Beeminder vs stickK

Beeminder

• People who are motivated by having real money at stake
• Quantifiable goals fed automatically by a fitness tracker or another app
• Tinkerers who want an API and Zapier or IFTTT hooks on a free plan

stickK

• People who follow through when money or reputation is on the line
• Goals that a friend, coach or family member can verify as Referee
• Clubs, teams and workplaces running a shared challenge as a Campaign

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.

stickK

• stickK keeps 50% of forfeited stakes sent to an anti-charity, plus contract costs, under its contract terms last updated June 12, 2024.
• Those terms removed a $5 creation fee and ended charity and friend-or-foe recipients for new contracts; older help articles still describe all three.
• A contract cannot be deleted once it begins; the terms allow cancellation only with a physician's medical excuse form.
• Prices for the paid Campaign plans (All-access and Pro) are not published in the help center; they appear inside a Campaign admin account.

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.

stickK

Commitment Contracts

A contract with yourself that fixes a goal, a start and end date and a reporting schedule. After creation you can only add a Referee, invite Supporters and change its privacy settings.

Reports on a fixed schedule

You report success or failure daily, weekly or once at the end. A report not filed within 24 hours (daily) or 72 hours (weekly and single-report contracts) counts as unsuccessful.

Referees

A person you invite verifies your reports and has the final word: a Referee can turn a reported success into a failure. Without one, the contract runs "On Your Honor".

Money stakes

Set an amount that is charged to your card within 48 hours of each unsuccessful reporting period. Under the June 2024 terms, new stakes go to an anti-charity you pick or to stickK itself.

Supporters and Commitment Journal

Supporters can be emailed your result after each report and can comment in the Commitment Journal, where you add notes and progress photos.

Communities and Campaigns

A public contract can be listed in up to three of ten topic Communities. Campaigns bundle a set of contracts for a group, whose members join with an activation code.

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.

stickK

• Commitment Contract$0

  Any number of personal contracts with a Referee, Supporters and a journal. Optional stakes are charged per failed reporting period.

• Campaigns Basic$0

  Free plan for group Campaigns. An account downgraded to it keeps its most active Campaign and 2 of that Campaign's Commitments.

• Campaigns All-access and ProNot published

  Paid group plans that unlock more features, each with its own Campaign and Commitment limits, billed monthly or annually. Prices appear only inside a Campaign admin account.

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.

stickK

No public discounts listed.