The five best apps to create healthy habits

Habit tracking apps on iOS and iPadOS can be specialized or versatile and can involve health or custom habits. Here are some of the best options to create a routine.

A good choice for tracking multiple habits is certainly one of the versatile apps. WaterMinder can track liquids, but so can HabitMinder in addition to other habits. Price is something to keep in mind, especially for comparing a subscription-based app with a one-time purchase.

WaterMinder

WaterMinder is the best app to keep track of hydration. Drinking enough water every day is a healthy habit and this app makes it easy. Factors such as age, weight, and exercise level determine the daily goal.

The app automatically creates a schedule, such as drinking a cup of water every hour and a half. It works with Siri shortcuts to quickly log water, show the current hydration level, show the last logged drink, and more.

A history of hydration provides a progress overview over the past day, week, month, and year. It doesn't have to be just water; other options include tracking coffee, beer, wine, liquor, and even soup.

WaterMinder can be configured in different ways, such as sharing progress with friends or keeping it private. The automatic schedule can be changed, and the interface can be tweaked. The app's hydration reminders are gentle, with no judgement in case the daily goal wasn't reached.

WaterMinder can be found on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac for $4.99.

Streaks

Streaks can track up to 12 habits, making it the most versatile app in this list. There are tasks to choosse from, such as flossing teeth, taking vitamins, running, quitting smoking, and a lot more.

Every day a habit is completed, your streak is extended. Keep the streak going to create a routine and view progress over time. Tasks can also be snoozed and a reminder will reappear after 30 minutes.

The streak resets to zero if a task is broken, but goals can be customized only for certain days. Examples include going to the gym three days a week, or eating healthy every day.

Everything from the app icon and app color can be customized. Streaks works with Siri too, so you can say something like, "Hey Siri, mark Take Vitamins as complete in Streaks." Other Siri options include setting task reminders, getting a task status, and exporting data.

Progress can be shared with friends for accountability or just as a friendly way to see what others have been up to. Streaks can be found on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac for $4.99.

HabitMinder

HabitMinder is most similar to Streaks in that it offers custom habits for users to create. There are over 50 pre-defined habits to choose from for ideas. Categories include Body, Mind, Healthy Habits, Appreciate, and Commit.

Body includes pre-defined tasks such as standing, walking, excercising, push ups, squats, and others. Mind includes breathing, visualization, meditating, and reading. The app offers an overview of which habits have been completed and which ones are still in progress.

Each habit can be customized with color, icon, reminders, and type of habit. The app offers a feature called Sessions that helps users complete habits. Widgets help you see progress with a quick glance.

The similar-sounding name is telling, as HabitMinder comes from the same developer as WaterMinder. It's free to download with various subscriptions, such as $1.00 per month.

A one-time purchase can also be found for $19.99. HabitMinder supports iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.

Aloe Bud

Aloe Bud depicts itself as more about self-care than tracking habits. It gives you daily reminders for various tasks, and checks in on your mental well-being. It provides a journal to keep track of thoughts and meotions with prompts for reflection.

The app can provide reminders to meditate, hydrate, re-fuel, keep in touch with others, and motivation with friendly notifications. The company even has a Discord channel so people can connect with other app users.

On the website, Aloe Bud lists resources for mental health such as varioius help lines, links to organizations, and information about anxiety, depression, and substance abuse, with support groups to help people.

The app is free to download with a few affordable in-app purchases to unlock functionality. AloeBud supports iPhone and iPad.

Habitica

Habitica utilizes gamification to motivate users and help them achieve goals. Gamification means that it uses game-like elements to make tasks enjoyable. For example, when you complete a task and check it off inside the app you'll get gold, experience, and items that can be used inside the app.

Track daily, weekly, and monthly goals with full customization. Choose the difficulty level of a task such as Trivial, Easy, Medium, and Hard. Schedule the task so that it repeats every day, every week, or only on certain days.

Earn rewards for completing tasks, with examples such as getting junk food, watching 15 minutes of videos for fun, or buying a coffee.

Like a game, there are seasonal events, joining parties to complete tasks, avatar customization, and collectible gear and pets.

Habitica is free to download and offers optional subscriptions to help support the developer. Subscriptions include $4.99 every month, $14.99 every three months, $29.99 every six months, and $47.99 every year. The app supports iPhone and iPad.