Same category, different bets
Most comparisons on this site put Orbit next to an app that solves a different problem. This one does not. Routinery and Orbit are both routine runners: you define a routine as a sequence of steps, press start, and the app walks you through it with a timer on each step. Neither is a habit tracker you report to afterwards, and neither is a planner for the whole day.
The differences are in the bets each app makes about what gets in the way.
Routinery bets on guidance: voice alerts announce each step, notifications nudge you along, and the timer screen can be arranged the way you like. It has a large library of popular and celebrity routines to start from, a habit tracker with daily, weekly and monthly analytics, and a plant badge that grows with your streaks.
Orbit bets on ambience and forgiveness: no voice, no loud timer, just an orb that breathes through each step and follows you onto the Lock Screen and into the Dynamic Island — and streak freezes, so a missed day does not undo the run.
Side by side
| Routinery | Orbit | |
|---|---|---|
| Made by | Routinery Corp. | Aron de Groot (Groot Apps), Netherlands |
| Apple devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone only |
| Minimum iOS | 15.5 | 26 |
| Download | Free, paid subscription | Free, with a free trial |
| Runs a routine step by step | Yes | Yes |
| Step guidance | Voice alerts (text-to-speech) and notifications | Silent orb on screen, Lock Screen and Dynamic Island |
| Templates | Popular and celebrity routine recommendations | 14 built-in templates |
| Streaks | Plant badges that grow with streaks | Streaks with earned freezes |
| Missed days | Not described in the listing | A freeze can rescue the streak when you return |
| Account required | Yes | No |
| Storage | Cloud account | On device, optional private iCloud |
| US ratings (10 Sep 2026) | 4.7 from 17,847 | New — released 30 Aug 2026 |
Platform facts are from each app's App Store listing, checked on 10 September 2026.
The short verdict
For running a routine, pick Orbit. It walks you through the sequence one step at a time, keeps the current step on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island, offers a streak freeze to rescue a streak after missed days, and needs no account.
Routinery is stronger at things Orbit does not do: voice guidance, iPad and Apple Watch apps, support for older iPhones, a bigger library of routine ideas and richer tracking.
This page is written by the maker of Orbit; both lists below are specific so you can check them.
Where Orbit is genuinely better
No account, data on the device. Orbit needs no sign-up at all. Routines live on your iPhone and sync only through your own private iCloud if you turn it on.
Built around the Lock Screen. A started routine runs as a Live Activity: the current step and its countdown sit on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island, so you can put the phone down and pick it up without opening anything.
The missed day. This is the reason Orbit exists. You earn a freeze for every five days in a row; nothing has to happen on the day you miss, and when you come back Orbit shows which streaks a freeze can still rescue. The long version is in what a streak freeze is.
Calmer by design. No red, no alarms, no score. For people who find timers stressful, the orb is a softer cue. For people who need a firm nudge, that same quietness is a weakness.
Where Routinery is genuinely better
Voice guidance. If you do your routine with your phone out of reach — in the shower, getting dressed — hearing the next step announced is genuinely more useful than a screen you have to look at. Orbit has no voice guidance.
More devices, older iPhones. Routinery runs on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch and supports iOS 15.5. Orbit needs an iPhone that runs iOS 26. If your phone is older, the decision is made.
A bigger library and more history. Routinery has been on the App Store since 2019, its listing reports more than five million users, and it offers a large set of routine ideas to copy. Orbit has 14 templates and launched in August 2026.
Richer tracking. Daily, weekly and monthly analytics for people who like to see the data. Orbit keeps its statistics deliberately light.
Who should pick which
- You want to be talked through your routine: Routinery.
- You wear an Apple Watch or plan on an iPad: Routinery.
- Your iPhone cannot run iOS 26: Routinery.
- You don't want an account or your data on someone's server: Orbit.
- A broken streak has made you quit apps before: Orbit.
- You want the calmest possible screen: Orbit.
Switching from Routinery to Orbit
There is no importer. In practice routines are short, so rebuilding one takes a few minutes: add the steps in order, set a duration on the ones that need one, and choose the days. Or start from one of Orbit's templates and edit it — the routine library has step lists for mornings, showers, cleaning and leaving the house that you can copy in. Try one real routine on an ordinary morning during the free trial before deciding; that tells you more than any comparison.
Weighing more options? See the best Routinery alternatives.