- If Finch works for you, keep it. Its core is free, and it's loved for good reason.
- Talk instead of setting goals: Cloudbun (our app). You tell a cozy companion about your day, and your floating island grows.
- Collect pets while you journal: Voidpet Garden. Raise pets with a friend or partner: Friends (Pengu, Bao & Mellow).
- Turn to-dos into an RPG: Habitica. A pet for drinking water: Plant Nanny.
- No pet, just gentle and free: How We Feel.
Finch has done something rare: it made a lot of people genuinely look forward to taking care of themselves. You set small goals, your little bird gets energy, goes on adventures and grows up alongside you. It has a 4.9 rating from roughly 763,000 people on the US App Store, and it's an Apple Editors' Choice.
So why look for apps like Finch? People usually have a specific reason: they want something free with different extras, something without streaks, something for two people, something that feels less like a to-do list, or just a new companion to fall for. This guide covers seven alternatives and who each one suits, using facts from each app's own website, help pages and US App Store listing, checked in October 2026.
Cloudbun is our app, and it's on this list. We like Finch, and we've tried to describe every app here fairly, including our own limits. Nobody paid to be included and there are no affiliate links. Ratings are the App Store's, not ours.
What Finch does well (and why people look elsewhere)
To pick a good alternative, it helps to know what you'd be trading.
What people love about Finch
- The bird. Completing your own small goals gives it energy; when it's full it goes on an adventure and comes back with a story, and over time it grows and develops a personality.
- A generous free version. Finch says its core self-care features are, and will always be, free: caring for your bird, goals, reflections, sending good vibes to friends and seasonal events.
- Lots of gentle tools. Morning and evening check-ins with mood tracking, reflection prompts, breathing exercises, soundscapes and timers.
- Friends. You can send "good vibes" and pair up as goal buddies.
Common reasons to try something else
- Streaks. Finch counts a streak for each day you open the app. You can repair a broken streak with in-app currency or a saver, and Pause Mode freezes it, but some people still prefer no streak at all. (Here's why streaks get to people.)
- Goals are set and ticked by hand. If lists of goals feel like work, you might want a different way in.
- Plus perks. Finch Plus ($9.99 a month or $69.99 a year) unlocks extras like all soundscape and breathing durations and more event rewards.
- Language. Finch says it's available in English only.
Quick comparison
| App | Your companion | Free version | Paid (US) | Ads on App Store listing | Streaks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finch (for reference) | A bird that goes on adventures | Yes, core free | $9.99/mo or $69.99/yr | None declared | Yes, repairable |
| Cloudbun (ours) | A cloudbun and a floating island | Yes, core free | $9.99/mo or $69.99/yr | None, on any plan | None |
| Voidpet Garden | Collectible fantasy creatures | Yes | Subscription and gems | None declared; age rating lists loot boxes | Not mentioned |
| Friends (Pengu, Bao & Mellow) | AI pets you raise with friends | Yes | Pass from $4.99 | Yes | Not mentioned |
| Habitica | An RPG avatar, pets and mounts | Yes | From $4.99/mo | None declared | Yes, plus health loss |
| Plant Nanny | Plants you water by drinking water | Yes | From $7.99/mo | Yes | Not named |
| Kinder World | Houseplants and animal friends | Yes | One-off purchases | None declared; optional reward ads | Not mentioned |
| How We Feel | No pet | Fully free | None | None declared | Not mentioned |
7 apps like Finch
1. Cloudbun (our app): if you'd rather talk than set goals
Cloudbun shares Finch's big idea, a little friend who grows with you, but changes how you get there. Instead of setting and ticking goals, you tell your cloudbun about your day, by voice or by typing. It picks out what you did and what you still want to do, and the good stuff turns into materials to build a floating island, decorate a cozy room and dress up your cloudbun.
- Best for
- People who like cozy games such as Animal Crossing, and find checklists tiring.
- What it does well
- No streaks, no ads on any plan, and your cloudbun never gets sad, sick or leaves because you were away. Habits become plants that grow when you mention them and never wilt. A Care corner has breathing, grounding, a body scan, soundscapes, a worry jar and a gratitude well. Friends can visit your island but never see your journal, notes or chats.
- Where it falls short
- It's new, with a much smaller community than Finch, and it's iPhone only. Free accounts get 5 smart check-ins a month, where your cloudbun reads your whole day; after that it makes rougher guesses on your phone, and you can tick things off by hand.
- Pricing
- Free to play. Cloudbun Plus is $9.99 a month or $69.99 a year in the US, with no free trial.
2. Voidpet Garden: if you love collecting creatures
Voidpet Garden combines a mood tracker and journaling exercises with collectible fantasy creatures that come to live in your garden. Its tools include a gratitude journal, emotion naming, a coping exercise inspired by DBT and a thought worksheet inspired by CBT.
- Best for
- People who enjoy collecting and want structured exercises alongside it.
- What it does well
- A wide set of reflection tools and a strong collecting hook, rated 4.9 from about 5,700 ratings.
- Where it falls short
- Its App Store age rating lists "Loot Boxes", and it sells gems as well as a subscription. Worth knowing if random rewards are a weak spot for you.
- Pricing
- Free, with a "Giga" subscription and gem purchases.
3. Friends (Pengu, Bao & Mellow): if you want a pet to share
Formerly known as Pengu, this app lets you raise AI pet companions together with a partner or friend. Bao is linked to self-care habits and Mellow to study and focus. You can decorate rooms, swap outfits and send each other gifts and reactions.
- Best for
- Couples, best friends and long-distance pairs.
- What it does well
- The shared pet is a sweet way to check in on someone every day, and it's popular: 4.8 from about 238,000 ratings.
- Where it falls short
- Its listing declares advertising, and its privacy label lists identifiers used to track you. It's more about the relationship than about your own reflection.
- Pricing
- Free, with a Pengu Pass from $4.99.
4. Habitica: if you want your to-do list to be a game
Habitica turns habits, dailies and to-dos into a role-playing game. Finishing tasks levels up your avatar and earns gold, gear and pets that grow into mounts. You can join parties with friends and take on quests together.
- Best for
- People who are motivated by levels, loot and teaming up.
- What it does well
- Deep game systems, a long-running community and an open-source codebase.
- Where it falls short
- Missed dailies and bad habits cost your character health, and it has streak counters. That's motivating for some and stressful for others; you can pause damage. Its design is busier than Finch's.
- Pricing
- Free. Subscriptions start at $4.99 a month or $47.99 a year.
5. Plant Nanny: if drinking water is your main goal
Plant Nanny is a water tracker: every glass you log waters a cute plant, and you collect more plants as you go. It works on Apple Watch too, so logging a glass takes a second.
- Best for
- Anyone who forgets to drink water and likes something cute to look after.
- What it does well
- Very simple, with reminders and Apple Health sync; 4.7 from about 107,000 ratings.
- Where it falls short
- It only covers water. Its listing declares advertising, and its developer says the subscription doesn't remove rewarded ads. Rated 13+.
- Pricing
- Free, with a subscription from $7.99 a month or $69.99 a year.
6. Kinder World: if you'd like a cozy houseplant game
In Kinder World, short wellbeing activities make your houseplants grow: naming your emotions, writing a gratitude note or taking a breathing pause. You decorate rooms, and animal friends send you encouraging letters. The listing says plants never die.
- Best for
- People who want something closer to a cozy game than a tracker.
- What it does well
- Gentle, pretty and quick, with no subscription listed; featured by Apple in "Apps We Love".
- Where it falls short
- Its last App Store update was in October 2025, and an earlier update added optional reward ads. Its privacy label lists identifiers used to track you.
- Pricing
- Free, with one-off purchases for pots, rooms and bundles.
7. How We Feel: if you want gentle and completely free
There's no pet here, but How We Feel shares Finch's kind tone. Built by a nonprofit with Yale's Center for Emotional Intelligence, it helps you name your feelings, spot patterns with sleep and exercise, and try short strategies when you need them.
- Best for
- Anyone who wants to understand their emotions and pay nothing at all.
- What it does well
- Free with no in-app purchases, data on your device unless you opt in to share, and an Editors' Choice.
- Where it falls short
- No companion, no habits and no game; it's purely about feelings.
- Pricing
- Free.
Which should you pick?
- You love Finch but want something different: Cloudbun or Kinder World.
- You hate setting goals: Cloudbun.
- You want a companion with a friend or partner: Friends (Pengu, Bao & Mellow).
- You love collecting: Voidpet Garden, knowing it has loot boxes.
- You want levels and loot: Habitica.
- You just need to drink more water: Plant Nanny.
- You want free and simple: How We Feel, or Finch's own free version.
For a wider comparison that includes meditation and sleep apps, see the best self-care apps in 2026. And if you mostly want something cozy to play, try our list of cozy games for anxious days.
Questions people ask
Is there a free app like Finch?
Finch's own core features are free. Among alternatives, How We Feel is completely free, and Cloudbun, Voidpet Garden, Habitica, Kinder World and Plant Nanny all have free versions with optional purchases.
Are there apps like Finch for adults?
Many adults use Finch itself. If you'd like something that feels more like a cozy game, Cloudbun and Kinder World are worth a look; Habitica suits adults who like role-playing games.
Is there an app like Finch without streaks?
Cloudbun has no streaks at all, and its plants never wilt. Several others on this list don't mention streaks, but check each app before you commit.
Is there an app like Finch for couples?
Friends (Pengu, Bao & Mellow) is built for raising a pet together with a partner or friend. Finch and Cloudbun also have friend features.
Is Finch a mental health app?
Finch is a self-care app, and its terms say it doesn't provide medical care or mental health services. The same goes for every app here. If you're struggling, a doctor or therapist can help in ways an app can't.
Final thoughts
Finch set a high bar for kind, companion-based self-care, and plenty of people should simply keep using it. If you're looking for a change, choose by how you like to show up: talking, collecting, playing with a friend, levelling up or just noticing how you feel. The best companion is the one you're happy to come back to.
