Comparison

Productive vs TimeBuddy

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

Head to head
About

Productive

Build positive habits and achieve your goals with this comprehensive planner. Track progress, engage in challenges, and gain insights to enhance your productivity and well-being.

Highlights
  • Habit creation and management
  • Personalized goal programs
  • Guided challenges
  • Expert insights and articles
  • Customizable habit appearance
  • Progress statistics and streaks
  • Smart reminders and notifications
  • ADHD assistance features
Features
Read full description

Meet Productive - the app that helps you build positive life-changing habits. With Productive, you can set personal goals, track your progress, and focus on what makes you healthier, happier and more productive! FEATURES HABIT MANAGEMENT Create, complete, stop, or pause habits whenever it is convenient for you. Add notes to your habits to highlight the main points during the day. PROGRAMS Сhoose your goal, receive daily habit tips, reflection check-ins, and motivation prompts to get the boost you need. CHALLENGES Improve your daily routine by completing guided tasks and competing with other users from all over the world. ARTICLES Grow awareness of your own productivity and motivation with personalized expert insights. CUSTOMIZATION Customize the app the way you want! You can name your habit, choose a unique icon, and even pick its color. STATISTICS Track your habits and analyze progress by building motivating chains of completed habits and perfect days. The longer your chain of completed habits, the more likely you will keep the streak going. NOTIFICATIONS Set up smart reminders, and personalize the app to get notifications of what's scheduled for each part of the day. ADHD ASSISTANCE Manage distractions and deal with ADHD by concentrating on a focused daily routine. PREMIUM FEATURES - Unlimited number of habits - Endless motivation with various challenges - Full-text articles to draw inspiration - Improved reminders for individual habits - Location-based reminders - Motivating stats for each habit - Habit trends with week-by-week data SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION Subscription payments will be charged to your App Store account at confirmation of your purchase. Subscriptions will automatically renew and you will be charged unless auto-renew is turned off or unless you cancel at least 24 hours prior to the end of the current subscription or trial period. Any unused portion of a free trial period will be forfeited when you purchase a premium subscription during the free trial period. The cost of renewal depends on the Subscription Plan you choose. Subscriptions and auto-renewal may be managed by going to Account Settings after purchase or by contacting Customer Support. If you have any questions or suggestions on how we can improve the application, please do not hesitate to contact us at productive@bendingspoons.com Privacy Policy: http://www.apalon.com/privacy_policy.html EULA: http://www.apalon.com/terms_of_use.html AdChoices: http://www.apalon.com/privacy_policy.html#4 California Privacy Notice: https://apalon.com/privacy_policy.html#h

About

TimeBuddy

This app helps you focus on tasks with a customizable multi-step timer. Break down goals into mini-goals and receive spoken alerts and reminders across devices. Track progress and share achievements with shareable graphics.

Highlights
  • Reusable multi-step timer sessions
  • Simultaneous session support
  • Cross-device reminders
  • Spoken timer alerts
  • Home screen widgets
  • Focus session history
  • Customizable graphic templates
Features
Read full description

TimeBuddy is a simple, multi-step productivity timer that helps you focus on your daily tasks. You can create a session for tasks like cooking, working out, or studying. Then break up your goal into steps or mini-goals. Here is an example of a quick 10-minute workout session: · Bodyweight Squats for 2 minutes · Rest for 30 seconds · Push-Ups for 2 minutes · Rest for 30 seconds · Plank with T-Rotation for 2 minutes · Rest for 30 seconds · Alternating Standing Oblique Crunches for 2 minutes · Finish with a Rest for 30 second ——— Features ——— - Stay focused by running reusable multi-step timer sessions to achieve your goal. = Multiple sessions can run simultaneously. - Receive reminders across devices while progressing and finishing sessions. - Spoken alerts will talk you through your timers so you can stay focused. - Access sessions on the home screen with widgets. - Keep track of your progress with the focus session history. - Share your progress with our gorgeous customizable graphic templates. - Access sessions securely on all of your devices using iCloud. - Customize the appearance of the app with alternate theme colors and app icons. - Enjoy focusing in the dark with our gorgeous dark mode. ——— TimeBuddy Plus ——— TimeBuddy is made by me, Matt, a solo developer! I believe that TimeBuddy’s core features should be free for everyone to use, but if you want to support and help me work on the app full time, you can subscribe to TimeBuddy Plus to unlock all features. ——— Subscriptions ——— If you purchase a TimeBuddy Plus subscription, payment will be charged to your iTunes account. Your account will automatically be charged for renewal within 24 hours before the end of the current subscription period unless you disable auto-renew. You can turn off auto-renewal at any time by going to your Account Settings on the App Store after purchase. Privacy Policy: https://mdssoftware.co/privacypolicy Terms of Use: https://mdssoftware.co/termsofuse

Screenshots

Productive4 screens
TimeBuddy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Productive at 47% against TimeBuddy's 0%. Productive also leads on rating (4.6 vs 4.0) and ratings volume (91K vs 5). TimeBuddy's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, 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. Productive sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per 3 months and TimeBuddy sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Productive holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Productive has 91K ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 47% of Productive's written reviews are positive against 0% of TimeBuddy's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Productive ships an update fortnightly, TimeBuddy every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and August 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Productive versus TimeBuddy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterProductiveTimeBuddy
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (91K ratings) — better4.0 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews47.4% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings91K — better5
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size330 MB13 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMosaic S.r.l.MasterMind Software LLC

Customer experience

Productive

All ratings91,101 ratings
Positive90.0%
Neutral3.9%
Negative6.1%
Written reviews572 reviews
Positive47.4%
Neutral11.5%
Negative41.1%

TimeBuddy

All ratings5 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Bugs and requests

Productive

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Habit completion not always registering correctly
  • Streaks and history randomly resetting
  • Timers and reminders not working as expected
  • Syncing issues between iPhone and iPad

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to add custom habits and measurements
  • More flexible scheduling options (e.g. every other day, specific days of month)
  • Integration with other productivity apps and calendars
  • Offline mode and local data storage
  • Detailed analytics and progress tracking

TimeBuddy

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

9 purchases

Productive

Subscriptions8
  • Productive Premium 3 Months7 Days trial$5.993 Months
  • Weekly Bundle Premium with FT7 Days trial$5.997 Days
  • Productive Premium 1 Month$10.991 Month
Show 5 more
  • Productive Premium 1 Year7 Days trial2 variants$19.991 Year
  • Productive Premium 1 Year7 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • Productive Premium 1 Year$59.991 Year
  • Productive Premium 1 Year7 Days trial$59.991 Year
  • Productive Premium 1 Year7 Days trial3 variants$79.991 Year
One-time1
  • Upgrade Productive$3.99
4 purchases

TimeBuddy

Subscriptions3
  • TimeBuddy Plus$4.991 Month
  • TimeBuddy Plus3 Days trial$19.991 Year
  • TimeBuddy Plus3 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • TimeBuddy Plus$49.99

Questions

Is Productive free?
Productive is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is TimeBuddy free?
TimeBuddy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Productive or TimeBuddy?
Productive is rated higher. Productive averages 4.6 out of 5 from 91K ratings, while TimeBuddy averages 4.0 from 5 ratings.
Do Productive or TimeBuddy have ads?
Productive shows ads; TimeBuddy does not.
Which is updated more often, Productive or TimeBuddy?
Productive ships an update fortnightly, and TimeBuddy every 6 weeks. Most recently, Productive was updated on September 25, 2026 and TimeBuddy on August 27, 2026.

Other comparisons