App guide

The Best Goal Setting Apps of 2026: 7 Picks Compared

By Jay Rockliffe, founder of Start From Done

Updated October 17, 2026. Prices, platforms and features checked on each app's own pages that day.

Setting a goal is a different job from tracking one: you need a clear finish line and a plan of steps. These seven apps help with that part.

Short answer: Griply is a complete personal goal planner, linking each goal to habits and tasks. Goalscape suits people who think visually, Strides suits SMART goals with a deadline, and Notion suits people who want to build their own system. Start From Done (ours) writes the goal as already done and plans it backward to one step for today.

We make Start From Done. It is in this list, and we have tried to treat it like every other entry: facts only, and the same limits noted. No company paid to be here, and none of the links are affiliate links.

At a glance: 7 apps compared

App	Best for	Price	Platforms
Griply	A complete personal goal planner	Free for 2 goals and 2 habits. Premium $49.99 a year. Lifetime $149.99.	iPhone, iPad, Mac, Windows, web; Android in public beta
Start From Done	Planning a goal backward from done	Free core loop. Pro $9.99 a month, $59.99 a year with a 7-day free trial, or $249 once for the first 100 founders (then $299).	Web app you install on iPhone, Android and desktop; App Store and Google Play versions are planned
Goalscape	Seeing how the parts fit	14-day free trial, then read-only. Pro $8.25 per user a month billed yearly, or $9.90 monthly.	Web browser on desktop or mobile; runs in Microsoft Teams
Strides	SMART goals with a deadline	Free for your top three goals and habits. Strides Plus monthly, yearly or lifetime (App Store).	iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch; the App Store also lists Mac
Notion	Building your own system	Free for personal use. Plus $10 per member a month.	Web, Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android
ClickUp	Goals a team shares	Free Forever plan. Paid plans from $7 per user a month, billed yearly.	Web, Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android
Habitica	Goals you keep giving up on	Free. Optional subscription $4.99 a month or $47.99 a year (US App Store).	Web, iPhone, iPad, Android

How we chose

We started from the apps that show up again and again in this year's "best goal setting apps" lists and app store collections, then narrowed to 7 that each do one job clearly. For every app we read its own website, pricing page or store listing on the review date and wrote down three things: the price, the platforms and one feature the company itself describes. Each entry links to those pages. We did not run long-term tests of every app, and we do not publish star ratings, user counts or reviews we cannot check, so this guide compares what each app offers, in its own words.

Prices are in US dollars and can differ by country and store. Where an app sells several in-app prices, we give the range or the main plan and point you to the store page.

The 7 picks

1. Griply

Best for: A complete personal goal planner

Griply asks for the goal, then the habits and tasks under it, grouped by life area. Premium adds subgoals, habit targets and a timeline. The free plan covers two goals.

Price: Free for 2 goals and 2 habits. Premium $49.99 a year. Lifetime $149.99.
Platforms: iPhone, iPad, Mac, Windows, web; Android in public beta
Standout: Connects goals to habits, tasks and life areas. Premium adds subgoals, habit targets and calendar time blocking.
Keep in mind: The free plan caps you at two goals.

Checked October 17, 2026: Griply pricing, Griply FAQ: free goal trackers

2. Start From Done (we make this app)

Best for: Planning a goal backward from done

Start From Done begins at the finish line. You write the goal as if it already happened and pick a date; the app drafts the milestones back to today, an if-then plan for the likely obstacle and one 45 minute step. You keep, edit or replace every draft. Your journal stays on your device unless you choose to share it. Share only what you choose: invite a friend as your witness for accountability, and they can invite you back.

Price: Free core loop. Pro $9.99 a month, $59.99 a year with a 7-day free trial, or $249 once for the first 100 founders (then $299).
Platforms: Web app you install on iPhone, Android and desktop; App Store and Google Play versions are planned
Standout: You write the goal as already done. The app drafts backward milestones, an if-then plan for what could stop you and one 45 minute step for today, and you log what you did on a Done list.
Keep in mind: A newer, smaller app built for one goal at a time; it is not a diary for long entries.

Checked October 17, 2026: Start From Done, Start From Done: the app, free and Pro, Start From Done privacy

3. Goalscape

Best for: Seeing how the parts fit

Goalscape turns a goal into a map of subgoals. You set the Importance of each, which sets its size, so the map shows what matters most. It is a browser app with a 14-day trial.

Price: 14-day free trial, then read-only. Pro $8.25 per user a month billed yearly, or $9.90 monthly.
Platforms: Web browser on desktop or mobile; runs in Microsoft Teams
Standout: A visual goal map: split a big goal into subgoals and set the Importance of each, which sets its size on the map.
Keep in mind: No free plan after the trial, and no native phone app listed.

Checked October 17, 2026: Goalscape pricing, Goalscape product overview

4. Strides

Best for: SMART goals with a deadline

Strides has a SMART goal tracker type with a target and an end date, plus templates for common goals. Apple devices only.

Price: Free for your top three goals and habits. Strides Plus monthly, yearly or lifetime (App Store).
Platforms: iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch; the App Store also lists Mac
Standout: Five tracker types (habit, target, average, project and SMART goal) and more than 150 templates.
Keep in mind: Apple devices only.

Checked October 17, 2026: Strides on the App Store, Strides help center

5. Notion

Best for: Building your own system

Notion gives you pages and databases and lets you design the goal system yourself, starting from free templates. Free for personal use; it takes some setup.

Price: Free for personal use. Plus $10 per member a month.
Platforms: Web, Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android
Standout: Build your own goal tracker or journal from pages and databases, starting from 50+ free templates.
Keep in mind: You design the system, which takes setup time.

Checked October 17, 2026: Notion for personal use, Notion pricing

6. ClickUp

Best for: Goals a team shares

ClickUp includes Goals and Portfolio Management, so a team can track shared objectives beside the tasks. Better for work goals than personal ones.

Price: Free Forever plan. Paid plans from $7 per user a month, billed yearly.
Platforms: Web, Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android
Standout: Goals and Portfolio Management for tracking team objectives beside the tasks, on paid plans.
Keep in mind: Goals is a trial on the free plan, and the tool is built for teams more than one person.

Checked October 17, 2026: ClickUp pricing, ClickUp downloads

7. Habitica

Best for: Goals you keep giving up on

If plans fail because they feel like chores, Habitica turns the steps into a game with friends in a party. Free at its core.

Price: Free. Optional subscription $4.99 a month or $47.99 a year (US App Store).
Platforms: Web, iPhone, iPad, Android
Standout: Turns habits, dailies and to-dos into a role-playing game: an avatar earns gold and gear, and you can join a party of friends.
Keep in mind: The game layer is the point; if it does not appeal, a plain tracker will feel lighter.

Checked October 17, 2026: Habitica on the App Store, Habitica FAQ, Habitica wiki: Android app

Also considered: Todoist and TickTick, which are excellent for the tasks under a goal but do not set the goal itself (see our productivity apps guide).

Start From Done next to other apps, feature by feature

How Start From Done lines up with 3 journaling, habit and task apps on the things buyers ask about. Each app does things this table does not cover, so read it as a starting point.

What it does	Start From Done	Day One	Streaks	Things 3
Goal written as already done	Yes, free	Not listed	Not listed	Not listed
Backward milestone plan	Yes, free: drafted for you, edit any step	Not listed	Not listed	Projects for a big goal, with to-dos and a deadline you add
If-then plan for the obstacle	Yes, free: pick one or write your own	Not listed	Not listed	Not listed
Focus timer	Yes, free: 45 minute sprints (10 minutes counts too)	Not listed	Built-in timer for timed tasks	Not listed
Done list of what you finished	Yes, free	Not listed	Not listed	Not listed
Generated future photo or film	Future Photo: first one free, marked as a generated preview; up to 10 a day in Pro. Future Film: Pro	Image generation on the Gold plan	Not listed	Not listed
Share with a friend	Yes, free: a witness link for one friend, plus group sprints	Shared journals with family, friends or small groups	Share a task with friends or family who use Streaks	Not listed
Privacy, as the app describes it	Your journal stays on your device unless you choose to share it	End-to-end encryption on every plan	Not listed	Not listed
Free version	Free core loop, no account needed	Basic plan, $0	Not listed	Free trial on Mac
Paid price (USD, as listed)	Monthly $9.99, Annual $59.99 with 7 days free, Founding Lifetime $249 once for the first 100 founders, then $299	Silver $49.99 a year, Gold $74.99 a year	$5.99 once on iPhone	$9.99 iPhone, $19.99 iPad, $49.99 Mac, each once

As of October 17, 2026, from each app's own site or store listing. "Not listed" means we did not find it on that page, not that the app lacks it. Prices are in USD as listed and may change. We make Start From Done.

Sources for this table

Day One: dayoneapp.com
Streaks: apps.apple.com, streaksapp.com
Things 3: apps.apple.com, apps.apple.com, apps.apple.com

This shared table comes from our full list of Start From Done features, where every free and Pro feature is listed.

What a goal setting app should help you do

Write a finish you can check. "Get fit" is a wish; "ran a 10k on 12 April" is a finish. Our guide to SMART goals vs reverse journaling shows both ways to write it.
Break it into steps. Subgoals (Griply, Goalscape), milestones (Start From Done) or projects (Notion, ClickUp). Planning backward from the finish keeps only the steps the goal needs: see backward planning.
Plan for the obstacle. Research on if-then plans suggests that deciding in advance what you will do when the hard moment comes helps people follow through. Read implementation intentions for the details.
End at today. A plan that stops at "by March" is still a wish. Make sure the app, or you, names the next action.

Want a head start? Our free goal templates are written as done and planned backward, ready to edit.

Questions

What is the best goal setting app?

Griply is a complete personal goal planner. Goalscape suits visual thinkers, Strides suits SMART goals, Notion suits people who build their own system, and Start From Done plans a goal backward from the finish. We make Start From Done.

What is the difference between goal setting and goal tracking apps?

Goal setting apps help you define the finish and plan the steps. Goal tracking apps measure progress once you start. Several, such as Griply and Strides, do some of both.

Is there a free goal setting app?

Griply is free for two goals, Notion is free for personal use, Habitica is free at its core, and the Start From Done core loop is free. Goalscape offers a 14-day trial.

What is backward goal setting?

Backward goal setting starts with the finished goal and works back in time, asking what had to be true just before each step, until it reaches one action you can take today.

Do goal setting apps work?

No app can promise an outcome. Research on goal pursuit suggests a clear goal, a plan for obstacles and a next step help people follow through, and a good app makes those easier to keep in view.

Sources

Each page below was read on October 17, 2026. Prices change; the store or pricing page has the final word.

App names are trademarks of their owners. Start From Done is not affiliated with any of them.