Dotty vs Hearth Island
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
Dotty
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Dotty turns your day into a single, beautiful line. Schedule tasks and habits at a time of day and watch them connect into a vertical timeline you can actually move through. Plan your morning routine, block focus time, build habits, and keep your streaks alive โ all from one calm, focused screen. KEY FEATURES โข Timeline, not a list โ tasks render as a connected-dot timeline through your day โข Subtasks โ break a task into steps, nest them as deep as you think, and tick them off one by one โข Fresh every day โ a repeating task's checklist resets on each occurrence, so your routine starts clean โข Habits & streaks โ repeat daily, on weekdays, weekends, weekly, or on exactly the days you choose โข Daily progress ring โ see how much of your day you've completed at a glance โข Reminders โ local notifications so nothing slips โข Home-screen widget โ check off tasks without opening the app โข Live Activities & Dynamic Island โ live countdowns for timed tasks in progress โข iCloud sync โ your timeline stays in sync across iPhone, iPad, and Mac โข Make it yours โ 25 colors and 91 icons grouped by subject, plus Light, Dark, and Glass appearances COMPLETELY FREE Every feature above is included. No paid tier, no subscription, no ads, no task limits, nothing held back. If Dotty earns a place in your day, you can leave an optional tip from the heart button in the toolbar. Tips are one-time, entirely voluntary, and unlock nothing โ they simply fund what comes next. PRIVACY Your data stays on your device and syncs only through your own private iCloud. Dotty collects nothing.
Hearth Island
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Start a focus session. When you finish, a tiny 3D island grows - and it keeps living while you're away. FOCUS. EARN. GROW A LIVING WORLD. Hearth Island turns the minutes you focus into something you can see. Set a timer, put the phone down, and do your work. Every focused minute earns one Spark. Spend them to plant trees, build cottages, adopt a companion, and raise whole new islands out of the sea. Nothing here is bought with money. Sparks are earned only by focusing - that is the whole point. A WORLD THAT LIVES ON ITS OWN - Real day and night, drifting clouds, and rain that ripples the sea - Four seasons that follow your real calendar - spring blossom, summer fireflies, autumn leaves that fall and gather, winter snow on every roof - Mochi, a companion who wanders the island, plays with a yarn ball, and naps in a little bed - Plants that grow a stage with every session you complete THE FOCUS THAT EARNS IT - Simple sessions - pick a length, start, and focus - Leave the app mid-session and it gently pauses instead of punishing you; a screen wake-lock keeps the phone awake while you work - Optional Focus Shield quiets notifications for the length of a session - Early ends still bank the minutes you focused - you are never punished for stopping GROW THE ISLAND - Plant flowers, bushes, pines, oaks and maples - Build cottages, cabins, a greenhouse, a lighthouse and a dock - Raise new land - Sunny Meadow, Quiet Cove, North Ridge - from open sea - The flagship moment: build the Bridge and a brand-new isle rises, "New area discovered!", with more ground to make your own FREE, AND ACTUALLY GENEROUS The whole loop - focus, earn, plant, build, grow - is free. You can fill a whole island without paying a cent. HEARTH PREMIUM Premium opens the full catalog - palms, campfires, wishing wells, cabins, greenhouses, lighthouses, companion pieces, and new islands as they arrive. Premium items still cost the Sparks you earn by focusing; money only opens the catalog, it never buys progress. $4.99/month, $29.99/year with a 7-day free trial, or $59.99 once for lifetime. Everything lives on your device. No account, no sign-up, and your island is never uploaded anywhere. Requires iOS 15 or later; the living 3D world needs a device with WebGL2 (iPhone 8 and later). ---------- Hearth Premium is available as a monthly ($4.99) or yearly ($29.99, with a 7-day free trial) auto-renewable subscription, or a one-time Lifetime purchase ($59.99). Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://starnova-io.github.io/hearth-island/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://starnova-io.github.io/hearth-island/privacy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Dotty at none against Hearth Island's shown. Hearth Island's advantage is update cadence (every 11 days vs monthly) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, in-app purchases and device support 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
Both are free to download. Dotty sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Hearth Island sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Dotty ships an update monthly, Hearth Island every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Dotty | Hearth Island |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 11 days โ better |
| Ads | No โ better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.0 โ better |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 20 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Mohamed Smina | Nhan Vo |
In-app purchases
Dotty
- Small Support$1.99
- Generous Support$4.99
- Big Support$9.99
Hearth Island
- Hearth Premium Monthly$4.991 Month
- Hearth Premium Yearly7 Days trial$29.991 Year
- Hearth Premium Lifetime$59.99








