HabitKit vs Left: An Honest Comparison

Updated October 20, 2026 · 5 min read

Compared on 20 October 2026. HabitKit details come only from its App Store page, checked that day. Left details come from the app itself.

HabitKit and Left both help you build habits on iPhone, but they start from different ideas. HabitKit is a dedicated habit tracker built around a grid of daily tiles. Left is a time awareness app: habits and streaks sit next to countdowns, year and life progress, and a day planner.

Quick verdict

• Pick HabitKit if you want a focused habit tracker with a contribution-style grid, counted and measured habits, daily notes, and no account.
• Pick Left if you want habits and streaks alongside countdowns, time left views, a self-updating Lock Screen wallpaper and lots of widgets, or you want friends to keep you accountable.

HabitKit at a glance

According to the App Store page for "Habit Tracker - HabitKit" by Sebastian Roehl (checked 20 October 2026):

• Platforms: iPhone, iOS 15 or later. It's also listed for Macs with Apple silicon and for Apple Vision Pro as an app designed for iPhone. iPad and Apple Watch aren't listed.
• Tracking: build habits or quit them, with quit habits counting clean days until you log a slip. Habits can be yes or no, counts or custom-unit measurements, scheduled daily, at intervals or a number of times per week or month.
• Progress: a grid per habit with one tile for each day you show up, current and best streaks, streak goals, completion statistics, monthly charts, and notes on any day.
• Widgets: small, medium and multi-habit Home Screen widgets, part of HabitKit Pro.
• Privacy: no account or sign-up, data stays on the device, the app works offline, and habits back up to iCloud once a day.
• Pricing model: free for up to four habits, including streaks, statistics, notes and reminders. HabitKit Pro adds unlimited habits, Home Screen widgets, restoring archived habits and up to three reminders per habit, billed monthly, yearly or once for lifetime access.

Left at a glance

• Platforms: iPhone with iOS 26 or later, and Apple Watch.
• Habits: a goal per day, week or month, with how many times. Schedules include weekdays, weekends, specific days or a number of days per week. Up to 4 reminders per habit, plus Get a persistent reminder, a Live Activity that appears an hour before a time you choose if the habit still isn't logged.
• Streaks: for quitting something or keeping a run going. A streak counts up automatically from Started on... until you restart it, and keeps your restarts, average streak and longest streak.
• Aims: count up or down toward a target, with a unit and an optional deadline.
• Widgets: Habit, Habits list, Streak, Streaks list, Aim and Aims list on the Home Screen, with Habit, Habits list, Streak and Aim also on the Lock Screen. The Habit widget is interactive: tap today's symbol to log it.
• Beyond habits: Time Left, Ahead countdowns with Live Activities, Left Wallpaper, and Planner (Left Premium).

Side-by-side

HabitKit cells say "Not stated" where its App Store page doesn't mention the feature. That doesn't mean the feature is missing, only that the listing doesn't say.

Pricing

Both apps have free tiers. Left is free to download, and what is included for free is shown in the app. Left Premium unlocks deeper habit, streak, special-date, and planning features through a subscription or lifetime purchase.

Left's free plan includes 2 each of habits, streaks, Aims and countdowns, and deleting an item doesn't free a slot. Left Premium adds unlimited items, Apple Health tracking, Friends and Planner. HabitKit's free tier, per its App Store page, covers up to four habits.

Who should pick which

HabitKit is a good fit if

• You want one app that does habit tracking and nothing else.
• The tile grid is what motivates you, and you like watching each day fill in.
• You track amounts and want notes on specific days.
• You'd rather not create an account at all.
• You want more than two habits without paying.

Left is a good fit if

• You want habits, streaks and goals next to countdowns and a sense of how much of the year or your life is left.
• You want to log habits straight from a Home Screen widget, or get a Live Activity nudge before the day runs out.
• You want Apple Health to complete habits for you, or friends to see your progress (both Left Premium).
• You like a Lock Screen wallpaper that updates itself.

For more options, see our roundup of the best habit tracker apps for iPhone, and the streaks vs habits guide if you're not sure which one you need. For countdown and progress widgets, read Pretty Progress vs Left.

Get the Left habit tracker

Learn more on the Left habit tracker page.

Questions

Is HabitKit free?

HabitKit is free to download. Its App Store page (checked 20 October 2026) says the free version covers up to four habits, with streaks, statistics, notes and reminders.

Which app suits Apple Watch users?

Left. It has an Apple Watch app with habits, streaks and Aims, plus complications for your watch face. HabitKit's App Store page doesn't list Apple Watch.

Which app is better for quitting a bad habit?

Both handle it. HabitKit has quit habits that count clean days until you log a slip. Left uses streaks, which count up automatically from the day you started and keep your restarts, average streak and longest streak.

Can either app track habits with Apple Health?

Left can, with Left Premium: choose Apple Health instead of Manual and the habit completes when you meet the goal. HabitKit's App Store page doesn't mention Apple Health.