Comparison

Transurf vs StepGate

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Identity-based habit tracking
  • Calm lifeline visualization
  • Daily reflection ritual
  • Private by design (on-device data)
  • No streaks or scores
  • Gentle progress tracking
Features
Read full description

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.

About

StepGate

Features
Read full description

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

Transurf4 screens
StepGate4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
Transurf versus StepGate: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTransurfStepGate
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequency—Weekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB20 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJaganathan KonarKush Daga

In-app purchases

None

Transurf

No in-app purchases

5 purchases

StepGate

Subscriptions4
  • StepGate Plus$2.997 Days
  • StepGate Plus$6.991 Month
  • StepGate Plus7 Days trial$15.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • StepGate Plus7 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • StepGate Plus Lifetime$79.99

Questions

Is Transurf free?
Transurf is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is StepGate free?
StepGate is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Transurf or StepGate have ads?
Neither Transurf nor StepGate shows ads.

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