Comparison

Control vs ethos

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

Head to head
About

Control

Consolidate your daily trackers, planners, and reminders into a single, elegant app. Monitor habits, budgets, fitness, and more directly from your Home Screen, Lock Screen, or Live Activities. Enjoy a private experience with all data stored locally and synced via iCloud.

Highlights
  • 20+ customizable iOS widgets
  • Track habits, budget, fitness, and more
  • Home Screen, Lock Screen, and Live Activities support
  • Private data storage on device
  • iCloud sync across devices
  • No sign-ups or dark patterns
Features
Read full description

Your Home Screen, redesigned. Control is a library of 20+ beautifully crafted iOS widgets - every tracker, planner, and reminder you actually use, gathered in one app. Habits, budget, fitness, medication, birthdays, travel, and much more, all glanceable from your Home Screen, Lock Screen, and Live Activities. No more juggling ten single-purpose apps. No sign-ups, no dark patterns. - TRACK EVERYTHING - • Habits - daily routines, streaks, goals • Budget - spending, savings, monthly limits • Subscriptions - see exactly what's recurring and when • Portfolio - track your investments • Debt - loans and credit cards, payoff progress • Currency - live exchange rates between any two currencies • Fitness - steps, workouts, calories burned via Apple Health • Calories - daily intake, weight goals • Period - cycle tracking with predictions • Medication - dose reminders for every prescription • Birthdays - pulled from Contacts, never forget another one • Books - what you're reading, with auto-fetched covers • Movies - your watchlist with poster art • Pets - feeding, walks, vet visits • Vehicle - mileage, services, fuel logs • Hotel & Travel - live check-out countdowns and trip dashboards • Past Trips - a souvenir of where you've been • Food Expiration - what's in your fridge and when it spoils • Game Tracker - leaderboards plus a multi-touch player picker • Speedometer - live drive sessions • Clipboard - quick-paste from history • To-do - checklists that sync across devices • Quit Tracker - sober days, money saved, life regained - PRIVATE BY DEFAULT - Everything is stored on your device and synced privately through your own iCloud account. No external servers. No tracking. No analytics SDKs. Your habits, finances, and reminders are yours. Control is built for people who want their Home Screen to do something useful. - Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

ethos

Features
Read full description

Ethos is a clean, intuitive personal finance app built for individuals and couples. Track income and expenses, organize transactions by category, manage wallets, set budgets, and understand your spending through clear summaries and analytics. Share a wallet with your partner to manage money together. Both of you can record transactions, monitor balances, and stay aligned on shared expenses. Attach receipt photos and transfer funds between wallets with ease.

Screenshots

Control4 screens
ethos4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ethos at none against Control's 1. ethos also leads on iOS requirement (16.4 vs 26.2). Control's advantage is update cadence (every 6 days vs every 2 months). On price, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Control sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. ethos asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Control ships an update every 6 days, ethos every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
Control versus ethos: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterControlethos
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (2 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS26.216.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size29 MB60 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAlex Patrick PalaceanSagella Rores

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Control

One-time1
  • Control Lifetime$9.99
None

ethos

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Control free?
Control is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ethos free?
ethos is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Control or ethos have ads?
Neither Control nor ethos shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Control or ethos?
Control ships an update every 6 days, and ethos every 2 months. Most recently, Control was updated on October 31, 2026 and ethos on October 28, 2026.

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