Habitica Review 2026: Is It Free, What the Subscription Adds, Is It Worth It?

Habitica turns your to-do list into a role-playing game. You make a pixel-art avatar, your tasks become the quests, and finishing them earns Gold and Experience while missing them costs Health. It’s one of the best-known gamified habit apps, and it’s open source.

People deciding whether to try it usually ask the same four things: is it free, what does the subscription add, what does a group plan cost, and is it worth it. We read the facts below from Habitica’s App Store and Google Play listings and from its open-source code on GitHub on October 25, 2026. We make a different habit app, Habit Rewards, and we’ve tried to be fair to Habitica.

Habitica at a glance

	Habitica
Made by	HabitRPG Inc., open source
Platforms	Web, iPhone, Android
Price	Free; optional subscription
App Store (US)	4.3 from about 3,600 ratings, updated October 2026
Google Play	4.6 from about 76,000 ratings, 5M+ downloads

Is Habitica free?

Yes. The parts that make Habitica a habit tracker are all free: Habits (things you tap + or − on), Dailies (things due on a schedule), To Do’s (one-offs), custom rewards you price in Gold, and the social side: parties, quests and challenges.

What costs money is mostly cosmetic or a shortcut: Gems (4 for $0.99 up to 84 for $19.99 on the US App Store) buy avatar costumes, backgrounds, some quests and pets, or a class change. And there’s the optional subscription.

If you’re not sure what goes in which column, our guide to Habits vs Dailies vs To Do’s sorts 30 example tasks.

What the subscription costs

Plan	US App Store	habitica.com
1 month	$4.99	$5
3 months	$14.99	$15
6 months	$29.99	$30
12 months	$47.99	$48

Habitica’s code also lists a discounted 6-month plan at $24 through Google Play. Subscriptions renew automatically unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the period ends.

What subscribers get

From Habitica’s own subscription page text:

Buy Gems with Gold: up to 50 Gems a month from the Market, paid for with in-game Gold instead of money.
Double the drops: twice as many eggs, hatching potions and food each day, so your pet collection grows faster.
A monthly gear set: an exclusive cosmetic set for your avatar every month.
A Mystic Hourglass every month for the Time Travelers shop, which sells past gear sets, pets and mounts. A first 12-month subscription gives 12 at once.

None of this changes how habit tracking works. A subscription is for people who already love the game layer and want more of it, or who want to support an open-source project.

What a Habitica group plan costs

A group plan is $9 a month, plus $3 a month for every additional member. Everyone in the group gets full subscription benefits and a Royal Purple Jackalope mount, and the group gets a shared task board. Families and small teams use it to hand out shared chores and to-dos.

What it’s like to use

What works

The game is real. Levels, classes, gear, pets and boss fights with your party. If you like RPGs, it makes a to-do list fun in a way most apps don’t.
Social pressure that helps. Join a party with friends and take on quest bosses together. Knowing others are counting on you is the push many people need.
Free and everywhere. The core is free, and the web app means you can use it on a computer as well as your phone.
Custom rewards. You can price your own treats in Gold. We wrote a whole guide on how much Gold to charge for custom rewards.

What doesn’t work for everyone

It punishes. A missed Daily costs Health at the start of your next day. If Health hits zero, Habitica’s code resets your Gold to zero and takes a level, a stat point and a piece of gear. Some people find that motivating; others stop opening the app after one bad week. (For holidays, a “Pause Damage” switch in Settings stops missed Dailies from hurting you.)
It takes setting up. Three task types, classes, stats and a cron time. The first week is mostly learning the game.
Your real rewards share an economy with the game. Gold buys Health Potions and gear as well as your custom rewards, so treats compete with potions you need to stay alive.

Is Habitica worth it?

The free version is worth trying if you like games and want a fun way to run a to-do list, especially with friends in a party. Give it two weeks: by then you’ll know whether the game keeps you going or gets in the way.

The subscription is worth it if you’re already hooked on the game side and want more gear, pets and Gems, or want to support the project. It won’t make you better at habits on its own.

A group plan is worth it for a family or team that wants a shared task board with the game on top.

Habitica probably isn’t for you if losing progress after a bad day makes you quit, if you want something you can set up in two minutes, or if what motivates you is real rewards rather than avatar gear.

Alternatives, depending on what you’re missing

You want the rewards without the RPG: Habit Rewards (ours) is built around coins you spend on rewards you price yourself. There’s no avatar and no Health to lose: a habit you leave undone simply earns nothing (only marking it as failed takes coins back), and you can trade 10 coins for a Skip that keeps your streak. Each habit pays 1, 4, 8 or 16 coins by difficulty (or any amount you set), and one-off tasks pay too. It’s free for three habits on iPhone and Android, with no web app. Side by side: Habitica vs Habit Rewards.
You want something gentler and cuter: a pet that grows with your self-care. See Habitica vs Finch.
You want a clean tracker with stats: see Habitica vs Habitify.
You want to see everything: 10 apps like Habitica, grouped by the kind of game behind them.

FAQ

Does Habitica cost money? No, not to use it. Tasks, rewards, parties and quests are free. Money buys Gems (from $0.99) and the optional subscription ($4.99 a month or $47.99 a year on the US App Store).

What do you get with a Habitica subscription? Up to 50 Gems a month bought with Gold, double daily item drops, an exclusive monthly gear set and a Mystic Hourglass each month for the Time Travelers shop.

How much is a Habitica group plan? $9 a month plus $3 a month for each additional member. Every member gets subscription benefits.

Is Habitica good for ADHD? Some people with ADHD love it, because the game makes boring tasks pay something now. Others find the setup and the Health penalty too much. If you want points and rewards without the punishment, see our ADHD reward system guide.

What happens if you die in Habitica? When your Health reaches zero, you lose all your Gold, one level, one stat point and one piece of equipment, then you start again with 50 Health.

Is Habitica still active in 2026? Yes. The iPhone app was updated in October 2026, and the project is developed in the open on GitHub.

✅ Try Habit Rewards: the habit tracker that pays you

Every habit pays coins by how hard it is (1, 4, 8 or 16). Write your own reward list, put a coin price on each treat, and claim it once you've earned it.