Beeminder vs HabitLab (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, HabitLab grades higher than Beeminder: 3.2 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Beeminder grades higher on features. HabitLab grades higher on value for money, the free plan and ease of use. They get the same grade on platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Beeminder
Goal tracker that charges you money when you fall behind
HabitLab
Free browser extension that cuts time on distracting sites
Which one is for you
Pick Beeminder if
- Fits if real money on the line is what gets you moving
- Works for people whose fitness tracker or other apps can report their numbers through the free integrations or the API
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if being charged for a bad week would sting, as derailing charges your pledge on every plan, free included
- Tight if you stay free, as goals are capped and the cap only rises when you pay for a derailment
- Pricey if you want unlimited goals ($8 a month), auto-ratchet and weekends off ($16) or goals with no pledge ($81)
- Not for you if you'd rather not learn Bright Red Lines, derailments and safety buffers before your first goal
- Watch out: the SMS bot works with US numbers only and needs Bee Plus, and there's no Mac or Windows app
Pick HabitLab if
- Fits if you lose hours to a few websites and want something to nudge you
- Works for people who want a free tool and don't mind that it's a research project
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a daily habit checklist, because it only works on browsing
- Not for you if you're on Safari or iPhone, as the site mentions Chrome and Android
- Watch out: some anonymized data is sent to Stanford for research
- Watch out: it's a research project, and the site shows no company behind it
How we grade them
| 2.4GPABeeminderFair | 3.2GPAHabitLabVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DUnlimited goals means Infinibee at $8 a month, where the middle of this category is $3.33. The controls you'd actually want, auto-ratchet, weekends off and custom goals, sit on Bee Plus at $16, and goals with no pledge at all are Beemium at $81. There's 14% off for paying yearly, which doesn't close that gap. | AFree with no paid plans listed, and anyone can install it. Nothing in the category costs less. |
| Free plan and trial | CCore is free and gets you unlimited data, pledge caps, scheduled breaks, every integration and the API. But the number of goals is capped, and the cap only rises when you pay for a derailment. And free here still takes your money the week you slip. | AFree outright: a browser extension and an Android app, with no plan to hit a cap on. |
| Features | AAnything you can put a number on, plotted against a line you committed to, with dozens of services reporting for you: Fitbit, Garmin, Strava, Duolingo, Todoist, RescueTime. The other pledge apps here take your word for it. Beeminder's charge comes off data that arrives on its own. | COver 20 interventions, usage tracking and results on what helped. It does that job fully, but it's a smaller job than habit tracking. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, and there's a vocabulary waiting for you: Bright Red Lines, derailments, pledges, safety buffer, auto-ratchet. Once a device is wired up it reports by itself, but setting a rate you can live with is a judgement call on day one. | BNo store rating on record. Install the extension, pick your sites, and it runs by itself. |
| Platforms and integrations | BFitbit, Garmin, Strava, Apple Health, Duolingo, Todoist, RescueTime, IFTTT and Zapier, with a public API, all on the free plan. But it's web and phones, with no Mac or Windows app, and the SMS bot is US numbers on Bee Plus and up. | BA browser extension and an Android app. The home page mentions Chrome only, and there's no iPhone app. |
| Best for | number goals with real money riding on them | cutting time on distracting sites |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Beeminder and HabitLab. How we grade
Price against what you get
Beeminder starts at $8 a month and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. HabitLab has no paid plan and scores 2.7.
Beeminder scores higher, and starts $8 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other habit trackers on the chart, 2 score higher than Beeminder for less, and none scores higher than HabitLab for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- HabitLab is open source, according to its own site.
- Beeminder also covers goals.
- HabitLab also covers site & app blocker and time tracking.
At a glance
| Beeminder | HabitLab | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $8 per month for Infinibee, billed monthly (14% off when paid yearly) | Free |
| Free plan | Core Beeminder: a limited number of goals with unlimited data, pledge caps, scheduled breaks, every app and all autodata integrations. Derailing still charges your pledge. | Free; the site lists no paid plans. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Beeminder | Stanford HCI Group |
| Price read from | beeminder.com | habitlab.github.io |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Beeminder
- Derailing a goal charges your pledge to Beeminder, on the free plan as well as on the paid ones.
- The free Core plan tracks a limited number of goals; the limit rises each time you pay for a derailment.
- Goals with no pledges and the option to send half of a pledge to charity are limited to Beemium at $81 per month.
- The SMS bot works with US numbers only and needs Bee Plus or Beemium.
HabitLab
- The site's main download is for Chrome; other browsers are not mentioned on the home page.
- Some anonymized data is sent to Stanford for research purposes, according to the site.
- It targets browsing time and is not a daily habit checklist.
Key features
Beeminder
- Bright Red Line graphs
- Every goal gets a graph with a Bright Red Line showing the rate you committed to. The steepness can be adjusted as you go, and you can walk away from a goal with one week's notice.
- Pledges on every goal
- Crossing the line charges your pledge, which then rises through a fixed schedule from $5 to $2,430 unless you cap it. The FAQ says the first attempt is free.
- Autodata integrations
- Dozens of integrations report data automatically, including Fitbit, Garmin, Strava, Apple Health, Duolingo, Todoist and RescueTime. All are included in the free plan.
- Several ways to report
- Enter numbers on the web dashboard, in the iOS or Android app, by replying to the bot's emails or in Slack. An SMS bot for US numbers comes with Bee Plus.
- API, IFTTT and Zapier
- A public API and connections to IFTTT and Zapier allow custom automation, and are part of the free Core plan.
- Breaks and safety buffer
- Breaks can be scheduled and pledges capped on any plan. After a derailment the goal restarts with a week of safety buffer by default.
HabitLab
- Over 20 interventions
- Includes hiding feeds, removing clickbait and blocking videos, rotated between visits to see what works.
- Sites you choose
- Supports Facebook, YouTube and any other site you pick as one you want to use less.
- Usage tracking
- Tracks your online time so you can see where it goes.
- Analytics on what helped
- Shows which interventions reduced your time the most.
- Android app
- The site also offers HabitLab for Android alongside the Chrome extension.
Plans
Beeminder
Core Beeminder$0
A limited number of goals with unlimited data, pledge caps, scheduled breaks, every app and integration, and API access. Derailments charge your pledge.
Infinibee$8
per month, billed monthly
Unlimited goals, exotic goal types and a subscription that stops renewing by itself if you stop using Beeminder.
Bee Plus$16
per month, billed monthly
Everything in Infinibee, plus auto-ratchet, custom goals, weekends off, the graph editor and an SMS bot for US numbers.
Beemium$81
per month, billed monthly
Everything in Bee Plus, plus goals with no pledges, pledge short-circuiting, a 50% charity option and chat access to the developers.
HabitLab
HabitLab$0
Free browser extension and Android app; the site lists no paid plans.
Ways to pay less
Beeminder
- Annual discount
14% off when paying yearly
The pricing page's discount slider gives 14% off premium plans paid yearly, and the discount grows with longer payment intervals, up to two years.
- Education
Student and senior discounts on request
The premium FAQ says Beeminder has student and senior discounts and asks those who may qualify to get in touch. It does not state the amounts.
- Other savings
Discounts for jobseekers and non-OECD residents
The same FAQ lists discounts for jobseekers and for people living in non-OECD countries, also arranged by contacting support.
HabitLab
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Beeminder or HabitLab?
As of Nov 13, 2026, HabitLab is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $8 a month for Beeminder. Beeminder starts at $8 per month for Infinibee, billed monthly (14% off when paid yearly), and HabitLab is free.
Which has a free plan, Beeminder or HabitLab?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Beeminder and HabitLab have a free plan.
Which platforms do Beeminder and HabitLab run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Beeminder lists a web app and an iOS app and only HabitLab lists a browser extension. Both list an Android app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.