Comparison

Forest vs Routine Tracker

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

Head to head
About

Forest

This app helps you stay focused by growing a virtual forest while you avoid your phone. Earn rewards, unlock new trees, and even plant real trees on Earth through a partnership. It offers tools to block distractions and track your progress.

Highlights
  • Gamified focus timer
  • Virtual forest growth
  • App blocking with Allow Lists
  • Real tree planting partnership
  • Detailed statistics and insights
  • Co-planting with friends
Features
Read full description

**Stay off your phone and a tree grows. Leave early and it withers. That's Forest, the focus timer used by 60 million people worldwide.** Top productivity app in 136 countries. Recommended by The New York Times and Business Insider. "Forest works well, and if your goal is to be more in the moment, ignore your phone and actually talk to your friends when you are with them, this is the app for you." — The New York Times Together, our community has planted over 2 million real trees on Earth through our partnership with Trees for the Future. --- STAY FOCUSED Forest helps you overcome phone addiction, reduce distractions, and build deep work habits. Whether you are studying for exams, working from home, or simply trying to be more present, Forest gives you a reason to stay on task. - A gamified focus timer that turns screen-free time into a growing virtual forest - Create personalized Allow Lists to block distracting apps during focus sessions (iOS 16 or above) - Track your daily phone usage and screen time GET MOTIVATED - Unlock tree species and soundscapes as you reach focus milestones - Co-plant trees with friends and family during shared focus sessions - Compete with users around the world and share your forest - Unlock achievements and earn extra rewards - Plant real trees on Earth through our partnership with Trees for the Future TIME GUARD: BLOCK DISTRACTIONS ON SCHEDULE Time Guard helps you set phone-free windows throughout your day. Block distracting apps on a schedule, limit when you can access them, and track how much time you spend on your phone. MINDFUL SPACE: RESET YOUR MIND Mindful Space combines calming soundscapes, breathing exercises, and gentle animations to help you decompress between focus sessions. STATISTICS & INSIGHTS - Create custom tags and view detailed statistics of how you spend your focused time - Review your weekly, monthly, and yearly focus history as a visual forest - Revisit your focus journey with Forest Timeline - Sync your focused time with Apple Health It is never too late to build better habits. --- FOREST PLUS Love Forest? Try Forest Plus. - 3x coin rewards and unlock new trees faster - Exclusive Plus-only tree species and early access to seasonal new trees - Turn your focus into a real tree on Earth Start your free trial today, cancel anytime. --- NOTICE Forest is available on iPhone and iPad. Sign in with the same account to sync your data and access Forest Plus across all platforms. The Allow List feature requires iOS/iPadOS 16 or above. Forest is the original app. Similar apps on the App Store are not developed by the Forest team. --- Follow us on Instagram or visit forestapp.cc to learn more. Browser extensions also available. --- Privacy Policy: https://www.forestapp.cc/privacy/ Terms of Use: https://forest-subscription.seekrtech.com/terms/

About

Routine Tracker

Build lasting habits with a flexible planner that adapts to your real schedule. Track progress with clear charts and insights, and stay motivated with streak counters and smart reminders. Syncs seamlessly across devices.

Highlights
  • Customizable habit scheduling
  • Flexible time windows
  • Smart reminders
  • Progress charts and insights
  • Streak counters
  • iCloud sync
  • Home screen widgets
Features
Read full description

Habit OS Routine Tracker is your daily habit-building companion, designed to make healthy routines feel simple and realistic. Whatever your goals, drinking more water, exercising, meditating, reading before bed, Habit OS turns intentions into clear, trackable actions. Create custom habits in seconds with a flexible planner built around your real day, not a rigid schedule: - Choose specific days for each habit - Set target times or flexible windows - Add reminders that nudge you at the right moment Examples: - Drink water: 8 glasses between 8 AM and 8 PM - Workout: Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 6 PM - Meditation: every weekday before work - Reading: 20 minutes before bed See your progress at a glance with clean charts and insights showing what's working and where you're slipping: which days you tend to miss, how often you complete each habit, and how your motivation shifts over time. Streak counters reward consistency, turning small, atomic wins into a reason not to break the chain. Stay on track with smart notifications that adapt to your behavior, reminding you without flooding you with alerts you start to ignore. Your data stays safe with iCloud sync. Delete the app or switch phones, and your habits, history, and stats come back as soon as you log in. Free version: - Track up to 3 habits - Basic statistics Premium unlocks: - Unlimited habits across health, fitness, work, learning, finances, relationships, and self-care - Advanced analytics and insights: trends, averages, best streaks, completion rates, and how habits evolve over time - Home screen widgets for one-tap check-ins - Light and dark mode Premium includes a 3-day free trial (monthly or annual). Subscriptions auto-renew unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the period ends. Why Habit OS: - Flexible planning that fits your real schedule, not rigid rules - Daily tracking and streaks that reward grit and follow-through - Smart, timely reminders that support your routine - Clear insights and visual statistics on your progress - Automatic iCloud sync across devices - Dark or light mode for any environment - Built-in templates for water, exercise, meditation, reading, and more Habit OS is built on a simple idea: small, atomic actions repeated daily build lasting change. Turn your goals into a productive routine, and your habits into wellness you can rely on every day. LEGAL: Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.marcn.app/privacy

Screenshots

Forest4 screens
Routine Tracker4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Forest at 4.8 against Routine Tracker's 3.0. Forest also leads on ratings volume (50K vs 2) and chart position (#203 vs unranked). Routine Tracker's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 58%). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Forest sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Routine Tracker sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Forest holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Forest has 50K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 58% of Forest's written reviews are positive against 100% of Routine Tracker's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Forest ships an update weekly, Routine Tracker every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Forest versus Routine Tracker: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterForestRoutine Tracker
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (50K ratings) — better3.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews57.5% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings50K — better2
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 9 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFreemium
Best chart rank#203 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS16.0 — better26.6
Further details — not scored
Size840 MB58 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSEEKRTECH CO., LTD.Marcelo Nardone

Customer experience

Forest

All ratings49,580 ratings
Positive96.0%
Neutral1.4%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews2,351 reviews
Positive57.5%
Neutral7.2%
Negative35.3%

Routine Tracker

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Forest

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashing and freezing issues
  • Syncing and data loss problems
  • Inconsistent behavior when switching apps

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to pause/resume timers
  • More customization options for the forest
  • Integration with other productivity apps
  • Easier way to earn coins for new trees

Routine Tracker

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

9 purchases

Forest

Subscriptions3
  • Monthly (Early Bird)7 Days trial$5.991 Month
  • Monthly (Early Bird)$5.991 Month
  • Annual (Early Bird)7 Days trial$35.991 Year
One-time6
  • Shovelful of Crystal2 variants$0.99
  • Bottle of Sunshine Elixir$0.99
  • Box of Sunshine Elixir$1.99
Show 3 more
  • Small pot of Crystal$4.99
  • Large bag of Crystal$10.99
  • Cartful of Crystal$21.99
3 purchases

Routine Tracker

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Monthly | Habit OS3 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Best Value: Premium Annual3 Days trial$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • One-Time Purchase$29.99

Questions

Is Forest free?
Forest is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Routine Tracker free?
Routine Tracker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Forest or Routine Tracker?
Forest is rated higher. Forest averages 4.8 out of 5 from 50K ratings, while Routine Tracker averages 3.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Forest or Routine Tracker have ads?
Neither Forest nor Routine Tracker shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Forest or Routine Tracker?
Forest ships an update weekly, and Routine Tracker every 9 days. Most recently, Forest was updated on November 4, 2026 and Routine Tracker on October 30, 2026.

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