Comparison

MindStream vs Orbit

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

Head to head
About

MindStream

Features
Read full description

Your mind moves fast. MindStream keeps up. Most note apps make you do the work, pick a folder, choose a tag, and figure out where something goes. MindStream flips that. You capture the thought, and it takes care of the rest. Speak It or Type It Have a quick thought? Just type it. Something longer, or a whole torrent of ideas? Enter Flow Mode and just talk. MindStream instantly understands what you've captured, whether it's a task you need to do, an event to remember, an idea worth keeping, or a note to revisit, and organizes it automatically. No extra steps required. Capture Without Friction Voice or text, morning or midnight, getting a thought into MindStream takes seconds. No menus, no categories to choose, no friction between your brain and the blank space. Just capture and move on. Smart Organization, Automatically The moment you save a thought, MindStream intelligently classifies it. Tasks, events, ideas, and notes each get their own treatment, deadlines are recognized, dates are extracted, and everything lands exactly where it belongs. Your brain dumps; MindStream tidies. Brain Search: Find Anything Instantly Forget scrolling through endless notes trying to remember where you put something. Brain Search lets you ask naturally - "what was that idea about the website?" or "tasks due this week", and surfaces exactly what you're looking for. It's like having a conversation with your own memory. Streams: Think in Context Not everything belongs in the same pile. MindStream's Streams separate your Work life from your Personal life from your Creative side, so the right thoughts are visible when you need them. Switch contexts in a tap. Project View: Your Stream, Structured When a project needs more than a timeline, flip any Stream into a Project Board. Organize your cards into stages - To Do, In Progress, Done, or whatever stages fit how you think, and watch scattered thoughts transform into a trackable workflow. Toggle back to your standard stream view anytime. All your thoughts stay in one place; Project View is just a clearer lens on them. Morning Briefing: Start Every Day Clear Each morning, MindStream gives you a personalized summary of what's ahead, your tasks, upcoming events, pinned reminders, and anything that needs your attention. No digging required. Just clarity. Tidy Up: Polish Your Thoughts Raw ideas often come out messy. Hit "Tidy Up" and MindStream transforms scattered thoughts into clean, structured notes with proper formatting, bullet points, and headers, ready to share or act on. Designed to Feel Like Yours MindStream comes in a focused dark mode and a clean, warm light mode, whichever lets you think best. No clutter, no color-coded chaos, no productivity theater. Just a canvas that stays out of your way and makes your thoughts feel important, because they are. Free to start. Pro for power thinkers. The free tier includes 5 AI actions per day with full access to core capture and two streams. Upgrade to MindStream Pro at $7.99/month to unlock unlimited Brain Search, unlimited Streams, unlimited Flow Mode, unlimited Morning Briefings, Project View boards, Tidy Up, expanded storage, and everything you need when MindStream becomes your daily driver. MindStream is for you if: You think faster than you can organize You've lost good ideas because you had nowhere to put them quickly You're tired of apps that feel like homework You want a second brain that actually keeps up with your first one Stop organizing. Start thinking. Download MindStream free today. Payment will be charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel your subscription in your Apple ID account settings. Any unused portion of a free trial period will be forfeited when a subscription is purchased. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Orbit

Features
Read full description

Write messy. Find the patterns later. Orbit is a calm place to dump every thought โ€” work, life, half-formed ideas โ€” and make sense of them later. Not a diary. Not a wellness app. A mind you can search. Most notes go somewhere to be forgotten. Orbit is built for the opposite: the more you write, the more it gives back. CAPTURE WITHOUT FRICTION Open Orbit and write. No folders to pick, no tags to invent, no blank-page ceremony. Get the thought down โ€” from the app, the Share Sheet, or a Home Screen widget โ€” and move on. ASK YOUR OWN MIND ANYTHING Later, ask Orbit a real question โ€” "what have I been worried about lately?", "what did I decide about the launch?" โ€” and get an answer drawn from everything you've written, alongside the entries it came from. FIND THE PATTERNS YOU'D MISS Orbit quietly surfaces the themes running through your thinking โ€” the ideas you keep circling back to, the worries that recur โ€” so you can see what's hard to notice one entry at a time. A WEEKLY LOOK BACK Each week, Orbit reflects your thinking back to you: what you focused on, what shifted, what's worth returning to. BUILT TO BE CALM One clear thing to do on every screen. A warm, editorial design that feels more like paper than a dashboard. No streaks, no badges, no guilt. PRIVATE BY DEFAULT Only you can see what you write. Orbit is a place for your real, unfiltered thinking. Write messy. Orbit finds the patterns later. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.useorbit.ink/privacy

Screenshots

MindStream4 screens
Orbit4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Orbit at every 9 days against MindStream's every 5 weeks. MindStream's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. MindStream sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $7.99 per month and Orbit sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MindStream ships an update every 5 weeks, Orbit every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences ยท 3 level
MindStream versus Orbit: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMindStreamOrbit
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 9 days โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod โ€” betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 โ€” better17.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size24 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEthan GostinRuntime Labs LLC

In-app purchases

1 purchases

MindStream

Subscriptions1
  • MindStream Pro$7.991 Month
2 purchases

Orbit

Subscriptions2
  • Orbit Pro (Monthly)$4.991 Month
  • Orbit Pro (Yearly)$49.991 Year

Questions

Is MindStream free?
MindStream is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Orbit free?
Orbit is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do MindStream or Orbit have ads?
Neither MindStream nor Orbit shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MindStream or Orbit?
MindStream ships an update every 5 weeks, and Orbit every 9 days. Most recently, MindStream was updated on September 25, 2026 and Orbit on October 8, 2026.

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