Apps
App profiles: what they do, what they cost, where they work.
Acorns: invest spare change automatically, no free tier
Acorns rounds up purchases and invests the spare change automatically, but every plan is a subscription starting at $4/month. We check what a "set and forget" app actually costs.
Fidelity Investments: full-service brokerage, commission-free stock trades
Fidelity offers $0 commission on US stock and ETF trades, plus retirement accounts and research tools. We check what a traditional brokerage adds over a trading app.
Robinhood: commission-free trading, plus crypto and prediction markets
Robinhood trades stocks, options, and crypto commission-free, with an optional Gold subscription for perks like 3.6% APY on cash. We check what's actually free.
Webull: active trading tools, options and futures, commission-free
Webull offers commission-free stocks, options, and futures with 60+ technical indicators and paper trading. We check what the optional Premium subscription actually adds.
Apple Translate: built into iPhone, free, and iOS-only
Apple's own Translate app is free, tiny, and works on-device — but covers about twenty languages and never comes to Android. We check what that trade-off buys.
Copilot Money: Apple-only budgeting, US banks only
Copilot Money is iPhone, Mac and iPad only, and works with US financial institutions only. We check what that leaves out before you start a trial.
DeepL: translation quality first, with tone and glossary as paid extras
DeepL focuses on translation accuracy over feature count, and gates its Tone and Glossary options behind a paid plan. We check what's free and what isn't.
Goodbudget: envelope budgeting with a real free-forever tier
Goodbudget splits money into virtual envelopes and shares the budget across a household. Its free tier is genuinely permanent — we check what the subscription adds on top.
Google Translate: offline, camera, and conversation mode — all free
Google Translate keeps offline mode, camera translation, and live conversation mode free, with no subscription. We check what that beats among paid competitors.
iTranslate: offline mode and voice conversation are Pro-only
iTranslate translates text for free, but offline mode, camera translation, and voice conversation sit behind a Pro subscription. We check what's actually free.
Microsoft Translator: a lightweight translator, minus multi-device chat
Microsoft Translator is a 26MB app that translates text, speech, and photos. We check why its multi-device conversation feature is gone.
Monarch: budgeting built for couples and families
Monarch adds a partner or advisor to your budget at no extra cost, positioned as a Mint replacement. We check the trial length and what the subscription covers.
Rocket Money: finds and cancels subscriptions you forgot about
Rocket Money budgets like any other app, but its real pitch is finding forgotten subscriptions and negotiating your bills down. We check what's free and what needs Premium.
YNAB: zero-based budgeting, no permanent free tier
YNAB assigns every dollar a job before you spend it. There is no free version once the trial ends — we look at what the subscription actually buys.
Apple Podcasts: the built-in player with live transcripts
Apple Podcasts comes on every iPhone and does something none of its rivals do: show a live transcript while an episode plays. We look at what it still lacks.
Castbox: 95 million episodes across both platforms
Castbox claims one of the largest podcast catalogs in the world and works identically on iPhone and Android. We look at what its premium tier actually gates.
Overcast: the podcast app built by one person
The Verge and TechCrunch both called Overcast the best podcast app on iPhone. It has no company behind it, no Android version, and no third-party tracking.
Pocket Casts: silence trimming and smart playlists, no subscription
Pocket Casts is completely free with no paid tier at all, and it still trims dead air out of episodes and builds self-updating playlists. Here is where it falls short.
Podcast App: built to get you to the next episode fast
Podcast App by Evolve calls itself the most-downloaded independent podcast player on iOS. Every design choice is built around one goal: speed to the next episode.
Spotify: podcasts bundled with the music you already pay for
Spotify is where most people already listen to podcasts, without meaning to pick a podcast app at all. We look at what that convenience costs.
2FAS: an authenticator you can audit
Open source, with backups, and rated well above most closed alternatives. The code that holds your second factors is published and checkable.
AnyDesk: reach your computer without touching the router
Connects through its own servers, so no port forwarding and no VPN. Free for personal use, and the name most people reach for after TeamViewer.
CapCut: templates, effects and 771 megabytes
One of the most-reviewed editors in this category. Enormous template library and the heaviest editor here — nearly a gigabyte before your first clip.
Cronometer: micronutrients, not just calories
Tracks 80-plus nutrients against a curated food database — the most demanding app in this category to use, and the highest rated.
Duo Mobile: the 2FA app your employer installed
The largest audience in this category, and almost nobody chose it themselves.
Google Authenticator: 2FA codes with a cloud backup
The default answer for two-factor codes, with the largest audience in this category. Since 2023 it syncs and exports, which removes the one risk that mattered.
Holafly: unlimited-data eSIM, priced accordingly
Sells unlimited plans where competitors sell gigabytes — and the fine print about speed matters.
InShot: the video editor most people actually use
The largest audience of any editor here. Fast for short vertical video, limited once projects get complex.
Lifesum: diet plans wrapped around a calorie counter
Sells structure rather than tracking: keto, high protein, Mediterranean plans with recipes built in.
LumaFusion: the paid one, and worth it if you edit daily
Costs $29.99 once, no subscription — the professional choice for editing on an iPad.
Microsoft Authenticator: passwordless sign-in for work accounts
Does what the others do, plus approves Microsoft sign-ins with a tap. Weighs 223 MB — nearly six times Google Authenticator.
Nomad: pay for the gigabytes you actually use
Per-gigabyte travel eSIM with regional plans and no subscription — cheaper than unlimited for most trips.
RealVNC Viewer: nine megabytes of remote desktop
The smallest app in this category and the highest rated. Works with Windows, macOS and Linux alike.
Remote Mouse: a trackpad for your computer, not a remote desktop
Turns the phone into a mouse and keyboard for a machine in the same room. It does not show you the screen, which is why it belongs in a different category.
RustDesk: remote desktop you can host yourself
Open source and self-hostable, so no third party sits in the connection. Young and rough in places, with a small audience in the US store so far.
Twilio Authy: codes on several devices at once
Built its reputation on multi-device sync years before Google added it — and its main argument has weakened since.
VN: a real timeline, for free
Keyframes, speed curves and multi-track audio without a subscription or a watermark, and a large audience for a free tool this capable.
Windows App Mobile: Microsoft's own remote desktop client
Connects to Windows over RDP with no third-party server involved. The rating is the lowest here, and the reason is network setup, not code.
Yazio: photo logging and a clean interface
Log meals by photographing them. 382 MB — heavy for a food diary.
YouCut: no watermark on the free tier
The one free editor that does not brand your video, and the lightest of the group at 153 MB.
Bear: Markdown notes for people inside the Apple world
A writing app with tags instead of folders and a design people stay for. Apple platforms only, and sync requires the subscription.
Craft: documents that look finished as you write them
Sits between a notes app and a document editor, with the best-looking output in the category. Strongest on Apple hardware, and priced accordingly.
Evernote: the category pioneer people keep leaving
Still the second most rated notes app, and the one users search for alternatives to most. We look at what changed and whether it still makes sense.
Google Keep: fast notes with nothing in the way
Opens instantly, syncs everywhere, and does not try to become a workspace. The trade is that it stops being enough as soon as notes get long.
Notion: notes, databases and wiki in one workspace
The most popular app in the category by audience size. It replaces several tools at once, and costs 566 MB and a learning curve for it.
Obsidian: notes as plain files you keep forever
Your notes stay as Markdown files in a folder on your device. No account, no lock-in, and 38 MB — the smallest app in this category by a wide margin.
Standard Notes: end-to-end encryption before anything else
Notes are encrypted on your device before they leave it. The developer cannot read them even under legal pressure — and that costs you convenience.
Adobe Fresco: live brushes that behave like real paint
Adobe Fresco simulates watercolour and oil that bleed and mix on the canvas. We look at what that buys and what the Adobe account costs you.
Atoms: the Atomic Habits method as an app
Atoms is built by the company behind the book Atomic Habits and follows its method directly. We look at what that buys and where the app lags.
Concepts: an infinite canvas where every stroke stays editable
Concepts draws in vector on a canvas without edges: any stroke can be moved and recoloured later. We look at who needs that and who it hinders.
Days Since: counting up from the day you quit
Days Since does the opposite job: it counts time since you stopped something rather than streaks of doing it. We look at why that inversion matters.
Finch: a self-care pet that grows when you keep your habits
Finch turns habits into caring for a small bird, and a large, engaged audience suggests it works. We look at who this framing helps and who it puts off.
FlipaClip: frame-by-frame animation on a phone
FlipaClip draws frames rather than pictures: onion skin, a timeline, export to video. We look at when it is the right tool and when it is the wrong one.
Habit Tracker: a generic name with a large, quiet audience
An app called simply Habit Tracker sits near the top of the category by audience size. We look at what it does and what the plain name hides.
Habitica: habits as a role-playing game with a party
Habitica turns habits into an RPG where skipping damages your character and your teammates. We look at when that pressure helps and when it backfires.
Habitify: habit data across every platform you use
Habitify runs on iOS, Android, Mac, Windows and the web with one account. We look at who needs that and what the app charges for.
ibis Paint X: a thousand brushes, paid for with ads
ibis Paint X hands out more brushes and layers than paid rivals and charges for it in advertising. We look at who that trade suits.
Infinite Painter: colours that actually mix
Infinite Painter bets on simulating paint — a stroke blends with what is under it. We look at who needs that and where the app falls behind.
MediBang Paint: comics and manga with cloud between devices
MediBang Paint is built around pages and panels rather than single images. We look at how it differs from ibis Paint and who it suits.
Procreate: the iPad drawing standard, bought once
Procreate is what people mean when they say "drawing app for tablet" — but it is Apple-only and costs money. We look at what the one-time purchase buys.
Sketchbook: a clean canvas with no ads and no subscription
Sketchbook gives away its full toolset and never shows an ad. We look at what it wins on against more generous rivals.
Streaks: twelve habits, one purchase, no subscription
Streaks limits you to twelve habits on purpose and charges once. We look at why the limit is a feature and where the app stops.
Way of Life: a red and green grid, running since 2010
Way of Life shows habits as coloured squares and has done so for fifteen years. We look at what the longevity buys and what the app still lacks.