Comparison

Back vs Soon

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

Head to head
About

Back

This app provides peace of mind by offering replacement family care when regular arrangements fall through. It allows users to conveniently schedule care, manage reservations, and find nearby centers directly from their mobile device.

Highlights
  • Schedule back-up care
  • Request previous caregivers
  • View reservation details
  • Receive confirmation notifications
  • Copy past reservations
  • Find nearby care centers
  • Add reservations to calendar
Features
Read full description

Family care emergencies can disrupt your whole day. Bright Horizons Back-Up Care™, a benefit available to you if offered by your employer, can give you peace of mind, providing replacement care when regular arrangements fall through. Now the program is in the palm of your hand! As a user of Bright Horizons Back-Up Care, you can conveniently schedule care right from your mobile device with the Back-Up Care app. Whether your regular caregiver calls in sick, your child has a school holiday, or you’re transitioning back to work from parental leave, the Back-Up Care app is your easy, time-saving solution to managing family care challenges while on the go. You can use the Back-Up Care app to: • Sign up for your benefit (to get started, you just need your employer’s username and password) • Submit a new request for back-up care • Request previously used caregivers • View details of existing reservations • Receive notifications when reservations are confirmed • Quickly create new reservations by copying past reservations • Find nearby centers and view each location on a map • Add confirmed reservations to your device’s calendar • Get details about your benefit offering *Please note: Your employer must participate in Bright Horizons Back-Up Care in order to use this app. Not all employers who participate allow the use of this app. Please contact your human resources department for information on benefit availability.

About

Soon

Features
Read full description

Something good is coming. Soon keeps the moments you are looking forward to close: a trip, a birthday, a launch, a wedding, the holidays. Create a countdown in seconds, then let it live where you already look — your Home Screen, your Lock Screen, StandBy and the Dynamic Island. COUNTDOWNS THAT FEEL HUMAN Choose how each moment counts. Days for a launch. Sleeps for a holiday or a birthday. Weeks for a race. Exact hours, minutes and seconds when it has to be precise. See how much of the wait is already over, or count up the years since a moment you never want to forget. ON YOUR HOME AND LOCK SCREEN Beautiful widgets in every size, from a single hero countdown to your next few moments at a glance. Lock Screen widgets for a quick look without unlocking. Designed for the tinted and clear Home Screen styles, with your own photo or a colour and symbol. FINAL STRETCH As a timed moment gets close, it goes live: a Live Activity on your Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island counts down the final hours, second by second, until it is time. ONE QUIET REMINDER One notification, on the day, only if you ask for it. No badges, no nagging. SHARE THE MOMENT Turn any countdown into a card for Messages, a story or a square post, in a few taps. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account. No ads. Nothing is uploaded to us. Your events and photos stay on your iPhone and, if you choose, in your own iCloud. TRY EVERYTHING FOR SEVEN DAYS Soon is free to use in full for seven days — every countdown, every style and design, every widget, Final Stretch Live Activities and iCloud sync, with nothing held back and no card required. After that, one purchase of $4.99 keeps it all, forever. No subscription, no ads, no account. Your countdowns are always yours: you can export them at any time, whether or not you buy. Look forward to something.

Screenshots

Back4 screens
Soon4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Back at none against Soon's 1. Back also leads on iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.0). Soon's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, ads and device support 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. Soon sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Back asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Back ships an update every 3 weeks, Soon every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Back versus Soon: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBackSoon
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.5 (126 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews12.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings126 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS16.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size69 MB18 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBright Horizons CC LLCGreenVine

Bugs and requests

Back

Reported bugs

19 issues
  • Login credentials not accepted despite being correct
  • Face ID authentication fails
  • Request Care button missing or non-functional
  • App version mismatch preventing login
  • Forced logout when navigating away from app
Show 14 more
  • Profile information not saving
  • Verification codes not arriving
  • General error messages without details
  • Form data lost when navigating between screens
  • Keyboard not appearing on login screen
  • App crashes on startup
  • Slow page loading causing phone lockup
  • SSO and 2FA authentication failures
  • Reservation confirmation status incorrect
  • Missing emergency contact entry screen
  • Special needs/allergies settings not removable
  • Mobile number textability settings not preserved
  • Address validation rejecting valid addresses
  • Inconsistent data between app and website

Requested features

11 requests
  • Distance-based filtering for childcare centers
  • Display facility names after booking
  • Overnight reservation options
  • Extended session timeout before re-authentication
  • Caregiver selection and preference system
Show 6 more
  • Reservation history and details visibility
  • Real-time caregiver availability updates
  • Automatic backup caregiver assignment
  • Clear policy information in intake forms
  • Improved error messages with specific guidance
  • Search by location other than current position

Soon

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Back

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Soon

One-time1
  • Pro$4.99

Questions

Is Back free?
Back is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Soon free?
Soon is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Back or Soon have ads?
Neither Back nor Soon shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Back or Soon?
Back ships an update every 3 weeks, and Soon every 2 days. Most recently, Back was updated on October 26, 2026 and Soon on October 24, 2026.

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