Comparison

The Observing Ego vs SimpleRX

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

Head to head
About

The Observing Ego

This app is a doctor-built mood and mental health tracker that uses clinical screening instruments. It helps you identify patterns in your moods, sleep, exercise, and habits, and offers tools for self-reflection. Safety features and crisis resources are always free.

Highlights
  • Clinical mood tracking
  • Validated screening instruments
  • Pattern identification
  • Defense mechanism logging
  • Dream journaling
  • Mentalizing exercises
  • Free safety features
Features
Read full description

A mood tracker built by a doctoral-level clinician, with input from fellow clinical psychologists and neuropsychologists, using the actual clinical screening instruments your therapist uses: PHQ-9, GAD-7, WHO-5, DERS-16, SCS-SF, C-SSRS, ASQ, and STIPO-R. No AI therapy advice. No gamification. No social feed. No ads. Your data stays on your phone. Safety features are always free. Forever. No paywall on crisis resources, the safety plan, or the 988 Lifeline. — TRAUMA-INFORMED BY DESIGN — Built around the psychoanalytic concept of the "observing ego": the part of you that can step back and notice your own mental processes. The app is a mirror, not a therapist. It helps you see yourself clearly and bring that clarity to your own work, or to a clinician. — WHAT YOU CAN DO — Track moods with the precision your therapist would recognize. An age-adaptive picker (ages 7 through adult) draws from a 100+ emotion vocabulary mapped to validated affect models. Take the clinical screenings your therapist uses, scored to published thresholds. PHQ-9 for depression. GAD-7 for anxiety. WHO-5 for wellbeing. ASQ and C-SSRS for safety. STIPO-R for personality organization (uncommon outside research settings). See patterns over time. Mood correlations with sleep, exercise, medications, and habits. Year in Pixels view. Longitudinal assessment trends. Every correlation needs at least 7 data points and a moderate effect size before it surfaces. Quality over noise. Log defense mechanisms (Vaillant's three-tier hierarchy). Record dreams with psychodynamic framing. Practice mentalizing exercises drawn from MBT. Map body sensations to feelings. — PRIVACY BY DESIGN — No accounts. No servers. No ads. No analytics. No third parties. Your data syncs through your own iCloud, encrypted end-to-end. We cannot see your entries, your moods, or your reports. We do not want to. — SAFETY ALWAYS FREE — The safety plan, crisis resources, 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, and gentle check-ins when the app detects elevated risk are free forever. Mood check-ins and journal entries are unlimited and free. Premium covers the deeper features: longer insight ranges, Year in Pixels, the Mood Calendar, weekly reports, Apple Health insights, medication effects, and data export, plus more room for habits, assessments, and medications. Safety never goes behind a paywall. — BUILT BY — Casey Simon, Psy.D. (Doctor of Clinical Psychology), MFT (Marriage and Family Therapist), with input from fellow clinical psychologists and neuropsychologists. Designed for honest self-reflection, not performance. A tool meant to be shared with a clinician when you choose to. — PRICING — Free to download. 7-day free trial of Premium. Then $4.99 per month or $44.99 per year. Safety features stay free regardless of subscription. Cancel anytime in App Store settings. Terms of Use: https://myobservingego.com/terms-of-service/ Privacy Policy: https://myobservingego.com/privacy-policy/

About

SimpleRX

This app helps users manage their medications with automatic reminders and refill alerts. It also offers features for caregivers to monitor adherence and provides crucial medical information for emergencies.

Highlights
  • Medication tracking and reminders
  • Barcode scanning for prescriptions
  • Refill alerts
  • Caregiver monitoring
  • Drug interaction checker
  • Medical ID card
  • Printable EMS Quick Reference Card
Features
Read full description

SimpleRX is a medication tracker built by a paramedic who saw firsthand what happens when patients can't remember their medications. It's designed to be simple enough for anyone to use, and detailed enough to matter when it counts. For patients: Add your prescriptions in seconds by typing the name or scanning the barcode on your pill bottle. SimpleRX looks up what the medication is for and sets your daily reminders automatically. When you're running low, it reminds you to refill before you run out. For caregivers: Stay connected to the people you care for. Get notified when they take a dose, miss one, or need a refill. View their medications, adherence history, and emergency information — all from your own phone. Safety features built in: SimpleRX checks for drug interactions every time you add a new medication and explains them in plain English. It tells you what side effects to expect when starting something new, and alerts opioid patients about Narcan and where to get it free. Emergency ready: Build a complete Medical ID card with your conditions, allergies, blood type, DNR status, and emergency contacts. Generate a printable EMS Quick Reference Card that first responders can read at a glance, designed by a paramedic for patients. What makes SimpleRX different: Large buttons and clear text designed for elderly users Speaks your medication name out loud when it's time to take it No complicated setup, works in minutes Available in English and Spanish Caregiver access is always free One simple price, no subscription ever

Screenshots

The Observing Ego4 screens
SimpleRX4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: SimpleRX at free against The Observing Ego's freemium. The Observing Ego's advantage is iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.5). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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. The Observing Ego sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and SimpleRX sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for The Observing Ego against 5.0 for SimpleRX. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 2 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

The Observing Ego ships an update weekly, SimpleRX every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
The Observing Ego versus SimpleRX: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe Observing EgoSimpleRX
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings22
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.5
Further details — not scored
Size20 MB13 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperCasey SimonLuke Heyne

Customer experience

The Observing Ego

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

SimpleRX

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

The Observing Ego

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Monthly7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Premium Yearly7 Days trial$44.991 Year
1 purchases

SimpleRX

One-time1
  • Unlock SimpleRX$2.99

Questions

Is The Observing Ego free?
The Observing Ego is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SimpleRX free?
SimpleRX is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, The Observing Ego or SimpleRX?
The Observing Ego and SimpleRX are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2 and 2 ratings respectively.
Do The Observing Ego or SimpleRX have ads?
Neither The Observing Ego nor SimpleRX shows ads.
Which is updated more often, The Observing Ego or SimpleRX?
The Observing Ego ships an update weekly, and SimpleRX every 5 days. Most recently, The Observing Ego was updated on October 9, 2026 and SimpleRX on October 24, 2026.

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