Spoons vs Pulsive
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Spoon-based energy tracking
- Manual task placement
- Honest bucket caps
- Calm task carryover
- Low Energy Mode
- Projects, tags, priorities
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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.
Pulsive
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Stay on top of everything that matters — without the overwhelm. ---- TASKS ---- Capture tasks with priorities and deadlines. Mark completions, track what's pending, and never let important work slip away. ---- ROUTINES ---- Build habits that stick. Track your daily streaks, visualize your consistency, and keep momentum going — day after day. ---- PROJECTS ---- Break big goals into manageable tasks. Monitor your progress with visual indicators and completion stats at a glance. ---- OVERVIEW ---- Your personal productivity score updates throughout the week. See how your best days look, track your history, and stay motivated to level up. ---- FEATURES ---- · Tasks with High, Medium, and Low priority levels · Deadline tracking with overdue alerts · Daily, weekly, and monthly routine cadences · Streak counters and habit visualization · Project management with progress bars · Daily productivity score (0–100) · Weekly productivity history chart · Daily reminder notifications · 14 languages supported · Clean, focused design built for iOS 17 Free to start — upgrade to Pulsive Pro for unlimited routines, advanced insights, custom categories, and smart reminders. Privacy Policy: https://irradiated-polish-ef8.notion.site/Privacy-Policy-357439a0058480d38174c646be2954d9?pvs=73 Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Pulsive at every 2 days against Spoons's every 9 days. Spoons's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 26.4). 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
Both are free to download. Spoons sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and Pulsive sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Spoons ships an update every 9 days, Pulsive every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Spoons | Pulsive |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 4 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 26.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 40 MB | 9 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Matthew Beste | David Murad |
In-app purchases
Spoons
- Spoons Premium Monthly7 Days trial$3.991 Month
- Spoons Premium Annual7 Days trial$29.991 Year
Pulsive
- Wöchentlich$1.997 Days
- Jährliches Abo$17.991 Year







