The Best Motivation Apps of 2024
Written by: BestApp.com App Testing Team - Updated: Sep 13, 2021
When it comes to the best motivation apps, ThinkUp earned our top pick as it is free and provides daily positive affirmations that help users find the motivation and encouragement they need to succeed. But if ThinkUp doesn’t suit your needs, we found nine other great apps that provide daily motivation. Here are the 10 best motivation apps for you to try.
Top 10 Motivation Apps to Try
- ThinkUp — Top Pick
- iWish — Best Free Version
- Forest — Best for Overcoming Distractions
- Fabulous — Best for Building a Daily Routine
- Strides — Best Habit Tracker
- Motivate — Best for Motivational Videos
- I Am — Best for Positive Affirmations
- Motivation – Daily Quotes — Best for Motivational Quotes
- Way of Life — Best for Identifying Negative Habits
- Coach.me — Best for Coaching
How We Chose the Best Motivation Apps
To find the best motivation apps available, we looked for apps that offer one or more of four key features: personal coaching, positive affirmations, notifications, and an online community for users to share and interact with. While many of the apps on our list vary in how they approach motivation, these core features ensure that you’ll be able to pull something positive from whichever app you choose.
Choose the motivation app that’s right for you
When choosing between the apps on our list, it’s important to consider your needs and what types of motivation resonate with you. For example, some of the apps on our list focus on providing encouragement through affirmations and quotes, while others motivate users by reinforcing positive habits and tracking goals.
Be mindful of in-app purchases
While many of the apps on our list are free to download and use, some of them require costly in-app purchases to unlock additional content and features. Though many users may consider these in-app purchases worthwhile, make sure to find an app with a pricing model that works for you.
Our Motivation App Reviews
ThinkUp — Top Pick
Download: Android ★★★★★★★★★★ | iOS ★★★★★★★★★★
ThinkUp is our top pick for the best motivation app due to its large selection of motivational affirmations and other great features. Users can choose the affirmations that resonate with them and, unlike similar apps, users can also record these affirmations in their own voices to gain motivation through positive self-talk. After selecting your affirmations, you can add music to them to create an uplifting playlist featuring relaxing music and inspiring quotes. ThinkUp also consults with self-care experts to provide recommended affirmations for users that aren’t sure where to start.
Notable features:
- Free version available
- Subscription plans: Premium: $7.99/month
- Support available: FAQs, Email, Form
| ThinkUp Pros & Cons | |
|---|---|
| What we like | What we don’t like |
| Large selection of positive affirmations | In-app purchases up to $49.99 |
| Positive self-talk feature | |
iWish — Best Free Version
Download: iOS ★★★★★★★★★★
While most of the apps on this list have subscription plans and in-app purchases to unlock all of their features, iWish is a completely free motivation app that aims to help users achieve their long-term goals. The app essentially functions as a virtual vision board, allowing users to select pictures and create a bucket list with all of the things they want to do and accomplish. Users can establish goals, track their progress, set reminders, and set due dates for each goal. iWish users can also browse through the app’s 1,200+ ideas to find suggestions for tasks to add to their personal bucket list.
Notable features:
- Free version available
- Subscription plans: None
- Support available: Email
| iWish Pros & Cons | |
|---|---|
| What we like | What we don’t like |
| No subscription plans or in-app purchases | Not available on Android |
| Ability to customize goals | Limited support options |
| Goal tracking | |
Forest — Best for Overcoming Distractions
Download: Android ★★★★★★★★★★ | iOS ★★★★★★★★★★
Forest is the only app on our list dedicated to helping users overcome distractions and focus on their current tasks. The idea behind the app is simple: whenever you need to focus on work or any other task, you open the app, put down your phone to plant a seed, and as you work, you can watch your tree grow. But if you pick up your phone or leave the app, your tree dies. As you grow your forest, you can earn rewards, like digital coins that you can spend to grow trees in real life through the app’s partner, Trees for the Future. The app also includes game-like features to encourage users to stay focused. For example, users can compete with friends and other users to see who can grow the largest forest.
Notable features:
- Free version available
- In-app purchases: $0.99 – $19.99 per item
- Support available: Email, FAQs/Help, Chat
| Forest Pros & Cons | |
|---|---|
| What we like | What we don’t like |
| Exchange rewards to grow real trees | Does not include affirmations |
| Helps users improve their focus | |
Fabulous — Best for Building a Daily Routine
Download: Android ★★★★★★★★★★ | iOS ★★★★★★★★★★
Fabulous is a science-based app developed by researchers at Duke University. The app is designed to help users develop and stick to a daily routine that fosters productivity and encourages a healthy lifestyle. After completing a survey about your personal goals, the app will guide you through strategies and techniques you can use to accomplish these goals. This may include meditation sessions, morning rituals, and relaxation sessions. Fabulous is also one of two apps on our list that includes an in-app coach that helps you establish healthy habits and routines. Users can also join communities to discuss their journeys with other users and find people who share the same goals as them.
Notable features:
- Free version not available
- Subscription plans: Premium: $7.99/month
- Support available: Help Center/Knowledge Base, FAQ, Email
| Fabulous Pros & Cons | |
|---|---|
| What we like | What we don’t like |
| In-app coaching | No free version |
| Customized daily routines | In-app purchases up to $299.99 |
Strides — Best Habit Tracker
Download: iOS ★★★★★★★★★★
Habit tracking is an effective motivational technique, and Strides helps users develop a healthy daily routine through habit tracking, reminders, and other great features. Strides stands out from other habit trackers due to its extreme customizability. Users can log good and bad habits, set time and value-based goals, set and track milestones, and view progress reports. The app also generates charts that display streaks, success rates, calendars, line charts, and progress bars. Strides utilizes positive reinforcement to encourage users to stick to their goals and achieve their long-term objectives.
Notable features:
- Free version available
- Subscription plans: Plus: $4.99/month
- Support available: Help Center
| Strides Pros & Cons | |
|---|---|
| What we like | What we don’t like |
| Customizable goal tracking | Not available on Android |
| Auto-generated progress reports | |
Motivate — Best for Motivational Videos
Download: Android | iOS ★★★★★★★★★★
Motivate boasts a large collection of motivational resources, including quotes, affirmations, music, and playlists. What makes Motivate stand out from similar motivational apps is its library of motivational videos from mentors around the world. These videos cover a wide range of categories, from fitness and health to happiness and relationships. Users can also use quote widgets to add motivational quotes to their home screens, save their favorite resources for future reference, and use customizable notifications to establish a daily motivational routine. Motivate is free to download and use, but to unlock all of its features and resources, you’ll have to purchase Pro for $11.99 per month or $95.99 per year.
Notable features:
- Free version available
- Subscription plans: Pro: $11.99/month
- Support available: FAQs, Email
| Motivate Pros & Cons | |
|---|---|
| What we like | What we don’t like |
| Large library of motivational videos | No live customer support |
| Customizable notifications | |
| Quote widgets | |
I Am — Best for Positive Affirmations
Download: Android ★★★★★★★★★★ | iOS ★★★★★★★★★★
I Am specializes in providing positive affirmations that motivate users and reinforce positive thoughts. Users are encouraged to pick the types of affirmations they want to receive based on their personal intentions, and you can set reminders to receive personalized affirmations at specified times throughout the day. There are a variety of themes to choose from, including love and relationships, self-care, and work and career. The app also has a ‘Practice Affirmations’ feature designed to help users alter their outlook on life. I Am is free, but you will need to upgrade to premium for $2.99 per month or $19.99 per year to unlock premium content and features.
Notable features:
- Free version available
- Subscription plans: Premium: $2.99/month or $19.99/year
- Support available: Email
| I Am Pros & Cons | |
|---|---|
| What we like | What we don’t like |
| Large list of affirmations | Limited support options |
| Personalized affirmation reminders | |
Motivation – Daily Quotes — Best for Motivational Quotes
Download: Android ★★★★★★★★★★ | iOS ★★★★★★★★★★
Motivation – Daily Quotes is the best app on our list for receiving motivational quotes tailored to your goals and intentions. Every day, the app will send you a motivational quote based on your pre-selected categories. If you don’t want to wait for your daily quote, you can also browse the app’s library of motivational quotes, browse recommendations for motivational books, and use widgets to add quotes to your phone’s home screen. Motivation makes it easy to share your favorite quotes right from the app. If you find a quote you like, you can share it via text, WhatsApp, Instagram, or Facebook.
Notable features:
- Free version available
- In-app purchases: $2.99 – $54.99 per item
- Support available: Email
| Motivation – Daily Quotes Pros & Cons | |
|---|---|
| What we like | What we don’t like |
| Large library of motivational quotes | Limited support options |
| Quote widgets | In-app purchases up to $54.99 |
Way of Life — Best for Identifying Negative Habits
Download: Android ★★★★★★★★★★ | iOS ★★★★★★★★★★
Way of Life is a habit tracker that focuses on helping users identify and eliminate negative habits. The app uses a color-coded system to track your positive and negative habits throughout the week and sends reminders to help you stay on top of your daily routine. One of the app’s most unique features is the diary function, which lets you write down what triggered a bad habit so that you can avoid this trigger in the future. Way of Life generates charts and reports that help you visualize positive and negative trends in your daily routine across weeks, months, and years.
Notable features:
- Free version available
- In-app purchases: $4.99 – $6.49 per item
- Support available: FAQs, Email
| Way of Life Pros & Cons | |
|---|---|
| What we like | What we don’t like |
| Diary feature | Limited support options |
| Color-coded habit tracking | No affirmations |
| Auto-generated charts | |
Coach.me — Best for Coaching
Download: Android ★★★★★★★★★★ | iOS ★★★★★★★★★★
Coach.me is a habit tracker and a coaching app that helps users set and achieve their goals. The habit tracking features are completely free. Users can choose a goal (e.g. get fit, learn a skill, etc.), track their progress, view weekly reports, set reminders, and add widgets to their home screens that remind them of their goals. Starting at $25 per week, users can also hire a personal coach to provide step-by-step instructions to help them achieve their goals. Coaches help users stay on track by providing personalized advice and holding them accountable throughout their journeys.
Notable features:
- Free version available
- Subscription plans: Personal coaching: $25+/week
- Support available: FAQs, Email, Contact Form
| Coach.me Pros & Cons | |
|---|---|
| What we like | What we don’t like |
| Personal coaching | Expensive coaching rates |
| Habit tracking | |
Motivation Apps: Features Summary Table
| Motivation Apps Comparison Table | ||
|---|---|---|
| App | Subscription Fees | Features |
| ThinkUp — Top Pick | Premium: $7.99/month | X Coaching ✓ Affirmations ✓ Notifications ✓ Sharing/Community |
| iWish — Best Free Version | None | X Coaching X Affirmations X Notifications ✓ Sharing/Community |
| Forest — Best for Overcoming Distractions | $0.99 – $19.99 per item | X Coaching X Affirmations ✓ Notifications ✓ Sharing/Community |
| Fabulous — Best for Building a Daily Routine | Premium: $7.99/month | ✓ Coaching X Affirmations ✓ Notifications ✓ Sharing/Community |
| Strides — Best Habit Tracker | Plus: $4.99/month | X Coaching X Affirmations ✓ Notifications X Sharing/Community |
| Motivate — Best for Motivational Videos | Pro: $11.99/month | X Coaching X Affirmations ✓ Notifications ✓ Sharing/Community |
| I Am — Best for Positive Affirmations | Premium: $2.99/month or $19.99/year | X Coaching ✓ Affirmations ✓ Notifications ✓ Sharing/Community |
| Motivation – Daily Quotes — Best for Motivational Quotes | $2.99 – $54.99 per item | X Coaching X Affirmations X Notifications ✓ Sharing/Community |
| Way of Life — Best for Identifying Negative Habits | $4.99 – $6.49 per item | X Coaching X Affirmations ✓ Notifications ✓ Sharing/Community |
| Coach.me — Best for Coaching | Personal coaching: $25+/week | ✓ Coaching X Affirmations ✓ Notifications ✓ Sharing/Community |