log habits and check your progress right from your wrist. No phone needed. • Widgets: Keep a single habit front and center with small widgets, or track your entire day at a glance. • Heatmap Widget: Put one habit's recent weeks on your Home Screen as a grid of days, shaded by how much you did, with its ring beside them. STAY ON TRACK • Actionable Alerts: Log a habit as "Done" or "Skip" directly from your lock screen without opening the app. • Smart Reminders: Nudges that adapt to you. Hit your weekly goal early, and Cadence stays quiet until next week. • Daily Notes: Attach context to any entry (like noting the weather for a run). • Adaptive Theming: Full support for Light and Dark modes with a carefully curated 28-color palette. YOUR DATA, YOUR BUSINESS Cadence has no analytics, no tracking SDKs, and no data harvesting. Your habit data lives locally on your device, with free iCloud sync through your private Apple account. Cadence reads Health data on your iPhone and never sends it to us or third parties. Health-derived habit entries may sync through your private iCloud when iCloud Sync is enabled. FREE VS. UNLOCKED Use Cadence completely free for up to 4 active habits, including full iCloud sync. Need more? A single one-time purchase unlocks Cadence: • Unlimited active habits • CSV data export and import • Home Screen widgets • Apple Watch app • All future updates No subscriptions. No auto-renewals. Pay once, own it forever.

Screenshots

Current4 screens
Cadence4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Cadence at Free against Current's $2.99. Cadence also leads on ratings volume (9 vs 2). Current's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On rating, review sentiment, update cadence 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

Cadence is free to download; Current costs $2.99 up front. Cadence sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Current 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 Current against 5.0 for Cadence. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 9 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Current versus Cadence: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCurrentCadence
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (9 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings29 — better
Update frequencyEvery 10 daysEvery 10 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, Apple WatchiPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB17 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperChad LattaHyundoh Kim

Customer experience

Current

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Cadence

All ratings9 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Current

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Cadence

One-time1
  • Lifetime Access$2.99

Questions

Is Current free?
Current costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Cadence free?
Cadence is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Current or Cadence?
Current and Cadence are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2 and 9 ratings respectively.
Do Current or Cadence have ads?
Neither Current nor Cadence shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Current or Cadence?
Current ships an update every 10 days, and Cadence every 10 days. Most recently, Current was updated on September 28, 2026 and Cadence on October 7, 2026.

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