Brainbuddy vs Kaizen Routines
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Brainbuddy
This app helps users break free from digital habits and addictive behaviors through a neuroscience-based approach. It offers educational programs, progress tracking, and community support to rewire the brain and improve self-control.
- Neuroscience-based habit rewiring program
- 100-day evidence-based education
- Progress tracking and daily checkups
- Supportive community and accountability challenges
- Content blocker and web filter
- Personalized 'Life Tree' growth visualization
Read full descriptionHide full description
Brainbuddy is the #1 dopamine detox and habit rewiring app, built to help you crave less and live more. Whether your goal is to cut back or quit unwanted digital habits entirely, Brainbuddy’s neuroscience approach can help you change your relationship with screen time, intimacy, and dopamine. With a 100-day evidence-based education program, progress tracking, supportive community, and science-based recovery tools, Brainbuddy helps you rewire your brain and regain self-control. Reboot your life. (Note: All features require a paid Brainbuddy Premium subscription after onboarding). WHY MILLIONS CHOOSE BRAINBUDDY PREMIUM REWIRE YOUR BRAIN Based on 12 years of research, our state-of-the-art rewiring program teaches you how to conquer your impulses, one step at a time. Turn your brain into an ally. MAKE EVERY DAY A GOOD DAY Our fun, daily exercises are specifically designed to replace temptation with motivation and a positive outlook. Stop craving, start living. PROGRESS YOU CAN SEE Your daily checkup tracks in real-time the positive changes you are making to your relationships, mental clarity, and health. Don’t just feel the change, track it. GROW YOUR LIFE TREE Your own personal “Life Tree” grows with you. With every positive choice you make, your tree becomes a little more beautiful. Watch as it grows each day because of you. THE BEST COMMUNITY Brainbuddy has one of the most vibrant and friendly self-improvement communities. Stay motivated with stories from others, and work with your team to win healthy accountability challenges. EXPERIENCE PERSONAL SATISFACTION From one day to one year, build up your self-control and willpower one challenge at a time. You’ll be amazed at what you are capable of. TOOLS TO LIVE BETTER The most powerful content blocker and web filter on the planet. Master impulse control with machine learning. Brainbuddy has everything you need to live a focused, distraction-free life. LEVEL UP YOUR LIFE Rebooting your habits has immense psychological and physical benefits. Start now, change forever. REVIEWS FROM THE BRAINBUDDY COMMUNITY "Now I am controlled, stable, focused, and feel super confident. When you save your energy up, you get that unconquerable will where what would have been a huge wall for your old self becomes a little knee-high fence you can step over." "I feel a different person. I'm much more talkative and aware in social settings. At work I'm on top of everything instead of forgetting things and asking people to repeat themselves. It's been over a decade since I started struggling with these habits and this now feels who I truly am." "The clarity for me was extremely noticeable and you will likely feel like a different person. It gave me hope that there is nothing totally wrong with me. Just having that experience of clarity and happiness can be a powerful thing." "Confidence. When I walk down the street I don't feel uncomfortable anymore. I can speak to anyone without feeling shy. It's not that I have become arrogant, I just regard myself on equal footing with others where before I always felt inferior. My social anxiety has completely flown out the window." SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION Brainbuddy requires a PREMIUM subscription to access all features. Payment is charged to your iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription will automatically renew unless turned off at least 24 hours before the current period ends.You can manage your subscription and turn off auto-renew. Your Apple Account will be charged when the purchase is confirmed. Brainbuddy optionally saves your meditation sessions to the Apple Health app. Terms of Use - https://www.brainbuddyapp.com/terms Privacy Policy - https://www.brainbuddyapp.com/privacy-policy We love your feedback. Contact support@brainbuddyapp.com
Kaizen Routines
Build sustainable morning and evening routines with a habit tracker that forgives missed days. Progress is tracked through lifetime totals and milestones, ensuring your efforts are never erased. Features include customizable routines, gentle timers, and insightful progress visualizations.
- Forgiving streaks with one missed day per week
- Lifetime progress tracking and milestones
- Customizable morning and evening routines
- Gentle per-step timers
- Weekly and twelve-week progress visualizations
- Journaling with freeform entries
- Home and lock screen widgets
Read full descriptionHide full description
Kaizen Routines helps you build a morning and evening you actually keep. Plenty of habit trackers punish you for being human. Miss one day and the streak you spent a month building is gone. Kaizen Routines forgives a missed day — one a week — because a single bad night should not erase five good weeks. BUILT FOR REAL LIFE • Streaks that survive a slip. One missed day a week is forgiven, automatically. • A path that never walks backwards. Milestones are earned on lifetime totals, so progress is never taken away. • Start a routine step by step, or mark it done in a tap when life is busy. • Skip a day on purpose without guilt or penalty. YOUR MORNING AND EVENING • Two routines, built from templates or from scratch. • Reorder habits, set how long each takes, choose which days each routine runs. • Gentle per-step timers that never alarm and never rush you to the next thing. SEE IT ADD UP • A week strip for right now, and a twelve-week heatmap for the long view. • Current streak, best streak, total completions, days active. • A weekly recap that compares this week to last. A PLACE TO PUT THE REST • Write a journal entry any day you want one — freeform, no prompts, no streaks attached. • After finishing a routine, add a note about how it went. • Turn any journal entry into a reminder with one tap. REMINDERS THAT ENCOURAGE • Morning and evening nudges at times you choose. • Mark a routine done straight from the notification. • Gentle encouragement: rotating notes at varied times, never the same line twice in a day. ON YOUR HOME AND LOCK SCREEN • A streak widget for the home screen, a heatmap widget, and lock screen widgets. • Ask Siri to start your morning routine. YOUR DATA STAYS YOURS There is no account. There is no server. Nothing you write leaves your phone — not your routines, not your streaks, not your journal. We could not read them if we wanted to. Export a backup whenever you like; it is your file. FREE, AND STAYING FREE Both routines, streaks, grace days, this week's progress, your journal, preset reminders and backups are free — always. Premium adds the twelve-week heatmap and lock screen widgets, the weekly recap comparison, custom reminders and encouragement, step timers, and the full accent palette. No ads. No tracking. No account. Just the routine you meant to keep. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://0xkaizenxyz.github.io/routine/privacy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ratings volume: Brainbuddy at 26K against Kaizen Routines's 1. Kaizen Routines's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.7). On price, update cadence, 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. Brainbuddy sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days and Kaizen Routines sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.49 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Kaizen Routines holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Brainbuddy has 26K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Brainbuddy ships an update every 3 weeks, Kaizen Routines every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Brainbuddy | Kaizen Routines |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (26K ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 41.2% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 26K — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 112 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | AppStudio Australia Pty Ltd | Matthew Lopez |
Customer experience
Brainbuddy
Kaizen Routines
Bugs and requests
Brainbuddy
Reported bugs
3 issues- Inconsistent check-in tracking and streak resets
- Inability to delete or manage community posts
- Unreliable content blocker functionality
Requested features
4 requests- More meditation and relaxation content
- Improved social features and community interaction
- Customizable progress tracking and goal-setting
- Better integration with other devices (e.g., iPad, Mac)
Kaizen Routines
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Brainbuddy
- Brainbuddy Full Access7 Days trial$2.997 Days
- Brainbuddy Full Access7 Days trial$12.991 Month
- Brainbuddy Full Access3 Days trial$12.991 Month
Show 4 moreShow fewer
- Brainbuddy Full Access$12.991 Month
- Brainbuddy Full Access$37.993 Months
- Brainbuddy Full Access$59.996 Months
- Brainbuddy Full Access7 Days trial$99.991 Year
- Course anxiety$7.99
- Course selfcontrol$7.99
- Course confidence$7.99
Kaizen Routines
- Premium Monthly$2.491 Month
- Premium Yearly$14.991 Year
- Premium Lifetime$24.99
Questions
Is Brainbuddy free?
Is Kaizen Routines free?
Which has better reviews, Brainbuddy or Kaizen Routines?
Do Brainbuddy or Kaizen Routines have ads?
Which is updated more often, Brainbuddy or Kaizen Routines?
Other comparisons















