A Habitica alternative
Keep the rewards. Lose the penalties.
Habitica turned habit building into a game, and for a lot of people that works. If what you love is being rewarded for showing up, Rewarding Habits keeps that part. What it leaves out is the scorekeeping: no streak counters, no penalties, nothing to lose on an off day. Just a surprise, every time you follow through.
How they compare
| Topic | Habitica | Rewarding Habits |
|---|---|---|
| Built around | Treating your real life like a role-playing game: habits, dailies and to-dos level up your avatar | Your ocean is your journey, and your habits are its waves. |
| A completed step earns | Gold, experience and items for your avatar; gold buys custom rewards you set | A surprise, every time: an ocean moment, a quote, or a reward you wrote yourself |
| An off day | Habitica describes “in-game rewards and punishments,” and its App Store listing includes streak counters | Breaks nothing. No streaks, no penalties, nothing to win back |
| Also includes | A to-do list, leveling, collectable gear and pets, avatar customization, and parties that battle monsters together |
|
| Price | Free core app; optional subscription from $4.99 a month to $47.99 a year; Group Plan $9 a month plus $3 per extra member | Free to start (one habit, one goal and one quit habit, with no time limit); $49 once for unlimited everything, yours forever. No subscription |
| Platforms | iPhone, iPad, Android, web | iPhone, iPad, Android, Apple Watch, Wear OS |
Habitica details are from habitica.com, its plans page and its App Store listing, checked in September 2026. Prices can change and may vary by location, so check the store.
Rewarding Habits may suit you if
- You love being rewarded, but would rather be surprised than keep score.
- You want an off day to cost you nothing: no streak to lose, no penalty.
- You are cutting back on something and want help riding out the urge when it hits.
- You would rather pay once than subscribe.
- You want your habits to stay private. Everything stays on your device: no account, no servers.
Habitica may suit you better if
- You love role-playing games, and leveling up an avatar is what keeps you coming back.
- You want friends to hold you accountable, in a party that takes on quests together.
- You want your habits and your to-do list in one app, or you work from a web browser.
Both are good choices. They are built for different kinds of motivation.
Why surprise rewards, and never streaks
Every completion in Rewarding Habits is rewarded, right away. What you get is the surprise: an ocean moment, a quote, or one of the rewards you wrote for yourself. Dopamine is more responsive to unpredictable rewards than predictable ones (Schultz 1997), which is why a surprise keeps working long after a points total stops meaning much.
And there are no streaks, anywhere. Research finds that a broken streak lowers people's willingness to keep going (Silverman & Barasch 2022). In Rewarding Habits a missed day breaks nothing. You simply pick up where you are. The research page cites the studies behind every claim.
We are Aspen and Brandon, the husband-and-wife team who make it. We both have ADHD. We built the habit app we wanted and needed. If you miss a day, it's okay. Your waves are still there, waiting to build again. No pressure, no judgment: waves ebb and flow, like life. Zoom out, and your ocean, your journey, is still beautiful. Rewarding Habits is not a treatment for ADHD; talk to a healthcare provider about ADHD care.
Is Rewarding Habits free, like Habitica?
Yes, to start. The free version gives you one habit, one goal and one quit habit, with no time limit. One payment of $49 unlocks unlimited habits, goals and quit habits, yours forever. There is no subscription.
Is it gamified like Habitica?
It is built on rewards, but there is no avatar to level up and no score to keep. Your progress shows up as your own ocean, which grows from night toward full daylight as your habits take root. A missed day breaks nothing.
Can I use it with friends?
Rewarding Habits is private by design: there is no account and no social feed, so there are no parties or group quests. Nothing is shared unless you choose to share it. If you share your Ocean Story, you choose what it includes, and your quit habits are never part of it.
Can I use it on my watch?
Yes. Rewarding Habits runs on Apple Watch and Wear OS, and you can complete a habit and see your reward right on your wrist.
Also compared: Rewarding Habits and Finch.