Strides vs LazyHabits: Goal Tracker or Habit System?

What is Strides and how does it work?

Strides is a flexible tracker for habits, routines and goals, made by Goals LLC and on the App Store since 2013. Its idea is that all your important habits and goals live together in one simple list, each with the kind of tracker that suits it.

According to its App Store listing, Strides offers four tracker types:

• Streak calendars that show your success rate on a habit
• Milestone calendars for project timelines
• An Average tracker for a repeating number
• A Target tracker for hitting a goal by a specific date

On top of that you get 150+ templates, a daily checklist, progress reports, charts with history, streak and success rate, unlimited reminders, notes and Apple Health integration. Strides is free to download with a free tier. Strides Plus, as a monthly or annual subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase, unlocks unlimited trackers, sync between iPhone, iPad and Mac, tags and filters, a Today List, data export and more. It runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch.

What is LazyHabits?

LazyHabits is an iPhone habit tracker for people who want habits to stick with minimum effort. It tracks less than Strides on purpose and puts the review of your habits at the center.

Each habit has a day, time, place, duration, a reward and something that makes it enjoyable. You start with 2 to 3 habits, and the app warns you before you overload; other ideas go to the Backlog. Your High Impact Habit, the one with a ripple effect such as a fixed bedtime, earns extra points. Points grow the Lazy Buddy from Seed to Mighty Oak, break days are built in, and streaks only count scheduled days. A miss restarts one streak, never your points or level.

How do Strides and LazyHabits compare?

Strides is a broad measurement tool for habits and goals; LazyHabits is a focused habit system with a weekly adjustment loop. Here is the side-by-side, based on each App Store listing.

How does the Master Habit compare with Strides' progress reports?

Strides gives you excellent data about your habits; the LazyHabits Master Habit turns that kind of insight into a weekly decision about what to change. Reports show the past, the review shapes the next week.

Success rates and streak calendars are useful, but numbers alone rarely rescue a struggling habit. A 40 percent success rate on morning stretching tells you something is wrong, not what. Most of the time the cause is ordinary: the time clashes with your commute, the place is cold, or the habit is boring. Habits like that fade quietly unless someone stops and redesigns them.

LazyHabits makes that stop a habit. You schedule the Master Habit with a day, time and place (Sunday evening at your desk, for example), and the app walks you through it:

1. Review each habit's consistency over the week.
2. Rate enjoyment from 1 to 5 stars per habit.
3. Note how you felt, your biggest win and what to do differently.
4. Adjust what is not working: time, place, pairing or reward.
5. Plan next week and only add a Backlog idea when the rest runs smoothly.

"Fix the system, not yourself" is backed by how habits form. In Lally et al. (2009), automaticity took a median of 66 days, with big individual differences, and a single missed day did not derail it. Consistent repetition in a stable, enjoyable context is what builds the habit, and a weekly review protects that context. Our habit review questions work with any tracker, Strides included.

If you love Strides' charts, you can bring them into the review: look at your success rates, then decide on one change per habit.

Who should choose Strides?

Choose Strides if you want to measure many kinds of progress in one app. It suits you if:

• You track goals and projects as well as habits
• You want averages and targets, such as weight or savings by a date
• You like charts, success rates and progress reports
• You want Apple Health integration
• You use an iPad, Mac or Apple Watch and want sync across devices

Who should choose LazyHabits?

Choose LazyHabits if tracking has never been your problem, but sticking with habits has. It fits you if:

• You want a simple habit tracker with 2 or 3 habits, not a dashboard
• You need a guided weekly moment to fix habits that slip
• A broken streak tends to end your motivation (see how to stop streak guilt)
• You enjoy light, playful rewards like points and a growing Lazy Buddy
• You only need an iPhone app and no account

How do I switch from Strides to LazyHabits, or use both?

Move your 2 or 3 most important habits to LazyHabits, set up your Master Habit first, and leave goals and number tracking in Strides if you still need them.

1. Check your Strides success rates and pick the habits you care about most.
2. Choose 2 or 3, and mark one as your High Impact Habit (see keystone habits).
3. Shrink each habit to a version that takes about two minutes.
4. Give each a day, time, place and reward in LazyHabits.
5. Schedule the Master Habit for a fixed weekly slot.
6. Park the rest of your habit ideas in the Backlog.

Combining the two works well: Strides for goals, projects and numbers, LazyHabits for daily habits and the weekly review. Track each habit in one app only. For more comparisons, see HabitKit vs LazyHabits or the best habit tracker apps.