Comparison

Fastmail vs Facing Fear

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

Head to head
About

Fastmail

Manage your email, contacts, and calendar with a privacy-focused service. Offers powerful search, inbox decluttering tools, and customizable gestures for efficient communication. Seamlessly syncs across devices and supports open standards.

Highlights
  • Offline access to email
  • Powerful search with refinement
  • Inbox decluttering tools
  • Customizable swipe gestures
  • Seamless calendar syncing
  • Shared address books
  • Privacy-first, no ads or tracking
Features
Read full description

Email, contacts and calendars made better Fastmail gives you full control of your communication, with speed, privacy, and tools that work the way you do. The New York Times says: ”If you want something easy to use that isn’t tied to one of the big tech giants, Fastmail is a great option.” Do more with email • Stay connected anywhere – Read, draft, and search offline. • Powerful search – Find anything fast, even inside attachments. Plus, use the Search Refinement Toolbar to quickly add, remove, or adjust filters. • Declutter your inbox – Snooze emails, mute threads, block spam, and unsubscribe easily, and set up rules to automate your flow. • Stay organised your way – Use folders or labels to keep things tidy, and categorize messages without opening them. • Work smarter – Schedule or undo send, add private memos, set VIP-only notifications, and resize images in the compose window. • Custom swipes – Quickly archive, delete, or take other actions with up to four swipe gestures. Your preferences stay consistent across devices. • Easy navigation – One-tap access to mail, calendar, contacts, and settings. Customize the toolbar in Display Options, or hide it altogether. • Faster inbox actions – Select messages by tapping avatars, or using a two-finger swipe for faster multi-select. Smarter calendars • Plan together – Share calendars with family or teams. • Sync seamlessly – Works with Google, iCloud, and more. • Always in sync – Updates instantly across devices, with full time-zone support. Connected contacts • Shared or private address books – Keep context from recent conversations and meetings. Why Fastmail? • Privacy first – No ads, no tracking, no selling your data. It’s your data, not ours. • Secure and trusted – Robust encryption of your data both in transit and at rest. Passkeys and 2FA keep your email private and safe. • No lock-in – Over 20 years delivering better email. People stay because it’s better, not because it’s hard to leave. • Real support – 24/7 online help from real people, no chatbots. • Migrate in minutes – Move mail, contacts, and calendars from your old provider in minutes. Better for everyone – Fastmail supports open standards, keeping email private and usable for all.

About

Facing Fear

This tool helps you break down fears and complex decisions into manageable steps. It guides you through defining the issue, planning prevention and repair strategies, and outlining concrete actions with reminders. Gain clarity, reduce overthinking, and take decisive action.

Highlights
  • Fear definition and risk assessment
  • Prevention and repair planning
  • Scenario analysis (worst, likely, best case)
  • Actionable next steps with reminders
  • Cost of inaction calculation
  • Reflection and learning from outcomes
  • App lock for privacy
Features
Read full description

Facing Fear – structure fears clearly, act boldly Facing Fear helps you make inner hurdles tangible — with a clear method of Definition, Prevention, Repair, scenarios, and concrete next steps. This way you make better decisions, reduce rumination, and get into action. Why Facing Fear? - Clarity instead of catastrophizing: organize thoughts, assess risks, and see in black and white what truly matters. - Action instead of procrastination: set concrete steps — with due dates and reminders. - Reflect & learn: compare expectation vs. reality and close topics consciously. How it works - Define: What is it really about? Describe your fear/decision. - Prevent & Repair: What can you do to prevent problems — and what if something does go wrong? - Scenarios: Worst case, most likely course, and best case. - Costs of inaction: What happens if you change nothing (6/12/36 months)? - Next steps: Max. three concrete actions incl. date. - Assessment: Severity, likelihood, controllability — as a risk score (0–100). - Review: Set a review date. - Close out: Reflect at the end (“What actually happened?” and “What will I tell myself next time?”) and archive the entry. Highlights - Clear card view with risk chip and mini scale - Search, filter & sorting (Newest, Due date, Risk) - Due dates & reminders for your steps - Markdown-capable text input (including lists) - Quick duplication and share/export (Markdown for backups) - App lock (Face ID / Touch ID) for more privacy - Statistics dashboard: number of fears created, Ø score, trends over time, top topics, and much more - Close-out flow: expectation vs. outcome, learnings, archive Pro – unlock once, use everything With Facing Fear Pro you get: - Unlimited active entries - Markdown export for backups & sharing - Full statistics dashboard - App Lock (Face ID/Touch ID) - Close-out & reflection incl. archive view - Pay once, use forever. (No subscription.) Privacy - No account required. - Your data stays on your device. - Face ID/Touch ID optional. Note Facing Fear is not a substitute for therapy and does not provide medical or legal advice. It is a self-management tool that supports clear thinking and action.

Screenshots

Fastmail4 screens
Facing Fear4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Facing Fear at 100% against Fastmail's 49%. Fastmail's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 3 months) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Fastmail sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $6.49 per month and Facing Fear sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Fastmail ships an update every 3 weeks, Facing Fear every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Fastmail versus Facing Fear: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFastmailFacing Fear
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.8 (585 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews48.6% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings585 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.4 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size21 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFastmail Pty LtdHenning Koetz

Customer experience

Fastmail

All ratings584 ratings
Positive66.8%
Neutral9.9%
Negative23.3%
Written reviews453 reviews
Positive48.6%
Neutral19.4%
Negative32.0%

Facing Fear

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Fastmail

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Blank screen on app launch
  • Notification badges not updating correctly
  • Delayed email delivery
  • Unreliable swiping gestures
  • Disappearing toolbar buttons

Requested features

5 requests
  • Offline email access
  • Customizable notification sounds
  • Integration with native iOS apps
  • Dark mode support
  • Multiple account management

Facing Fear

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Fastmail

Subscriptions1
  • Fastmail Monthly Plan$6.491 Month
1 purchases

Facing Fear

One-time1
  • Facing Fear Pro$3.99

Questions

Is Fastmail free?
Fastmail is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Facing Fear free?
Facing Fear is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Fastmail or Facing Fear have ads?
Neither Fastmail nor Facing Fear shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Fastmail or Facing Fear?
Fastmail ships an update every 3 weeks, and Facing Fear every 3 months. Most recently, Fastmail was updated on October 29, 2026 and Facing Fear on October 24, 2026.

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