Comparison

Productive vs Photon Access

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

Photon Access

Features
Read full description

Photon Access turns your phone into the key for your building. Open the gate and the lift with a tap — or turn on touchless and let the door open as you walk up, without taking your phone out. EVERY DOOR YOU'RE ALLOWED, IN ONE PLACE Your buildings, and the doors you've been granted in each, on a single screen. Tap to open. If you're out of range, the app tells you plainly instead of leaving you guessing. WALK UP AND IT OPENS Turn on touchless and Photon Access notices when you arrive at your own doors and opens them for you. It stays off until you switch it on, it only ever watches for your own doors, and you can turn it off at any time. LET A VISITOR OR A COURIER IN Send one link. It opens your doors for a single visit and then expires, and it works even if they have never installed the app. Afterwards your history shows what actually happened at the door, so you know whether they got in. JOIN YOUR BUILDING IN SECONDS Invited by your building manager? Your access appears on its own. Invited by phone number? Enter the code you were sent. FOR BUILDING MANAGERS Set up access controllers, add and remove residents, issue and revoke cards, and manage units across every building you look after — from the same app. ENGLISH AND ARABIC Fully localised, including right-to-left layout. PRIVACY Photon Access uses Bluetooth to reach the controller at your door, and location only if you turn touchless on. Your location is never sold, shared, or used for advertising, and the app contains no tracking or advertising SDK. You can delete your account from Settings at any time. Photon Access works with Photon Smart access controllers installed in your building. If you are not sure whether yours are supported, ask your building manager.

Screenshots

Productive4 screens
Photon Access4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Photon Access at none against Productive's 10. Photon Access also leads on ads (none vs shown). Productive's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 5 weeks) and device support (4 vs 1). On price 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 7 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per 7 days. Photon Access asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Productive ships an update fortnightly, Photon Access every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 12, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Productive versus Photon Access: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterProductivePhoton Access
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (91K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews47.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings91K — better—
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS14.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size330 MB41 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMosaic S.r.l.Mark Ragaee

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

Photon Access

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Productive

Subscriptions6
  • Weekly Bundle Premium with FT7 Days trial$5.997 Days
  • Productive Premium 1 Month$10.991 Month
  • Productive Premium 1 Year7 Days trial2 variants$19.991 Year
Show 3 more
  • Productive Premium 1 Year7 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • Productive Premium 1 Year$59.991 Year
  • Productive Premium 1 Year7 Days trial3 variants$79.991 Year
One-time1
  • Upgrade Productive$3.99
None

Photon Access

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Productive free?
Productive is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Photon Access free?
Photon Access is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Productive or Photon Access have ads?
Productive shows ads; Photon Access does not.
Which is updated more often, Productive or Photon Access?
Productive ships an update fortnightly, and Photon Access every 5 weeks. Most recently, Productive was updated on November 12, 2026 and Photon Access on November 7, 2026.

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