Velvet vs BoulderBuilder
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Velvet
Easily log migraine attacks with a dark, photophobia-safe interface. Track symptoms, triggers, and medications to identify patterns and generate reports for your neurologist. Your data remains private on your device.
- Log attacks in under 10 seconds
- Photophobia-safe dark screen
- Autosaves entries
- Track symptoms and triggers
- View frequency and intensity patterns
- Export PDF/CSV reports
- Private, no account required
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The migraine log you can actually use during a migraine. Three taps, a dark screen, done. Velvet writes your attack down the moment you tap, so a half finished entry is never lost to a crash, a force quit, or a bad night. Then it shows you your own patterns, and gives you a clean report to bring to your neurologist. WHY VELVET • Log an attack in under ten seconds: intensity, symptoms, save • A true black, photophobia safe screen. Nothing flashes white • Large type and big tap targets, built for when the light hurts • Your entry is saved on the first tap and autosaves as you go • Optional detail one screen down: medication, triggers, pain location, notes • Free to log forever, with no account and no sign up SEE YOUR OWN PATTERNS Frequency over time, average duration and intensity, your most common symptoms and triggers, which medications helped, and the days and times your attacks cluster. Your trends sit on one screen instead of hiding inside every entry. BUILT FOR CHRONIC MIGRAINE Track intensity from zero to ten, symptoms such as aura, nausea, photophobia and dizziness, pain location and side, and the triggers you suspect: sleep, stress, skipped meals, weather, hormones, screen time, alcohol, dehydration. Log what you took and whether it helped, with a plain monthly count of acute medication days. FOR YOUR NEUROLOGIST Export a clean PDF or CSV of your history, so the appointment starts with facts instead of trying to remember six weeks of bad days. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Velvet has no account, no login, and no server. Your migraine records stay on your iPhone. Nothing is uploaded and nothing is sold. VELVET PRO Logging is free forever. Pro adds the full trend history, PDF reports for appointments, and unlimited custom symptom and trigger chips. $39.99 a year after a 1 week free trial, or $5.99 a month. Subscriptions renew until canceled, and you can cancel any time in Settings. Velvet is a personal diary. It does not diagnose or treat migraine, and it does not predict attacks. Terms: https://velvetmigraine.com/terms Privacy: https://velvetmigraine.com/privacy
BoulderBuilder
Log climbing sessions with detailed context like grade, result, and movement styles. Visualize your climbing performance with progress pyramids to identify strengths, weaknesses, and training priorities. Track your progress over time with style breakdowns and grade trends.
- Log climbs with grade, result, and notes
- Build performance pyramids by grade
- Track progress over time
- Customize grade systems
- Private by design, data stays on device
- Career-wide V-scale view
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BoulderBuilder turns your climbing log into performance pyramids that make strengths, gaps, and progress easier to see. Keep the details from today's session and give your next one a clear goal. LOG CLIMBS WITH CONTEXT Record grades, results, attempts, dates, notes, and movement styles. Use quick session logging at the wall or add the details afterward. Track bouldering with V-grades or custom colors and grade ranges that match your gym. SEE YOUR PYRAMID GROW Build a pyramid for each gym and a career-wide view. Follow your activity, revisit session history, and set climbing goals. Archive a gym while keeping its history, then restore it when you return. START FREE Explore without an account. Free includes 20 logged climbs and one active gym, plus bouldering pyramids, activity, sessions, and goals. New setup climbs do not count toward the 20-climb allowance. Existing saved history remains available when you reach a limit or your subscription ends. CLIMB WITH FRIENDS Sign in with Apple and create a profile to use Friends. After your profile is approved, find friends by username or share an invite link or QR code. Accepted friends can see your approved posts and photos, like and comment, and send private climb challenges. Friends, comments, likes, and challenges are free; posting climb photos requires Pro. Profiles and shared posts, comments, and challenge descriptions are reviewed before others can see them. Your climbing log is not shared automatically: choose the climb details and photos to upload, with gym names optional. Report content, block users, or remove a friendship in the app. GO FURTHER WITH BOULDERBUILDER PRO • Unlimited logged climbs and active gyms. • Rope climbing alongside bouldering, with YDS and French grades. • Projects with attempt history, beta notes, and photos to revisit next session. • Career progression, send rate, flash rate, and climbing-style insights. • Grade Progress, weekly pyramid targets, climbing streaks, and weekly recaps. • Climb and progress share cards, plus photo posts for accepted friends. • Optional Apple Health sync for climbing workouts and estimated energy burned. • Optional weekly check-in reminders. Saved project history and existing photos remain readable if Pro expires. New project attempts, beta notes, and photos require Pro. YOUR LOG, YOUR CHOICE Your personal climbing log and unshared photos are stored on your device. Friends uses an online service for the profiles and content you choose to share. Optional Face ID or Touch ID helps protect access to the app. Account and data deletion is available in Settings. BoulderBuilder Pro offers monthly and yearly auto-renewing subscriptions. Manage or cancel your subscription in Apple Account settings. Terms of Use: https://nimuh.github.io/BoulderBuilder/terms Privacy Policy: https://nimuh.github.io/BoulderBuilder/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
Velvet and BoulderBuilder are too close to call on the numbers: across 9 compared parameters — price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
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. Velvet sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and BoulderBuilder sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. 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 Velvet against 5.0 for BoulderBuilder. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.
Velvet ships an update every 2 weeks, BoulderBuilder every 8 days. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.
| Parameter | Velvet | BoulderBuilder |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 8 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 55 MB | 28 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Billion Web Pte. Ltd. | KEYAN AZBIJARI |
Customer experience
Velvet
BoulderBuilder
In-app purchases
Velvet
- Velvet Pro Monthly$5.991 Month
- Velvet Pro7 Days trial$39.991 Year
- Velvet Pro Lifetime$49.99
BoulderBuilder
- BoulderBuilder Pro Monthly$9.991 Month
- BoulderBuilder Pro Yearly$49.991 Year
Questions
Is Velvet free?
Is BoulderBuilder free?
Which has better reviews, Velvet or BoulderBuilder?
Do Velvet or BoulderBuilder have ads?
Which is updated more often, Velvet or BoulderBuilder?
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