01 / AT A GLANCE

Storey vs SuperBetter at a glance

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Storey vs SuperBetter at a glance
FeatureStoreySuperBetter
Main focusTracking recurring habitsResilience, wellbeing, and personal challenges
Core ideaYour habits become buildingsWork toward meaningful goals through game-inspired activities
Everyday interactionRecord a habit completionComplete activities within a challenge
Progress visualizationWindows, floors, and a growing cityChallenge progress and gameful strengths
Goal structureWeekly completion targets for individual habitsSolo challenges and hosted squad challenges
Guided challenge libraryNot the core experienceYes; Hero includes 40+ solo challenges
Social featuresOptional city sharing and neighbor visitsAllies and hosted squad challenges
Free accessTrack up to five habitsPlayer account for Squad Play
Paid individual planOptional Storey ProHero for Solo Play and customization
PlatformsiPhone; Android announced as coming nextiPhone, Android, and web

Feature sources: Storey's website and terms; SuperBetter's app listings and account documentation.13245

02 / CITY OR CHALLENGE

The biggest difference: a city you build or a challenge you work through

Storey makes individual habits visible

In Storey, your reading habit and your walking habit do not contribute to one interchangeable score. They have separate buildings.

That makes it possible to look at your skyline and see which habits you have maintained over time. The reward is directly connected to the thing you did, rather than a separate game economy.6

Imagine creating a habit called “Read for ten minutes” with a target of four days per week. Meeting that target adds a floor to the reading building. Keep meeting it, and the tower becomes a record of those successful weeks.7

The appeal is straightforward: you are not just checking something off today. You are adding to something you can come back and look at.

SuperBetter gives personal goals a framework

SuperBetter is broader than a conventional habit checklist. Its Solo Play experience includes a library of challenges and the ability to create your own around a meaningful goal, described as an epic win.8

The game language is a way to approach real-life actions, not a promise of an immersive video game. SuperBetter explicitly describes its experience as applying a gameful mindset to everyday life.9

That is an important distinction for anyone comparing gamified apps. SuperBetter is not a city builder with different artwork. Its central idea is to approach challenges with strategies, small actions, and support.

You might prefer that structure when your question is not simply “Did I do my habit?” but “How should I work toward this goal?”

03 / TRACKING HABITS

Can SuperBetter be used as a habit tracker?

Yes, recurring actions can be part of a SuperBetter challenge. Its current Solo Play documentation also describes a daily goal, alongside custom challenges and activities.8

It would be misleading to say SuperBetter cannot help with habits. The more useful distinction is how those actions are organized.

Storey centers the individual habit and its weekly history. SuperBetter centers a challenge and the activities that support it.38

Consider an illustrative example: you want to take more walks.

In Storey, you could track “Walk outside” four days per week and watch that habit's building grow. In SuperBetter, walking could be one action within a broader custom challenge, alongside other activities you choose.

Neither structure makes the walk more valuable. They answer different questions: “How consistently am I doing this?” and “What steps support the goal I am working toward?”

04 / MISSING A DAY

What happens when you miss a habit?

Storey separates your current run of consistency from the work you have already recorded.

Miss a day and that day's window remains dark. Miss your weekly target and you do not earn another floor that week. The floors from earlier successful weeks stay.10

For example, imagine you have earned twelve floors from twelve successful weeks of reading. A difficult thirteenth week does not turn that building back into an empty lot. You can resume with your existing progress still visible.

Storey does include streak tracking. The difference is that a streak is not the only representation of what you have done.10

SuperBetter's documentation emphasizes trying different strategies, working with allies, and developing the resilience to tackle challenges.11

That is a different way to frame a setback. Storey's answer is visible continuity; SuperBetter's framework encourages another approach to the challenge. We would not describe SuperBetter as a punitive alternative simply to make Storey sound gentler.

For more on separating a missed day from lost progress, read our guide to starting again after breaking a habit streak.

05 / GUIDANCE

Which app offers more guidance?

Our pick is SuperBetter when you want a challenge framework, rather than only a place to record recurring actions.

Its Hero account includes more than forty solo challenges, plus the option to create personal challenges. That gives it a ready-made structure to explore when you are looking for more than a checklist.12

Storey's focus is narrower: habits, completion records, calendars, reminders, and the city built from your progress.3

We see that narrower focus as useful for someone who already has a routine in mind. You do not necessarily need a larger program to support reading, practicing an instrument, or getting outside regularly.

But when you are specifically looking for guided resilience activities, we would start with SuperBetter. Storey is not intended to replace that experience.

07 / THE RESEARCH

What about the research behind SuperBetter?

SuperBetter has published research that deserves to be acknowledged.

A 2015 randomized controlled trial recruited 283 adults with elevated depression symptoms. Participants assigned to SuperBetter showed greater reductions in self-reported depressive symptoms than a waiting-list group. The researchers also cautioned that high dropout rates and a motivated, self-selected sample limited the conclusions.14

That is evidence about the intervention studied, not a guarantee for every user or proof that the current app will outperform another app at maintaining everyday habits. The trial did not compare SuperBetter with Storey.

Storey is a habit-tracking product, not a mental-health treatment. Neither app should be treated as a replacement for appropriate professional care.3

For this comparison, the practical point is that SuperBetter's resilience focus is substantive. It is not simply a habit checklist with heroic wording.

08 / PRICING

Storey vs SuperBetter pricing

The following are listed U.S. prices checked September 24, 2026. Regional pricing, trial eligibility, and offers can differ. Check the purchase screen before subscribing.

Storey: free habit tracking, optional Pro

Storey's free plan supports up to five habits. Core city growth, streaks, and reminders are included.1

The U.S. App Store lists Storey Pro at $5.99 per month, with a seven-day free trial on the monthly plan, or $59.99 per year. Pro includes unlimited habits, expanded building customization, and the ability to edit older completion dates.15

You do not need to subscribe simply to start a city with a few habits.

SuperBetter: free Squad Play, paid Solo Play

SuperBetter's free Player account is for Squad Play, including challenges hosted by others and community challenges from SuperBetter. The Hero account adds Solo Play, the solo challenge library, and customization.5

Its official website lists Hero at $24.99 per year, with a fourteen-day free trial. Hosting your own squads uses a separate Host account.12

SuperBetter's listed annual individual subscription costs less than Storey Pro. Storey's free plan has a different advantage: self-directed tracking for up to five habits without requiring a subscription. “Free” does not unlock the same experience in both apps.

09 / WHICH APP TO CHOOSE

Which app should you choose?

Choose Storey for visual habit consistency

Our recommendation is Storey when you want a focused place to track routines you choose, you like setting realistic weekly targets, and seeing those habits become a skyline sounds motivating.

It is also the option we would try first for a small, self-directed habit list without a paid subscription. Its free tier covers up to five habits.3

The main trade-off: Storey does not offer SuperBetter's structured resilience-challenge experience. Its published platform availability is also narrower: Storey's website lists iPhone support and says Android is coming next.1

Choose SuperBetter for structured personal challenges

We would choose SuperBetter when you are drawn to quests, guided challenges, and a framework for approaching personal goals. It is also our recommendation here for organized group challenges or access across mobile and web.413

The main trade-off: its organizing idea is a challenge, not a separate building and weekly history for every habit. Self-directed Solo Play also requires Hero rather than the free Player account.5

10 / THE VERDICT

The verdict

Storey is our recommendation for making recurring habits visible. SuperBetter is our recommendation for working through structured personal challenges.

The decision is less about which app has more features and more about what you want those features to do.

Do you want guidance around a goal, or a place to see your repeated effort accumulate?

Choose the experience that answers the question you are actually asking.

11 / FAQS

Frequently asked questions

What is the main difference between Storey and SuperBetter?

Storey organizes recurring habits around weekly goals and visual progress. SuperBetter organizes personal goals around game-inspired challenges and resilience-building activities.711

Is Storey a good SuperBetter alternative?

We recommend it as an alternative for people mainly interested in visual habit tracking. We would not recommend treating it as a like-for-like replacement for SuperBetter's guided challenges, group programs, or resilience framework.

Is SuperBetter free?

Its Player account is free for Squad Play. Hero adds Solo Play and other features; the official site lists it at $24.99 per year with a fourteen-day trial. Hosting squads requires a separate Host account.12

Does Storey reset your city when you miss a week?

No. Missing a weekly target means you do not add a floor for that week. Previously earned floors are not removed because you missed the goal.10

Can I use Storey or SuperBetter on Android?

SuperBetter has Android, iPhone, and web access. At this review date, Storey is available for iPhone with iOS 17 or later, while its website describes Android as coming next.4151

12 / START YOUR CITY

Build a habit you can see

Start with a habit you care about and a weekly goal that fits your life. Let each successful week give you something to add to.7

Start your city in Storey

Track up to five habits free. Storey Pro is optional.3

Explore another approach to motivation in Storey vs Finch, or compare two different city-building systems in Storey vs Kubbo.

For guided routines and coaching, explore Storey vs Fabulous.

13 / SOURCES

Sources and review notes

Product availability, plans, and prices were reviewed on September 24, 2026. Recommendations reflect our interpretation of the documented features, not measured differences in retention or effectiveness. The walking and reading examples are illustrative, not claims about a specific preset challenge or a tested outcome.

  1. Storey official website — weekly goals, city behavior, free and Pro features, neighbor visits, and announced platform availability. ↩1 ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  2. SuperBetter U.S. App Store listing — product positioning, activities, and solo challenges. ↩1 ↩2

  3. Storey terms — product scope, free-tier limit, purchase terms, and intended use. ↩1 ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  4. SuperBetter on Google Play — Android availability, account features, and mobile/web access. ↩1 ↩2 ↩3

  5. SuperBetter: What type of accounts are there? — Player, Hero, and Host account differences. ↩1 ↩2 ↩3

  6. Storey vs Kubbo — Storey's direct relationship between individual habits and buildings. ↩1

  7. How to Stay Consistent With Habits — Storey's weekly-goal approach and habit-specific visual history. ↩1 ↩2 ↩3

  8. SuperBetter: Is Solo Play similar to the old app? — custom challenges, the solo library, and daily-goal structure. ↩1 ↩2 ↩3

  9. SuperBetter: Is SuperBetter a game? — gameful real-life activities versus an immersive video game. ↩1

  10. Storey vs Finch — Storey streaks, missed-day behavior, and retained floors. ↩1 ↩2 ↩3

  11. SuperBetter: How does SuperBetter work? — strategy, support, and resilience framework. ↩1 ↩2

  12. SuperBetter official website — Hero pricing, trial, and challenge-library scope. ↩1 ↩2 ↩3

  13. SuperBetter: How it works — Host tools and five-day squad challenges. ↩1 ↩2

  14. Roepke et al. (2015), Randomized Controlled Trial of SuperBetter, a Smartphone-Based/Internet-Based Self-Help Tool to Reduce Depressive Symptoms, Games for Health Journal, 4(3), 235–246. The study evaluated an earlier version of SuperBetter; results should not be generalized to every current feature or user. ↩1

  15. Storey U.S. App Store listing — listed subscription prices, trial, paid features, and iOS requirements. ↩1 ↩2