Orbit vs

Orbit vs Streaks: a habit tracker or a routine runner?

By · Published 10 September 2026 · 3-minute read

What each app is for

Streaks is a habit tracker, and one of the best made. You choose up to 24 tasks you want to do each day — drink water, read, floss, walk — and tap them done. It syncs through iCloud, reads completions automatically from the Health app for things like steps and water, supports negative tasks for breaking habits, timed tasks, notes, sharing tasks with other Streaks users, widgets, Siri Shortcuts and an excellent Apple Watch app with every complication type. It is a one-time purchase, and it won an Apple Design Award.

Orbit is a routine runner. It does not track a list of separate habits; it holds an ordered sequence — a morning, a shutdown, a wind-down — and walks you through it one step at a time, with the current step on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island.

The two answer different questions. Streaks asks: did you do each of these things today? Orbit asks: what is the next step, right now? The difference is set out in full in habit tracker vs routine app.

Side by side

Platform facts are from each app's App Store listing, checked on 10 September 2026.

Where Streaks is genuinely better

Price. One payment of $5.99 in the US, no subscription. Orbit's lifetime option costs more and its subscriptions add up.

Many separate habits. Up to 24 tasks, each with its own schedule, tracked in one grid. Orbit is not designed for that.

Automatic tracking and Apple Watch. Health integration means steps or water can complete themselves, and the Watch app is among the best in the category.

Maturity. On the App Store since 2015, with an Apple Design Award.

Where Orbit is genuinely better

It guides a sequence. Streaks records that you did your morning; Orbit gets you through it — which is the part ADHD executive dysfunction makes hard. The routine continues on the Lock Screen, so a distraction costs a glance, not the whole morning.

Missed days. In an app called Streaks, the unbroken run is the point. That is motivating until the first bad week. Orbit earns you a freeze for every five days in a row, and when you come back after a miss it offers to rescue the streak. If broken streaks have ended apps for you, read why streaks break ADHD brains before choosing.

Timers that adapt. Steps can be timed, counted or ticked off, and timers adjust to how long a step really takes you.

Who should pick which

They combine well: Streaks for separate habits, Orbit for the two or three routines that hold the day together. More options are in the best habit tracker for ADHD.

Frequently asked

What is the difference between Orbit and the Streaks app?

Streaks is a habit tracker: you mark up to 24 separate tasks done each day and build a run of consecutive days, with automatic completion from Apple Health for some tasks. Orbit is a routine runner: it walks you through an ordered sequence of steps with a timer on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island, and forgives missed days with earned freezes.

Is the Streaks app good for ADHD?

It is polished, private and pays for itself with a one-time price. The risk for ADHD is the core mechanic: the goal is an unbroken streak, and a missed day matters. People who have abandoned apps after a broken streak should test that before committing.

Can I use Streaks and Orbit together?

Yes. Streaks for separate daily habits — water, steps, reading — and Orbit for sequences like a morning or bedtime routine. They overlap very little.

Sources and further reading

Try Orbit for yourself

Orbit is free to download with a free trial — three days on the weekly plan, a week on the yearly one — so the fastest way to compare is to run one real routine in it on an ordinary morning.

Download Orbit on the App Store