Comparison

Patterns vs BasicPlate

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

Head to head
About

Patterns

A private journaling app designed to help users understand and track their obsessive-compulsive patterns. Record thoughts, log obsessions and compulsions, and visualize trends over time in a secure, local-first environment.

Highlights
  • Daily journaling
  • OCD tracking (obsessions, compulsions, responses)
  • Distress trend insights
  • Private, local-first storage
  • App lock (Face ID, Touch ID, passcode)
  • Exportable PDF reports
  • JSON backup and import
Read full description

Patterns is a private OCD journal and self-help practice companion. Record intrusive thoughts and compulsions, write journal entries, delay an urge, and practise exposure and response prevention (ERP). Calm Insights can replace calculated scores and streaks with factual activity counts. Personal content stays on your device unless you choose to export an unencrypted JSON backup or PDF. Optional anonymous usage analytics are off by default and never include OCD content, summaries, locale, or language choice. Patterns does not diagnose or treat OCD and is not a replacement for qualified care or emergency support.

About

BasicPlate

Easily track your meals and nutrition with AI-powered logging. Snap a photo, record a voice note, or type a quick description to get accurate calorie and macro estimates. Build mindful eating habits without the frustration of tedious logging.

Highlights
  • AI food logging by photo, voice, or text
  • Barcode scanner for packaged foods
  • Daily calorie and macro tracking
  • Custom recipe creation and import
  • Workout logging with calorie burn estimates
  • Apple Health sync
  • Progress tracking (weight, measurements, photos)
Read full description

Track a meal in less than 10 seconds, then get back to your day. BasicPlate is a calorie and macro tracker for people who've downloaded every other calorie counter, used it for a week, and deleted it. The problem was never willpower — it's that logging food is tedious. So we made it simpler. BasicPlate is the calorie tracking app that includes everything you need and nothing you don't. Building mindful eating habits shouldn't be frustrating. Your tools should help you get the job done without getting in the way, and that's why we built BasicPlate. Snap a photo, leave a voice note, or type a quick line — "about two cups, cooked in olive oil" — and combine any of them before the AI estimates your meal. A photo alone can't tell you how something was cooked or how big that serving actually was. That context is what makes the number accurate, and it's the part most AI food trackers skip. --- What's Inside: - AI food logging by photo, voice, or text, in any combination - Barcode scanner for packaged foods - Daily calorie and macro tracking — protein, carbs, fat, against your targets - Custom recipes: describe them out loud, build them by hand, or paste a URL to import the whole thing in a few seconds - Recipes remember their serving size, so logging a half portion is one tap - Workout logging that turns a description of your session into a calorie-burn estimate - Apple Health sync to track your activity data against your goals - One-tap water tracking - Weight, measurements, and progress photos, so you're watching a trend, not just today's number Whether you're cutting, building muscle, holding steady, or just trying to eat with a little more awareness, BasicPlate is built to be the food diary you're still using in six months — not the one buried on page three of your home screen. Free to download, with a free trial included. After the trial, a subscription unlocks unlimited AI logging, unlimited recipes, and full progress history. Monthly and annual plans available. Terms: https://basicplate.com/terms Privacy: https://basicplate.com/privacy Questions or ideas? support@basicplate.com — a real person reads every message. Barcode Scanning Powered by fatsecret nutrition API (www.fatsecret.com) BasicPlate does not provide medical advice. Talk to a qualified professional before starting any nutrition or exercise program.

Screenshots

Patterns4 screens
BasicPlate4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: BasicPlate at 5.0 against Patterns's 4.5. Patterns's advantage is monetization model (free vs freemium) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, ratings volume, 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

Both are free to download. Patterns sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and BasicPlate sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

BasicPlate holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 9 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Patterns versus BasicPlate: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPatternsBasicPlate
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (4 ratings)5.0 (9 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings49 — better
Update frequencyWeeklyWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size45 MB65 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperAftaab SiddiquiBasicPlate, LLC

Customer experience

Patterns

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

BasicPlate

All ratings9 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Patterns

One-time4
  • Small Tip$1.99
  • Medium Tip$4.99
  • Large Tip$9.99
Show 1 more
  • Patterns Pro$14.99
2 purchases

BasicPlate

Subscriptions2
  • BasicPlate Premium - Monthly7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • BasicPlate Premium - Yearly7 Days trial$79.991 Year

Questions

Is Patterns free?
Patterns is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is BasicPlate free?
BasicPlate is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Patterns or BasicPlate?
BasicPlate is rated higher. Patterns averages 4.5 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while BasicPlate averages 5.0 from 9 ratings.
Do Patterns or BasicPlate have ads?
Neither Patterns nor BasicPlate shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Patterns or BasicPlate?
Patterns ships an update weekly, and BasicPlate weekly. Most recently, Patterns was updated on October 11, 2026 and BasicPlate on October 10, 2026.

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