Comparison

SteadyNote vs Steady

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

Head to head
About

SteadyNote

Features
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SteadyNote is a private CBT journal for understanding your thoughts, tracking your mood, and feeling a little steadier — one small reflection at a time. When your mind feels busy, heavy, anxious, or stuck, SteadyNote gives you a calm place to pause and work through what's happening. Write freely, log your mood, or follow a guided CBT thought record to untangle a difficult thought and find a more balanced perspective. Whether your therapist recommended Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) or you're exploring it on your own, SteadyNote is made to be your companion between sessions. It's built around real, evidence-based CBT techniques — but it never feels like homework. Over time, you start to notice the patterns between what happens, what you think, how you feel, and what you do. WHAT YOU CAN DO Guided CBT Thought Records The classic CBT exercise, step by step: describe the situation, capture the automatic thought, rate how you feel, spot the thinking trap, weigh the evidence, and land on a kinder, more balanced thought. Mood Tracking Check in with a simple 1–10 mood log in seconds. Over time, see how your mood shifts and what tends to come before each up and down. Private Journal Entries Write freely when you don't need a full exercise. Your day, your feelings, your therapy notes, or anything on your mind. Spot Your Thinking Traps Recognize the cognitive distortions that catch you most — catastrophizing, all-or-nothing thinking, mind-reading, and "should" statements — explained in plain language. Behavioral Activation Plan a small, meaningful action, predict how it'll feel, do it, then compare what you expected with what actually happened. A gentle way to build momentum when motivation is low. Weekly Reviews Look back gently at your week — your mood, your thought records, your wins, and what was hard — and set a kind intention for the days ahead. Revisit Past Thoughts Return to older thought records and see how strongly you still believe a thought. Watching that belief soften over time is quietly powerful. Therapist-Friendly Export Create a clean PDF summary to bring to a session — with the option to keep your private writing redacted. You choose what to include. PRIVATE BY DESIGN — ALWAYS Your reflections are deeply personal, so we treat them that way. Everything stays on your device and your own iCloud. No ads. No tracking. No accounts. We never see your entries, and we never sell your data. Lock the app with Face ID or a passcode for extra peace of mind. WHO STEADYNOTE IS FOR SteadyNote can help if you want to: - Practice CBT between therapy sessions - Keep going with what you started in therapy - Make sense of anxious or negative thoughts - Track your mood and emotional patterns - Build a calmer journaling habit - Reflect without judgment - Take small steps when motivation is low - Share a structured summary with your therapist FREE, FOREVER Journaling, mood tracking, CBT thought records, and crisis resources are always free. STEADYNOTE PRO Go deeper with full Insights into your moods and patterns, activity insights, and the therapist-ready report. Available monthly, yearly, or as a one-time Lifetime purchase. Going Pro supports an independent, privacy-first app made by one developer. Start with one note. Find one steadier thought. — SteadyNote is a self-help journaling tool. It is not therapy, not a medical device, and not a substitute for professional care. If you are in crisis or immediate danger, contact emergency services or a crisis support line in your country. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the period. Manage or cancel anytime in your App Store settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.gtrigonakis.com/privacy-policy

About

Steady

This app offers a private, shame-free companion to help manage body-focused repetitive behaviors like nail biting, skin picking, and hair pulling. It uses habit-reversal training and decoupling techniques with one-tap logging and guided exercises to help users soften these patterns at their own pace.

Highlights
  • One-tap logging for urges
  • Guided competing response tools
  • Habit-reversal training modules
  • Pattern insights and trend analysis
  • Customizable reminders
  • Data export for therapists
  • Apple Watch companion app
Features
Read full description

Bite your nails? Pick your skin? Pull your hair? You're not alone — millions live with body-focused repetitive behaviors (BFRBs) like skin picking (dermatillomania, excoriation), nail biting (onychophagia), hair pulling (trichotillomania), and lip or cheek biting. Steady is a calm, private companion that helps you soften the pattern — without shame. There are no streaks to lose here and nothing ever resets to zero. Steady never scolds. Awareness counts, resisted urges count, and even noticing after the fact counts — because that is how these patterns actually soften. HOW IT WORKS • Notice the urge — one-tap logging keeps you aware • Meet it with a plan — a short competing response or guided decoupling exercise • Watch the pattern ease over weeks — at your pace, without pressure or red warning colors Steady is built on habit-reversal training (HRT) and decoupling, the self-help methods with the strongest research support. FREE FOR EVERYONE • One-tap logging — capture a moment or a resisted urge in seconds • Urge Help — breathing, grounding and competing-response tools for the moment an urge hits • Decoupling training — a short guided motor exercise you can repeat through the day • My Plan — a gentle glide path toward the pace you choose, never a countdown • This week at a glance — your log, your awareness streak, your week • Learn — six short modules on the science of BFRBs, from why they happen to when to seek help, each with its published sources • Soft reminders — a few caring nudges a day at most, fully optional • Home-screen widget that keeps awareness gently in view • Export your log as a spreadsheet to share with a therapist STEADY PLUS — GO DEEPER • Pattern insights — time-of-day patterns, trends over weeks, and quiet observations about your triggers • Smart reminders that learn your risk windows • A clinical PDF report to bring to appointments • Custom tags for your own situations • The Apple Watch companion app PRIVATE BY DESIGN Everything stays on your device. No account, no tracking, no data collection. Steady Plus is $6.99/month, $29.99/year with a 7-day free trial, or a one-time lifetime purchase of $49.99. Payment is charged to your Apple Account; subscriptions renew unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the period ends. Steady is an educational self-help tool, not a medical device or a substitute for professional care. TERMS & PRIVACY Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://mda25.github.io/steady-site/privacy.html

Screenshots

SteadyNote4 screens
Steady4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Steady at none against SteadyNote's 3. 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. SteadyNote sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Steady asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
SteadyNote versus Steady: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSteadyNoteSteady
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequency—Fortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB10 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperGeorgios TrigonakisMatthis Damm

In-app purchases

3 purchases

SteadyNote

Subscriptions2
  • SteadyNote Pro · Monthly$4.991 Month
  • SteadyNote Pro · Annual$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • SteadyNote Pro · Lifetime$59.99
None

Steady

No in-app purchases

Questions

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

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