App roundups, written the way we’d want to read them.
We build iOS apps, so we spend a lot of time looking at what else is out there. These are the notes: every App Store link checked, every app given a stated drawback, and our own app declared at the top of the page rather than buried at the bottom.
Top picks today
GuideBest Free To-Do List App for iPhoneTen iPhone to-do apps compared honestly — what each is genuinely best at, what it costs, and where each falls down. Including the free ones with no account.Read
Free alternativeFree Things 3 Alternative for iPhoneThings 3 is a paid app on every device. Six to-do apps that do the job for free, what each one still charges for, and which one fits how you plan.Read
Free alternativeFree Alternatives to the Structured Day PlannerStructured shows your day as one timeline. Here are nine planners that do the same, what each puts behind a paywall, and where your data sits.Read
Free alternativeFree TickTick Alternatives for iPhone (No Premium)TickTick’s best features sit in Premium. Six iPhone planners with a calendar, habits or both for free — and exactly where each one draws its paywall.Read
GuideBest Free Notes App for iPhoneEight notes apps checked for note caps, sync paywalls, accounts and exports — with Apple Notes as the free app to beat.Read
Free alternativeBest Free Evernote Alternatives for iPhoneEvernote’s free plan got tight. Six notes apps for iPhone that keep your notes free — what each syncs, what it charges for, and who it suits.Read
Free alternativeFree Bear App Alternatives That SyncBear’s iCloud sync needs Bear Pro. Five notes apps for iPhone that sync for free, with Markdown, checklists or handwriting — and what each can’t do.Read
GuideEasiest CRM App for iPhoneEight CRMs compared for the person who wants a pipeline, not a platform — what each is genuinely built for, what it costs, and the drawback each one has.Read
Free alternativeFree Pipedrive Alternative for iPhone (No Seats)Pipedrive has no free plan and bills per seat. Five iPhone CRMs you can start for free — for one salesperson or a small team — and their limits.Read
Free alternativeSimpler Free HubSpot Alternative for SalespeopleHubSpot’s free CRM is built to grow into paid hubs. Five simpler options for salespeople who just need leads, reminders and follow-ups on their phone.Read
GuideHow to Block Instagram and TikTok on iPhoneScreen Time limits are one tap from being ignored. Here's what a block that holds looks like on iOS, and where Apple's limits are.Read
Free alternativeFree Brick Alternative: Block Apps Without a DeviceBrick blocks your apps until you tap a physical device. Five ways to get the same “someone else holds the key” effect on iPhone — free, with no hardware.Read
Free alternativeFree Goodnotes Alternatives for iPad and iPhoneGoodnotes limits its free notebooks. Five handwriting apps for iPad and iPhone — some free, some one-time, some subscription — and what each one is for.Read
Free alternativeFree Fitbod Alternatives (No AI Subscription)Fitbod writes AI workouts for a subscription. Five free iPhone apps for lifters who’d rather run a proven program or log their own — and what each costs.Read
Free alternativeFree Partiful Alternatives for Bigger EventsPartiful is perfect for one party. Five free invite apps compared — and one built for weddings, multi-day events and planning with a co-host.Read
Free alternativeFree Empower Alternatives (No Bank Login)Empower’s free dashboard is also a front door to its advisers. Five net worth trackers — one with no bank login at all — compared honestly.Read
Free alternativeFree Habitify Alternatives: Habit Trackers ComparedHabitify’s best parts are Plus and Pro. Five habit trackers for iPhone with streaks you can keep for free — plus one that pays once instead of monthly.Read
Free alternativeFree Opal App Alternatives (No Subscription)Opal’s strongest blocks sit behind Opal Pro. Five iPhone app blockers you can use free — Screen Time based, friction based, or with a friend holding the key.Read
Free alternativeone sec App Alternatives: Free Screen Time Blockersone sec is free for one app only. Five iPhone alternatives — pauses, delays and hard blocks — and which kind of friction actually works for you.Read
Free alternativeFree Strong App Alternative (Unlimited Routines)Strong’s free version stops at three custom routines. Five gym trackers for iPhone with more room for free — and what each one charges for.Read
Free alternativeHevy Alternatives: Free Gym Trackers ComparedHevy is great, but not for everyone. Five free iPhone gym trackers — for leaderboards, programs or pure logging — with each one’s real drawback.Read
Free alternativeDelta Portfolio Tracker Alternatives (Free, 2026)Delta now sits under eToro, with PRO tiers and AI limits. Five iPhone portfolio trackers — some private, some synced — and who each one suits.Read
Free alternativeBest Free Mint Alternatives in 2026 (iPhone)Mint shut down in 2024. Six iPhone apps that replaced it — budgeting, net worth or both — with which ones are free and which ones need your bank login.Read
Free alternativeThe Knot App Alternatives for Wedding PlanningThe Knot and Zola are free, and funded by vendors and registries. Five wedding planner apps compared — and one built only for guests, functions and money.Read
Free alternativeFree Evite Alternatives With No Ads for GuestsEvite’s best designs are Premium and ad-free events cost extra. Five invite and RSVP apps that are free for you and your guests — and their catches.Read
10 iPhone apps. 10 on the App Store.
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Kalend: planners & habits · 28 posts
Planning your day without a subscription
From building Kalend, our free planner: to-do lists, calendars, habit trackers and journals, compared on what each one locks behind a paywall.
Google Calendar Alternatives for iPhone (Private)
Want your calendar out of your Google account? Five iPhone calendar apps compared on where your events live, tasks beside events, and what they cost.
KalendRead
Free Tiimo Alternatives for iPhone (ADHD Planners)
Tiimo’s free version is a basic planner, and Pro is a subscription. Five iPhone planners that help with time blindness and routines — free or cheaper.
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Free Habitify Alternatives: Habit Trackers Compared
Habitify’s best parts are Plus and Pro. Five habit trackers for iPhone with streaks you can keep for free — plus one that pays once instead of monthly.
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Free Any.do Alternatives for iPhone (No Premium)
Any.do’s planner features lean on Premium. Five iPhone apps that put tasks and your calendar together for free, and what each one still charges for.
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Free TickTick Alternatives for iPhone (No Premium)
TickTick’s best features sit in Premium. Six iPhone planners with a calendar, habits or both for free — and exactly where each one draws its paywall.
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Free Things 3 Alternative for iPhone
Things 3 is a paid app on every device. Six to-do apps that do the job for free, what each one still charges for, and which one fits how you plan.
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Best Free To-Do List App for iPhone
Ten iPhone to-do apps compared honestly — what each is genuinely best at, what it costs, and where each falls down. Including the free ones with no account.
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Best Free Habit Tracker App for iPhone
Nine habit trackers compared — streaks, reminders, privacy and what each actually costs. Including the ones that need no account and no subscription.
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Best Planner Apps With No Ads
Free and ad-free are not the same thing. Nine iPhone planner apps sorted by how each one is actually paid for, Kalend first.
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Best Planner App for ADHD
Nine ADHD planner apps for iPhone, judged on visible time, one thing at a time, and what happens after a missed day. Kalend is ours and is first.
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Day One vs Apple Journal: Which Is Better?
Day One vs Apple Journal on price, sync, prompts and export, plus four other journal apps judged on the same fields, including our own Kalend.
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Free Alternatives to Fantastical Calendar
Weighing up a Fantastical renewal? Nine iPhone calendar apps compared on accounts supported, tasks beside events and what a subscription gates.
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Habit Tracker With a Journal: Best Apps
Six apps that keep a habit tick and a written note in the same record, graded on how tightly the two are joined. Kalend, ours, is listed first.
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Quick Journal App for Busy People (iPhone)
A quick journalling app for iPhone only helps if it opens fast. Judged on friction: how soon you reach a blank line, and what the app asks first.
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Planner App That Works Offline
Nine planner apps for iPhone judged on one question: what happens with no connection. Kalend is ours and goes first, with eight alternatives.
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Planner Apps Without AI
Nine planner apps without AI, each checked against the developer's own listing for assistants, auto-scheduling and where your text actually goes.
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Free Alternatives to the Structured Day Planner
Structured shows your day as one timeline. Here are nine planners that do the same, what each puts behind a paywall, and where your data sits.
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Best Free Planner App for Students
Nine free student planner apps for iPhone, split into academic planners that model terms and grades and general planners that run your whole life.
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How to Time Block Your Day on iPhone (Free)
How to block out a day on an iPhone without paying: estimate, place, buffer, recover. Then nine free apps rated on how well they hold blocks.
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Free Todoist Alternatives for iPhone
Leaving Todoist on iPhone? Nine task apps compared on where your data lives, whether recurring tasks survive the move, and what the free tier holds back.
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Best All-in-One Planner App for iPhone
Nine iPhone apps that hold tasks, calendar, habits and a journal in one place — with each free tier's actual cap and each subscription's actual price.
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Apps Like Apple Reminders That Track Habits Too
Eight iPhone apps that replace Apple Reminders and track habits too — each app's free habit cap stated, plus what Reminders still does better.
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Planner App With Its Own Calendar (No Google)
Most planner apps write every appointment into your Google or Apple account and keep nothing themselves. Eight that store their own events — and what each.
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Best Free Journal App for iPhone (No Subscription)
Nine iPhone journal apps, each tagged free, one-time or freemium, with the export format stated — so you know how to get your entries out if you ever stop paying.
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Habit Tracker That Doesn’t Reset Your Streak
Skip days, scheduled rest days and streaks that only count scheduled days are three different mechanics sold with the same sentence. Seven habit apps.
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Productivity Apps With No Sign-Up
Eight iPhone planners and to-do apps you can use without signing up — each one checked against its App Store privacy label rather than its marketing copy.
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How to Plan Your Day on iPhone for Free
A free day-planning routine using Apple's Calendar, Reminders and Journal, the three places it breaks down, and seven no-ads apps that patch the gaps.
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Free Streaks Alternatives: 8 Habit Trackers
Eight free habit trackers scored on the four things Streaks users actually rely on — a real Apple Watch app, Home Screen widgets, the free habit cap, and.
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Jotter: notes · 11 posts
Writing things down, faster
From building Jotter, our notes app: the free notes apps worth using, which ones can read your notes, the fastest ways to capture a thought, checklists, and handwriting without a subscription.
Apple Notes Alternatives for iPhone (Free, 2026)
Apple Notes is free and good. Here is when an alternative is worth it — five iPhone notes apps compared on speed, handwriting search and getting notes out.
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Drafts App Alternatives for Fast Note Capture
Drafts is the power user’s capture app, with Pro as a subscription. Five iPhone apps for getting a thought down in seconds — and which suit most people.
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Simpler Notion Alternatives for Quick Notes
Notion is a workspace, not a notepad. Five simpler iPhone notes apps for people who just want to write something down fast — and when Notion is still right.
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Free Goodnotes Alternatives for iPad and iPhone
Goodnotes limits its free notebooks. Five handwriting apps for iPad and iPhone — some free, some one-time, some subscription — and what each one is for.
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Free Bear App Alternatives That Sync
Bear’s iCloud sync needs Bear Pro. Five notes apps for iPhone that sync for free, with Markdown, checklists or handwriting — and what each can’t do.
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Best Free Evernote Alternatives for iPhone
Evernote’s free plan got tight. Six notes apps for iPhone that keep your notes free — what each syncs, what it charges for, and who it suits.
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Best Free Notes App for iPhone
Eight notes apps checked for note caps, sync paywalls, accounts and exports — with Apple Notes as the free app to beat.
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Most Private Notes App for iPhone
Six notes apps scored on four kinds of privacy: no account, no server, end-to-end encryption and a real lock.
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How to Take Quick Notes on iPhone (Fastest Ways)
Seven shortcuts from “I need to write this down” to typing in a second, set up once — and four apps built for it.
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How to Make a Checklist on iPhone (Notes & Reminders)
Checklists in Apple Notes and Reminders step by step, the settings worth changing, and five apps compared.
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Best Free Handwriting Notes App for iPad
Six Apple Pencil and finger-writing apps compared on notebook limits, handwriting search and what turns into a subscription.
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Clinch: sales & CRM · 9 posts
Selling without a CRM subscription
From building Clinch, our free sales tracker: simple CRMs for a phone, and what the big ones charge for.
Freshsales Alternatives for Small Sales Teams
Freshsales is a full cloud CRM with phone, email and scoring. Five alternatives — from a free one-person tracker to other team CRMs — compared honestly.
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Simpler monday CRM Alternatives for Salespeople
monday.com is a work platform for teams. Five simpler CRMs for iPhone — from a free personal sales tracker to small-team tools — and their catches.
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Salesforce Alternatives for Small Businesses (Free)
Salesforce is built for big companies and priced like it. Five CRMs that suit a small business or a single salesperson — with free options first.
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Simpler Zoho CRM Alternatives for Salespeople
Zoho CRM does everything, which is the problem for one salesperson. Five simpler CRMs for iPhone, from a free personal tracker to small-team tools.
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Simpler Free HubSpot Alternative for Salespeople
HubSpot’s free CRM is built to grow into paid hubs. Five simpler options for salespeople who just need leads, reminders and follow-ups on their phone.
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Free Pipedrive Alternative for iPhone (No Seats)
Pipedrive has no free plan and bills per seat. Five iPhone CRMs you can start for free — for one salesperson or a small team — and their limits.
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Easiest CRM App for iPhone
Eight CRMs compared for the person who wants a pipeline, not a platform — what each is genuinely built for, what it costs, and the drawback each one has.
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Best CRM App With No Monthly Fee
Seven ways to run a sales pipeline without a monthly bill — genuinely free apps, free tiers with strings, and the self-hosted options. With the catch on each stated up front.
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Best CRM App for iPhone for Salespeople
Eleven iPhone sales CRM apps for reps who'd rather talk than type — verified App Store links, what each one actually logs, and an honest drawback for each.
ClinchRead
Reset: dopamine detox · 14 posts
Quitting the scroll, honestly
Notes from building Reset: what a dopamine detox actually is, how to block apps on iPhone so it holds, the friend key, and what a hundred community threads say works. Sources at the bottom of every post. Reset is free on the App Store.
ScreenZen Alternatives When Delays Stop Working
ScreenZen’s free delays are great until you learn to wait them out. Five iPhone blockers that add a real lock — including one where a friend holds the key.
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Better Than Screen Time? iPhone Blocker Apps Compared
Screen Time limits have an “Ignore Limit” button one tap away. Five iPhone apps that build on Screen Time to make blocks harder to skip — mostly free.
ResetRead
Free Brick Alternative: Block Apps Without a Device
Brick blocks your apps until you tap a physical device. Five ways to get the same “someone else holds the key” effect on iPhone — free, with no hardware.
ResetRead
Free Freedom App Alternatives for iPhone
Freedom blocks apps across every device — for a subscription. Five iPhone blockers you can use free, and how each one decides when you can get back in.
ResetRead
one sec App Alternatives: Free Screen Time Blockers
one sec is free for one app only. Five iPhone alternatives — pauses, delays and hard blocks — and which kind of friction actually works for you.
ResetRead
Free Opal App Alternatives (No Subscription)
Opal’s strongest blocks sit behind Opal Pro. Five iPhone app blockers you can use free — Screen Time based, friction based, or with a friend holding the key.
ResetRead
How to Stop Doomscrolling: What Actually Works
We read the top posts on r/dopaminedetox, r/nosurf and their neighbours. Here's what people who quit scrolling keep saying, and what Reset does about it.
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What Is a Dopamine Detox, and Does It Work?
The phrase is everywhere. The biology behind it is mostly wrong, but the practice underneath it works. Here's the honest version.
ResetRead
How to Block Instagram and TikTok on iPhone
Screen Time limits are one tap from being ignored. Here's what a block that holds looks like on iOS, and where Apple's limits are.
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Let a Friend Lock Your Apps: Does It Actually Work?
Commitment devices are as old as Ulysses tied to the mast. Here's the research behind handing your unlock code to someone else, and how Reset does it.
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How to Stop Scrolling on Your Phone in Bed
The last hour of the day is where most phone time goes and where it does the most damage. Three changes, in order, that actually take.
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How to Get Better at Being Bored: 6 Exercises
If quiet minutes feel unbearable, that's trainable. Six short practices from the Boredom Gym, and the studies each one leans on.
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Is the Reset App Private? How Your Data Stays Safe
No account, no server, no analytics. A short tour of how a Screen Time app can work without ever learning what you do on your phone.
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How to Help a Friend Who’s Addicted to Their Phone
Someone asked you to hold their key. Here's what that means, what to say when they ask for the code, and how to be useful.
ResetRead
Brolic: gym · 7 posts
Lifting with a leaderboard
From building Brolic, our free gym leaderboard — see the live boards at brolic.io.
Boostcamp Alternatives for Your Own Routines
Boostcamp is built around 11,000+ programs. Five iPhone gym apps for lifters who’d rather log their own routine, see their rank, or keep it simple.
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Liftoff App Alternatives: Gym Ranks Without Gimmicks
Liftoff ranks your gym performance with streaks and badges. Five iPhone apps for lifters who want a straight leaderboard, a clean log or a program.
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Free Fitbod Alternatives (No AI Subscription)
Fitbod writes AI workouts for a subscription. Five free iPhone apps for lifters who’d rather run a proven program or log their own — and what each costs.
BrolicRead
Free JEFIT Alternatives for Lifters
JEFIT’s AI coach and analytics are paid. Five free iPhone gym logs — faster, simpler or more competitive — and the one thing each is best at.
BrolicRead
Hevy Alternatives: Free Gym Trackers Compared
Hevy is great, but not for everyone. Five free iPhone gym trackers — for leaderboards, programs or pure logging — with each one’s real drawback.
BrolicRead
Free Strong App Alternative (Unlimited Routines)
Strong’s free version stops at three custom routines. Five gym trackers for iPhone with more room for free — and what each one charges for.
BrolicRead
Best Workout App to Track Progress With Friends
Ten iPhone workout apps for lifters who want to share progress with friends. Every App Store link verified, with real features, pricing models and drawbacks.
BrolicRead
SmartFolio & VaultFlow: money · 12 posts
Tracking stocks and net worth
Portfolio and net-worth trackers compared, from building SmartFolio and VaultFlow.
Copilot Money Alternatives (Free, No Bank Login)
Copilot is a beautiful money app with a subscription after a month. Five alternatives — including free ones and one that never logs in to your bank.
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Free YNAB Alternatives for iPhone
YNAB is a subscription after a free month. Five money apps for iPhone — free budgeting, free net worth, or a different method — with each one’s catch.
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getquin Alternatives: Private Portfolio Trackers
getquin connects your brokers and banks with AI insights. Five iPhone portfolio trackers — including private ones that never see your accounts — compared.
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Stock Events Alternatives for Portfolio Tracking
Stock Events is built around dividends and earnings dates. Five iPhone portfolio trackers — for cost basis, broker sync or news — compared honestly.
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Free Monarch Money Alternatives for iPhone
Monarch is excellent and costs a membership after 7 days. Five alternatives — free budgeting, free net worth, or a cheaper deal — with their catches.
VaultFlowRead
Free Empower Alternatives (No Bank Login)
Empower’s free dashboard is also a front door to its advisers. Five net worth trackers — one with no bank login at all — compared honestly.
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Yahoo Finance Portfolio Alternatives (Cost Basis)
Yahoo Finance is great for news, weaker for cost basis and tax lots. Five iPhone portfolio trackers that keep real P&L, and who each one is for.
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Sharesight Alternatives for iPhone Investors
Sharesight lives on the web and its app mirrors it. Five iPhone portfolio trackers — including one that keeps tax lots on your device — compared.
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Best Free Mint Alternatives in 2026 (iPhone)
Mint shut down in 2024. Six iPhone apps that replaced it — budgeting, net worth or both — with which ones are free and which ones need your bank login.
VaultFlowRead
Delta Portfolio Tracker Alternatives (Free, 2026)
Delta now sits under eToro, with PRO tiers and AI limits. Five iPhone portfolio trackers — some private, some synced — and who each one suits.
SmartFolioRead
Best Investment Tracker App for iPhone
A buyer's guide to 10 iPhone portfolio trackers for investors holding stock at more than one brokerage: real features, pricing models, honest drawbacks.
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Best Net Worth Tracker App for iPhone and iPad
Ten real iPhone net worth trackers compared — auto-syncing dashboards versus private manual apps. Honest features, pricing models, and every drawback.
VaultFlowRead
Gathr, Neighbr & CleanConnect · 8 posts
Events, neighbours and volunteering
Roundups for our other apps: Gathr for events, Neighbr for local help and CleanConnect for cleanups.
Joy Wedding App Alternatives for Multi-Day Weddings
Joy builds a lovely wedding website and registry. Four alternatives compared — and one built for multi-day weddings with a guest list per function.
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Free Paperless Post Alternatives (No Coins)
Paperless Post’s best cards cost coins. Five invitation apps with free designs or free RSVPs — and one built for planning the whole event with a co-host.
GathrRead
Zola Alternatives for Planning a Wedding
Zola is free and built around its registry and website. Four wedding planner apps compared, and one focused on guests, functions and money.
GathrRead
Free Partiful Alternatives for Bigger Events
Partiful is perfect for one party. Five free invite apps compared — and one built for weddings, multi-day events and planning with a co-host.
GathrRead
The Knot App Alternatives for Wedding Planning
The Knot and Zola are free, and funded by vendors and registries. Five wedding planner apps compared — and one built only for guests, functions and money.
GathrRead
Free Evite Alternatives With No Ads for Guests
Evite’s best designs are Premium and ad-free events cost extra. Five invite and RSVP apps that are free for you and your guests — and their catches.
GathrRead
Best Event Planner and Guest List App for iPhone
The best iPhone apps for guest lists, RSVPs and shared costs — for weddings, birthdays and multi-day events. Honestly compared, drawbacks included.
GathrRead
Apps to Find Help in Your Neighbourhood
Ten neighbourhood help apps on the App Store, compared: who each one suits, how it makes money, and the honest catch. Every listing checked in July 2026.
NeighbrRead
Free themes, browser tools and other guides
Roundups where our own thing is a theme, a tool or a website — and a few market guides with no app of ours in them.
Free Online Tools That Don’t Upload Your Files
Free online tools compared by the thing that actually matters: whether your file is processed inside your browser or uploaded to somebody else's server.
GuideReadBest Free Shopify Themes
Shopify's free themes compared for 2026, plus the two MIT-licensed themes we build ourselves. What each one suits, and the honest trade-off on each.
GuideReadBest Free WordPress Themes
Eight wordpress.org themes plus our own free library, compared on installs, rating and the honest trade-off. Every figure read off the listing.
GuideReadBest UFC App for Fans: Picks, Rankings and Stats
Eleven real MMA apps on the App Store for fantasy picks, live rankings and round-by-round scoring — every link checked, plus the honest drawback of each.
GuideReadBest Fleet Management App for iPhone
Ten trailer, fleet and yard management apps for iPhone, each with a verified App Store link, what it genuinely does well, and where it falls short.
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