Gentle Start vs Little Planner
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Gentle Start
This app provides a simple, one-tap timer to help overcome procrastination. It focuses on the act of starting, counting up from zero without pressure or goals. Designed for those who struggle with initiating tasks, it offers a calm experience with visual themes and ambient sounds.
- One-tap timer start
- Upward counting timer
- Living themes with animations
- Ambient soundscapes
- Live Activities integration
- No streaks or goals
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Starting is the hardest part. Gentle Start makes it one tap. When a task feels too big to begin, this is the smallest possible push. Open the app, tap once, and a calm focus timer counts up from zero. That's it - you've started, and starting was the whole battle. There's no goal to reach. No streak to keep alive. No countdown racing you to a finish line. Gentle Start counts UP, not down - so there's nothing to fail and no way to fall behind. Stay thirty seconds or thirty minutes. Both count. Both are real. HOW IT WORKS - Tap to begin: one button, no setup, no plan, no account. - The timer counts up quietly inside a living, animated scene. Nothing on screen pressures you - it's just proof that you're doing it. - Stop whenever it feels right. You showed up, and that's enough. WHY IT'S DIFFERENT Most focus timers and productivity apps are built around finishing - streaks, daily goals, charts, pomodoro countdowns, reminders that nag. For a brain that already feels behind, that pressure is the very thing that makes starting feel impossible. So Gentle Start leaves it out. No metrics staring back at you. No guilt. No catching up. Just a gentle way across the one line that actually matters: from not-started to started. WHO IT'S FOR Made for procrastinators, people with ADHD and executive dysfunction, students facing down an assignment or a long study session, writers staring at a blank page, and anyone who knows the strange, heavy weight of simply beginning. Whether you call it procrastination, task paralysis, or "I just can't start" - if "just start" has never once worked as advice, this was built for you. CALM BY DESIGN - 28 living themes: drifting clouds, falling snow, rising bubbles, a quiet night sky, and more - soft animated scenes that are easy on the eyes while you work. Or pick random and come back to a fresh space each session. - Ambient soundscapes: rain, fireplace, forest, and other gentle audio to ease you into focus. - A companion while you work: a tiny animated sun keeps you company in the Dynamic Island and on your Lock Screen during a session - with a whole sky of suns to choose from. - Home Screen widgets and Live Activities keep your session calm and glanceable without opening the app. - Works with Siri and the Action Button, so you can start without even looking. WHAT GENTLE START WILL NEVER DO - No streaks - No daily goals - No guilt, no shame - No ads - No subscriptions - No account or sign-up - No tracking Your sessions stay on your device. There's nothing to log into, and nothing watching you work. Gentle Start isn't here to make you do more. It's here to make starting feel possible, especially on the days it doesn't. Tap once. Start small. That counts. Gentle Start is on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. Wherever you are, make your next start a gentle one.
Little Planner
This app simplifies daily routines for children with visual schedules and animated icons. It helps them navigate mornings, bedtimes, and chores with a motivating egg companion that hatches animal friends upon completion. Designed with neurodivergent children in mind.
- Visual schedules for routines
- Animated task icons
- Motivational egg companion
- Hatchable animal friends
- Customizable morning/bedtime routines
- Designed for neurodivergent children
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Visual schedules made simple. Calmer mornings and evenings. Little Planner helps children see what comes next and move through daily routines one clear step at a time. Completing a routine hatches an animal friend, adding a little motivation to everyday tasks. Easily create routines with 2,000+ built-in task icons. Thoughtfully designed with children with ADHD, autism, and other neurodivergent needs in mind. From the creators of Little Timer, a visual timer with over 800,000 downloads on the App Store and loved by families and therapists worldwide. Customize visual morning, bedtime, school-day, and chore routines with animated icons. Your kids follow each routine on their own with an egg companion. When a routine is finished, the egg hatches an animal friend to add to their collection — with 24 animals to discover.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: Gentle Start at free against Little Planner's free with in-app purchases. Gentle Start also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 2 weeks). Little Planner's advantage is ratings volume (11 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.0). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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. Gentle Start sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Little Planner sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Gentle Start against 4.9 for Little Planner. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Little Planner has 11 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Gentle Start ships an update every 3 days, Little Planner every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Gentle Start | Little Planner |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | 4.9 (11 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 11 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 days — better | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 15.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 46 MB | 186 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | JOHNNY LI | Little Labs LLC |
Customer experience
Gentle Start
Little Planner
In-app purchases
Gentle Start
- Gentle Start Premium$4.99
Little Planner
- Premium — All Animals & Stories$9.99









