Beeminder vs SmartHabits (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Beeminder grades higher than SmartHabits: 2.4 against 1.8 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 and platforms. SmartHabits grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan and ease of use.
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
SmartHabits
Blocks distracting apps until you hit fitness, learning or sleep goals
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 SmartHabits if
- Fits if you want a phone lock-out on social media until you've walked
- Works for people who'd rather set their own rules for earning screen time
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you use an iPhone, as the App Store link was dead
- Watch out: no prices are shown and the site asks visitors to be beta testers
- Watch out: the footer carries a 2023 copyright date, so keep-up is unclear
- Too light for a general habit tracker, since it only blocks and rewards
How we grade them
| 2.4GPABeeminderFair | 1.8GPASmartHabitsWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CNo price on the site, and Google Play lists only a $3.99 to $49.99 range for in-app items with no plan names. |
| 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. | CListed as a free download with in-app purchases, but the site doesn't say what's free. |
| 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. | CApp blocking, earning time through good apps, and step and sleep goals. A narrow job, and what each purchase unlocks isn't shown. |
| 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. | CNo store rating on record. You mark your good and bad apps and set the rules yourself. |
| 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. | DAndroid only. The App Store link on the site returned a not-found page from the US store. |
| Best for | number goals with real money riding on them | earning access to blocked apps |
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 SmartHabits. How we grade
Where they differ
- SmartHabits also covers site & app blocker.
At a glance
| Beeminder | SmartHabits | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $8 per month for Infinibee, billed monthly (14% off when paid yearly) | Not published |
| 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. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Beeminder | SmartHabits |
| Price read from | beeminder.com | Not confirmed |
| 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.
SmartHabits
- The pricing could not be confirmed: the site shows no prices, and the Google Play listing shows only a range of $3.99 to $49.99 per in-app item with no plan names.
- The site asks visitors to join as a beta tester for lifetime discounts, and its footer carries a 2023 copyright date.
- The site links an App Store listing, but that listing returned a not-found page from the US store, so only Android is listed here.
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.
SmartHabits
- Block distracting apps
- Pick the apps to block, such as TikTok, Twitter or YouTube, or cap the time you spend on them directly in the app.
- Earn time on blocked apps
- Spend time on apps you choose as good, such as Duolingo, Kindle or Headspace, to earn temporary access; the site gives 15 minutes for 15 minutes as an example.
- Step goals
- Access to blocked apps can be tied to a step count, for example 10,000 steps.
- Sleep goals
- The app reads sleep from the phone's health app and blocks apps if you slept less than the minimum you set.
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.
SmartHabits
Pricing could not be confirmed. See smarthabits.app.
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.
SmartHabits
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Beeminder or SmartHabits?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Beeminder starts at $8 per month for Infinibee, billed monthly (14% off when paid yearly), and SmartHabits has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Beeminder or SmartHabits?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Beeminder has a free plan. SmartHabits does not.
Which platforms do Beeminder and SmartHabits run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Beeminder lists a web app and an iOS app. 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.