Comparison

Cadence vs DIO

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

Head to head
About

Cadence

Read full description

Your day, drawn around your rhythm — not against it. Cadence is the planner built for the way your brain actually works. Instead of rigid to-do lists that mock you when the day falls apart, Cadence quietly rebalances your plan so slipped tasks find the next right moment. No guilt, no rebuilding from scratch, no starting over tomorrow. Built for people with ADHD, suspected ADHD, autism, AuDHD, and anyone whose days refuse to run on a 9-to-5 timeline. WHY CADENCE • DAY FLEX ENGINE — When you miss a task, Cadence moves it to the next best slot in your day. No manual dragging. Your plan flexes with you, not against you. • ENERGY-BASED SCHEDULING — Tell Cadence once when your mornings, afternoons, and evenings run hot. High-energy tasks land in high-energy windows. Low-energy tasks stay out of the way. • GENTLE RHYTHM, NOT ALARMS — No jarring notifications. No red overdue counters. Just quiet suggestions that meet you where you are. • EVERYTHING LIVES ON YOUR PHONE — No sign-in, no cloud sync, no account to forget. Your answers, your rhythm map, your plan — all stored locally on your device. Nothing shared. HOW IT WORKS 1. A 90-second onboarding shapes the app around YOU — your energy pattern, the kind of mind you're working with, the things that usually drain you. 2. We generate your first week — tasks placed on the windows where your brain tends to show up. 3. Miss one? Day Flex moves it. Finish one? The rhythm shifts a little. Every day, the plan is a little more yours. CADENCE PRO Start with the basics for free. Upgrade when you want the full rhythm engine. PRO UNLOCKS: • Day Flex auto-rebalance — the engine that moves slipped tasks • Energy-based scheduling — automatic high/low-energy placement • Rhythm analytics + journal — see your weeks, track what shifts • Gentle notification nudges — calibrated to your pattern, not a clock • Focus mode — quiet, distraction-free task execution SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION • Cadence Pro Annual: $59.99/year with a 7-day free trial • Cadence Pro Monthly: $9.99/month (no trial) Payment charged to your Apple ID at purchase confirmation. Subscription auto-renews unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the current period ends. Manage or cancel anytime in Settings > Apple ID > Subscriptions. Any unused portion of a free trial is forfeited when you purchase a subscription. Privacy Policy: https://cadence-legal.vercel.app/privacy.html Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Cadence isn't trying to fix you. It's trying to give you a day that fits. Quietly. Without the shame spiral. Without the blank Monday. Your rhythm is already in there. Cadence just listens.

About

DIO

This app helps quiet a busy mind by providing a space to quickly capture thoughts without immediate categorization. It offers tools for later sorting, task management, and focused work sessions, all designed to reduce overwhelm and create mental space.

Highlights
  • Quick thought dumping
  • Categorized sorting bins
  • Task management with due dates
  • Focus timer and sprints
  • Habit tracking
  • Calendar integration
  • Customizable interface
Read full description

It's 3:46 am and your brain won't stop. DIO is the trash can for that. Write the loud thought down. Crumple it. Throw it. Watch it land in the pile with the others: the email you are pretending not to see, the tab you have kept open for 9 days, the door you may or may not have locked. The throw is not decoration. Watching a thought leave your hands and land somewhere else is the part that makes the quiet come back. A thought in the pile is out of your head and not yet a commitment. Nothing asks you to categorize it, date it, or explain it. Remembering and deciding at the same time is what makes a busy head seize up, so DIO splits them apart. When you finish dumping, DIO says so plainly: "9 thoughts. That was a lot, and you put it down." SORT IT LATER, WHEN YOU HAVE THE ROOM Eight bins take the pile: Quick Wins, Today, Later, Projects, Appointments, Ideas, On Hold, My Bin. Tap a ball and a ring opens: To-Do, Sort, or Dump. Keep it. Sort it. Or let it go. Nothing is ever just gone. Every discard sits in the Trash for 30 days, so you never have to be certain. When the whole pile needs to go, Dump All clears it in one burst, Undo included. Every morning DIO quietly resets. Finished things clear. Anything unfinished steps back from Today to Later on its own. Nothing turns red, goes overdue, or follows you around. No shame for disappearing for a week. DIO just waits. YOUR DAY HAS ROOM IN IT A to-do can take a due date, a reminder, and a spot on your calendar. Habits repeat on the days you pick, and a habit can start on a day in the future and wait, visibly, until it does. The week strip on Home slides a whole year in either direction, so next Tuesday is as easy to reach as today. The calendar shows your Apple Calendar events next to everything in DIO, in day, week, and month views, with eleven color-coded categories. DIO reads your calendar and never writes to it. There is also a free-time view, because your day has room in it: DIO shows you the free space, not just the busy blocks. FOR WHEN STARTING IS THE HARD PART The five minute start asks for five minutes. That's the deal. When the timer ends, keep rolling or stop, and both count. Focus Sprints split work into short rounds with real breaks built in. Toss Up picks at random, for the moments when any option would be fine and choosing is the wall. Dopamine Dive is a list you fill on a good day with small things you like, so a flat day does not have to think of one. Box breathing is there when you need a minute. And four soundscapes are generated live on your device, with controls on the Lock Screen. SHAPED LIKE YOU Reorder or hide the home cards and bins until DIO fits the way you work. Eight themes, each in light and dark. Reduce motion, haptics, and confetti have their own switches inside the app, and quiet hours keep reminders out of your evening. WHAT DIO WILL NEVER DO No account. No sign-up. No password. No DIO server anywhere. Your thoughts live on your device and in your own iCloud, and Elitec keeps no copy. We could not read them if we wanted to. DIO works completely offline. Airplane mode, no signal, a basement. No streaks, no scores, no red badges, no guilt, and no ads. You can export everything as one readable text file whenever you like, and Delete All My Data means exactly that. TELL US WHAT IS MISSING DIO was built by an ADHDer, for brains that run loud. Everyone else is welcome too. If something is broken or something is missing, the feedback button is inside the app, and a person reads every message. DIO requires a subscription, and everything is included: 7 days free where eligible, then one monthly or yearly price, shown in your own currency before you agree to anything. Cancel anytime through Apple. DIO is a self-organization tool. It is not a medical device, does not offer medical advice, and does not diagnose, treat, or cure any condition. If things feel heavy, please talk to someone qualified. DIO will hold your thoughts in the meantime.

Screenshots

Cadence4 screens
DIO4 screens

Verdict

The call

Cadence and DIO are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters — price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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. Cadence sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and DIO sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Cadence versus DIO: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCadenceDIO
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—5 — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size52 MB10 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAdam KaminskiElitec LLC

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Cadence

Subscriptions2
  • Cadence Pro7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Cadence Pro Annual7 Days trial$59.991 Year
2 purchases

DIO

Subscriptions2
  • DIO Monthly7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • DIO Yearly7 Days trial$29.991 Year

Questions

Is Cadence free?
Cadence is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is DIO free?
DIO is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Cadence or DIO have ads?
Neither Cadence nor DIO shows ads.

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