Transurf vs StepGate
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Transurf
This app offers a daily ritual for self-reflection and identity-based habit building. It visualizes your current and desired life paths, encouraging small, consistent actions without pressure or scores. Focuses on gentle drift and mindful presence.
- Identity-based habit tracking
- Calm lifeline visualization
- Daily reflection ritual
- Private by design (on-device data)
- No streaks or scores
- Gentle progress tracking
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Transurf is a quiet, identity-based habit and journaling app. It is built for people who don't want another streak counter or productivity scoreboard — they want a daily ritual that gently reflects who they are becoming. The idea is simple. Every action you take is a small vote for the type of person you are. Tiny daily acts — making a sentence, taking one breath, walking instead of scrolling — accumulate into the identity you carry. Transurf turns those acts into a calm visualization: two soft curves on screen, your current life and the life you are moving toward, with a single luminous dot drifting between them. THE DAILY RITUAL (under 90 seconds) A short visualization. A handful of taps to mark which small habits you kept. A gentle slider that asks how tightly you are gripping today — because the lifeline shifts through letting go, not pushing. An optional one-sentence reflection. That is it. No streaks. No scores. No fire emojis or warning notifications. Missing a day is fine. The point is gentle drift, not aggressive optimization. WHAT YOU SET UP ONCE On first launch, Transurf asks four quiet questions: - The lifeline you are on now. Not in judgment, just observation. - The person you are becoming. Identity, not outcome. - One scene from that life. A morning. A moment. A picture you can return to. - One to three anchor habits — tiny daily acts the person on your target lifeline would do. Use the formula After [current habit], I will [new tiny habit]. - One to three pendulums — patterns that keep you tied to your current line. THE LIFELINE VISUALIZATION The home screen is a calm full-canvas drawing. Two parallel curving gradient lines: your current life muted and fading, your target life luminous and ahead. A small dot represents you. Each daily check-in nudges the dot. Days where you grip too hard cause the dot to wobble — a small, honest reminder that excess attachment to the goal is itself the obstacle. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Everything you write — your lifelines, your slide, your anchors and pendulums, your check-ins, your reflections — stays on your device using Apple's SwiftData. Transurf has no analytics, no third-party services, no AI calls, no account, no server. If you delete the app, the data goes with it. WHO IT IS FOR - People rebuilding a daily writing or reflection habit - People who have tried streak-based habit apps and bounced off - People drawn to identity-based change (After [current habit], I will...) over goal-based pressure - Anyone who wants a still, quiet, beautifully drawn corner of their phone WHO IT IS NOT FOR - Anyone looking for treatment, therapy, or medical guidance — Transurf is a journaling and reflection tool, not a clinical product - People who love progress bars, scores, and achievement screens — those are intentionally absent A NOTE ON THE NAME Transurf is a play on Reality Transurfing, an idea that you are always on a lifeline that matches your thought energy and that small shifts in attention move you between them. We do not ask you to believe that. We just thought it was a beautiful frame for the very real, very practical work of identity-shaping habits. A morning ritual. A breathing space. A drawing of where you are heading. That is the app.
StepGate
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Lock the apps you overuse until you've walked your steps. Make yourself one promise: steps before scrolling. StepGate keeps it for you. HOW TO USE STEPGATE: 1) Pick the apps you want locked 2) Set your daily step goal 3) Walk. Hit the goal and they open* A real lock on the apps you doomscroll. It lifts when you hit your steps, so your screen time is earned, not assumed. Not a reminder you can swipe away. StepGate uses Apple's Screen Time to block them for real: a digital detox that costs a walk instead of willpower. Your steps come from Apple Health, so the pedometer is already running. There's no account and no sign-up, and because you pick your apps in Apple's own picker, StepGate never sees which ones you chose. Rest days, active hours and a pause switch are built in. Rigid systems get deleted. Questions or ideas: https://stepgate-omega.vercel.app/support NOTE: StepGate is a habit tool, not medical or fitness advice. Steps are read from Apple Health and Motion & Fitness (read-only). App blocking uses Apple's Family Controls framework with individual authorization: you managing yourself. Requires iOS 17 or later. *STEPGATE PLUS IS REQUIRED TO GATE APPS. Already using StepGate before Plus existed? It stays free for you. TERMS: https://stepgate-omega.vercel.app/terms PRIVACY: https://stepgate-omega.vercel.app/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Transurf at none against StepGate's 5. On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. StepGate sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. Transurf asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | Transurf | StepGate |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.0 (1 ratings) — better | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 — better | — |
| Update frequency | — | Weekly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 20 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jaganathan Konar | Kush Daga |
In-app purchases
Transurf
No in-app purchases
StepGate
- StepGate Plus$2.997 Days
- StepGate Plus$6.991 Month
- StepGate Plus7 Days trial$15.991 Year
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- StepGate Plus7 Days trial$29.991 Year
- StepGate Plus Lifetime$79.99









