Habitica turned habit tracking into a game, and for a lot of people that’s what finally made it stick. But it’s one kind of game: a pixel-art RPG with health points, gear and party quests. If that isn’t working for you any more, the fix is usually a different game, not no game at all.
So here are six apps, grouped by what actually motivates you in each. One of them is ours, Habit Rewards; we’ve tried to describe the others the way their own users would.
What kind of game do you want?
| If what keeps you going is… | Try |
|---|---|
| Leveling up a character with friends | Habitica |
| Looking after something | Finch |
| Not touching your phone | Forest |
| A shop you design yourself | LifeUp (Android) / ulives (iOS) |
| Treats you choose, paid for in coins | Habit Rewards |
| Losing real money if you slip | Beeminder |
1. Habitica: the RPG
The original. Your habits, dailies and to-dos become an RPG: done tasks give you experience and gold, missed dailies cost your character health, and gold buys gear for your avatar. Its biggest strength is social: you can join a party with friends, take on quests together, and during a boss quest your missed dailies hurt the whole party.
Good for: people who like RPGs and want friends to keep them honest.
Less good if: the pixel art, the menus or the punishment for a bad day start to feel like work.
2. Finch: the pet
Finch is a self-care app with a small bird you look after. Your goals for the day give it energy, and that energy sends it on adventures. It’s gentle by design: there’s no damage for missing a day, and it leans on mood check-ins, reflection and breathing exercises as much as habits. Free to start, with an optional Finch Plus subscription.
Good for: self-care routines, and anyone who responds better to kindness than to streak pressure.
Less good if: you want to track specific numbers or plan your rewards yourself.
3. Forest: the focus game
Forest is about one habit: staying off your phone. You start a timer and a tree grows; leave the app to scroll and the tree dies. Finished sessions earn coins, and the app has a long-running partnership with Trees for the Future that turns them into real trees planted.
Good for: study and deep-work sessions.
Less good if: you want to track habits like water, workouts or reading. Many people use Forest next to a habit tracker.
4. LifeUp / ulives: the sandbox
LifeUp (Android) treats your life as a game you build yourself. Tasks earn experience and coins, you create your own skills and achievements, and you stock a shop with rewards you price in coins. Its iOS sibling, ulives, comes from the same developers. It’s the most customizable app on this list.
Good for: people who enjoy designing systems and want every rule to be their own.
Less good if: you want something that works in two minutes. The flexibility comes with a lot of settings.
5. Habit Rewards: earn coins, spend them on real treats
This is ours. It keeps the part of a game that works for most people, getting paid, and drops the rest: no avatar, no damage. Every habit pays coins by how hard it is (1, 4, 8 or 16). You make a list of real rewards, like a coffee out, a new book or a guilt-free gaming evening, each with a coin price, and you claim one once your balance covers it. Your habits show as grids that fill in day by day, with streaks and reminders. One-off to-dos go in as tasks and pay coins too. It’s on iPhone and Android, free for three habits, with a Pro subscription for more.
Good for: people who already reward themselves and want the reward to be earned, and anyone who found Habitica’s gold had nothing to buy that they actually wanted.
Less good if: you want quests, a party or a character to level up.
How the coin idea works on paper: reward chart for adults, and the longer version, a token economy for adults. Side by side with Habitica: Habitica vs Habit Rewards.
6. Beeminder: real stakes
Beeminder is the opposite of a reward: you commit to a rate (“run 10 miles a week”), it draws the line on a graph, and if you fall below it, you pay real money. Each time you derail, the pledge goes up, up to a cap you set. It also connects to lots of other apps and devices to log progress automatically.
Good for: people who know that only a real cost moves them, and who like data.
Less good if: a penalty makes you avoid the app instead of the habit.
How to pick
Ask what got you to do the habit on your best Habitica days. If it was your party, stay social: Habitica or a friend checking in. If it was the gold and loot, a reward shop will do the same job with things you actually want (Habit Rewards, LifeUp). If it was fear of losing HP, Beeminder makes that real. And if it was the streak of not letting anything die, Finch or Forest give you something to look after.
Whichever you choose, start small: three habits, one of them easy. Need ideas? Here are 100 habit tracker ideas, each with a suggested coin value.
Habit Rewards is free on iPhone and Android.
✅ Try Habit Rewards App
A simple habit tracker app that helps you build better habits, achieve your goals
- Neat design with beautiful grids
- Visualize your progress at one glance
- Set reminders for your habits
- Customize rewards you desire for your achievements
- Set flexible habits and frequency
- Start now for free
Habit Rewards App is a simple habit tracker with rewards to help your achieve your goals.
Scan the QR code to download from the App Store.
Using Notion?
Build better habits and achieve your goals with this nice Notion Habit Tracker template.
More articles your may be interested in: