Comparison

Spoons vs TaskFlow

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

Head to head
About

Spoons

This app helps manage your daily energy levels by assigning tasks a 'spoon' cost. It visually tracks your available energy and task commitments, preventing overcommitment and promoting a guilt-free approach to productivity, especially for those with chronic conditions or fatigue.

Highlights
  • Spoon-based energy tracking
  • Manual task placement
  • Honest bucket caps
  • Calm task carryover
  • Low Energy Mode
  • Projects, tags, priorities
Features
Read full description

Plan your day around the energy you actually have — not the energy you wish you had. Spoons is an energy-aware task planner built around Spoon Theory. Set your capacity for the day, give each task an energy cost, and see what you can realistically take on before you've overcommitted. Spoon theory was named by Christine Miserandino, who used a handful of spoons to explain to a friend what living with lupus felt like. The idea is simple: every task costs energy, and you only have so much to spend each day. Spoons turns that idea into a practical planner. HOW IT WORKS Each morning, tell Spoons how many spoons you have today. Rate tasks from 1 to 5 based on how much energy they take, then decide where they belong: • Today • Tomorrow • Next Day • Soon • Someday • On Hold Each bucket has a spoon cap, so you can see how much of your available energy you've committed. If you're taking on too much, Spoons gently pushes back — rebalance your day, or consciously decide that today is a bigger day than usual. Anything you don't finish rolls forward automatically. No guilt. No streaks. No shame. WHY SPOONS IS DIFFERENT • Plan around energy, not just time. See what you can realistically fit into the capacity you have today. • You stay in control. Place tasks where you want them. No algorithm decides what your day should look like. • See your limits before you hit them. Spoon caps show how full your day is. • Unfinished tasks roll forward instead of becoming another thing to feel guilty about. • Built for low-energy days. Low Energy Mode hides everything that isn't Critical or High priority when you need to simplify your day. • Projects, tags, due dates, and priorities give you the fundamentals of a task manager — without the pressure. • Light and dark themes follow your system settings. FREE FOREVER The full task manager is free. You don't need an account to use Spoons, and your tasks are stored locally on your device. There is no paywall blocking the core task-planning experience. Use Spoons for as long as you want without paying for Premium. PREMIUM When you're ready for more: • Cloud sync across iPhone, iPad, and soon the web • Recurring tasks — daily, weekly, monthly, or every X days • Full-text search across tasks, notes, and tags • Completion statistics and a yearly heatmap to see your patterns • Quick-add bar — add a task without opening a detail screen Premium is $3.99/month or $29.99/year and includes a 7-day free trial. WHO IS SPOONS FOR? • People living with chronic illness, fatigue, or pain conditions • People with ADHD who need a smaller, more realistic to-do list • Anyone recovering from burnout • Anyone who regularly plans more than they can realistically accomplish • Anyone who's tired of ending the day feeling like they "didn't do enough" Your energy isn't unlimited. Your planner shouldn't pretend that it is. PRIVACY Free users never need to sign in, and your tasks stay on your device. Spoons collects basic, anonymous usage analytics — such as app opens, daily check-ins, and task activity — tied to a private device ID rather than your name or email. This helps us understand whether Spoons is helping people and improve the app. There is no advertising, third-party analytics SDKs, ad tracking, or data brokerage. Premium cloud sync is opt-in and runs through Supabase. Subscriptions are managed through RevenueCat and Apple, which receive your purchase and subscription status. We don't sell your data. Spoons is inspired by Christine Miserandino's essay at butyoudontlooksick.com. Spoon theory belongs to the community; this app is a love letter to it. Subscription terms: Spoons Premium automatically renews until cancelled. Manage or cancel through your Apple ID subscription settings. Cancelling stops future renewals; existing paid periods are not refunded. The free trial converts to a paid subscription unless cancelled at least 24 hours before it ends.

About

TaskFlow

Features
Read full description

TaskFlow is a to-do list and daily planner that helps you decide what to do first, and then do it. Type a task the way you would say it: "Call dentist tomorrow 3pm" sets the date and the time for you. TaskFlow sorts your open tasks into an Eisenhower Matrix, a built-in focus timer keeps you on one thing at a time, and a weekly review shows how your week went. EISENHOWER MATRIX • Your open tasks are sorted automatically into Do First, Schedule, Delegate and Eliminate, from their priority and due date • See at a glance what is urgent and what is important QUICK ADD IN PLAIN ENGLISH • Dates, times, priorities and categories are picked up from what you type: "tomorrow", "next week", "at 5pm", "high priority" • Subtasks, tags and notes for bigger tasks • Ready-made templates such as Morning Routine, Work Day and Weekly Review FOCUS TIMER • Pomodoro-style work and break sessions with durations you choose • Link a session to a task and watch your focus minutes add up PLAN YOUR DAY • Overdue, Today and Tomorrow at a glance, with a progress ring for today's plan • Calendar view and an hour-by-hour daily planner • Smart Lists: Overdue, High Priority, Due This Week, or your own filters by tag, priority and category • Smart Sort orders tasks by urgency (due date and priority) REVIEW YOUR WEEK • Weekly Review with a productivity score from 0 to 100, compared with last week • Statistics for completed tasks, focus time and habits HABITS AND NOTES • Simple daily habits with streaks and a heatmap • Color-coded quick notes with search REMINDERS • Reminders for individual tasks, plus an optional morning overview, evening summary and overdue alerts PRIVATE BY DESIGN • Works offline, with no account and no sign-up • Your tasks stay on your device; no ads, no tracking • Export your tasks as a backup file (JSON) whenever you like TASKFLOW PREMIUM (OPTIONAL) Everything above is free. Premium adds recurring tasks: • Repeat any task daily, on weekdays, weekly or monthly • Type "daily" or "every week" in quick add to make a task repeat • When you complete a repeating task, the next one is ready, with its reminder Plans (US prices; your local price is shown before you buy): • Weekly: $1.99 per week • Monthly: $4.99 per month • Annual: $29.99 per year • Lifetime: $69.99, one-time purchase New subscribers get a 7-day free trial on the weekly, monthly and annual plans. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase, or when the free trial ends. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel them in your App Store account settings. Privacy Policy: https://cinderspire.github.io/support/privacy-taskflow.html Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Spoons4 screens
TaskFlow4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Spoons at every 9 days against TaskFlow's every 3 weeks. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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. Spoons sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and TaskFlow sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Spoons ships an update every 9 days, TaskFlow every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Spoons versus TaskFlow: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSpoonsTaskFlow
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (4 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings4 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.115.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size40 MB28 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMatthew BesteMustafa BILGIC

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Spoons

Subscriptions2
  • Spoons Premium Monthly7 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • Spoons Premium Annual7 Days trial$29.991 Year
4 purchases

TaskFlow

Subscriptions3
  • TaskFlow Weekly Premium7 Days trial$1.997 Days
  • TaskFlow Monthly Premium7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • TaskFlow Annual Premium7 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • TaskFlow Premium Lifetime$69.99

Questions

Is Spoons free?
Spoons is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is TaskFlow free?
TaskFlow is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Spoons or TaskFlow have ads?
Neither Spoons nor TaskFlow shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Spoons or TaskFlow?
Spoons ships an update every 9 days, and TaskFlow every 3 weeks. Most recently, Spoons was updated on October 16, 2026 and TaskFlow on October 25, 2026.

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