Guide · 6 min read
A habit tracker without a subscription
You search for a free habit tracker, install one, add your fourth habit, and meet a paywall. Or the statistics are locked. Or the widget is "Pro". Here is what free usually means in this category, what it should mean, and how Karmanya stays genuinely free.
What "free" usually means
Many habit trackers are free to download and then limited in ways that only show up once you are invested. The common patterns are easy to recognise:
- A cap on habits. Three or five habits free, the rest behind a subscription.
- Locked insights. You can tick boxes, but the charts that explain your progress are premium.
- Paid widgets, sync or export. The features that make a tracker part of your day cost extra.
- Ads. Shown on the one screen you open every morning, often while you are trying to focus.
- Trials that quietly renew. A week free, then a charge you only notice later.
None of that is a scandal. Building software costs money. But it creates a strange incentive for a tool whose only job is to help you pay attention to your own life.
The quiet cost of renting your record
A habit tracker becomes more valuable the longer you use it. A year of honest squares is evidence you cannot recreate. When that record sits behind a subscription, the renewal date tends to land on exactly the wrong week: the one where you skipped the gym, broke the streak, and are already wondering whether any of it is working.
Seneca, writing to his friend Lucilius two thousand years ago, had a line for the logic of always wanting a little more:
It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor.
Seneca, Moral Letters to Lucilius, Letter 2 (Gummere translation)
A good tool should need very little from you. Your attention for a few seconds a day, and nothing else.
What Karmanya includes, for everyone
- Unlimited habits, including habits you want to quit, with an honest way to log a relapse.
- A year-long contribution grid for every habit, plus calendar, timeline and checklist views.
- Real statistics: consistency, streak history, best days, time of day, recovery after a miss, and the Sadhana Score.
- Home screen widgets and a Wear OS app, so you can tick a habit without opening anything.
- Flexible schedules: daily, chosen weekdays, a number of times per week or month, or every few days.
- Notes, measured values and rest days, so the record matches real life.
- 65 ready-made habits to start from, in seven languages.
- Reminders, offline use, and JSON or CSV export of everything.
Free vs freemium, side by side
| Feature | Typical freemium tracker | Karmanya |
|---|---|---|
| Number of habits | Often capped | Unlimited |
| Statistics and insights | Often premium | Included |
| Home screen widgets | Sometimes premium | Included |
| Export your data | Sometimes premium | Included (JSON, CSV) |
| Ads | Common on free plans | None |
| Account required | Often | No |
| Works offline | Varies | Yes |
So how does it stay free?
Karmanya is built and paid for by one developer. There are no investors expecting a return, no ad network, and no data to sell, because your habits live on your phone unless you choose to sync them. The running costs, a Play Store developer account, a domain and some hosting, are small enough to carry.
If it earns a place in your day, you can make a voluntary, one-time contribution on the support page. Nothing unlocks, because nothing was ever locked.
Your data leaves with you
A free app that traps your history is not really free. Karmanya lets you export everything as JSON or CSV whenever you want, and import it back on a new phone, with or without an account. Read the privacy policy for exactly what is and is not collected.
Common questions
Is Karmanya really free?
Yes. Every feature is available to everyone: unlimited habits, all the statistics, the widgets, the Wear OS app, reminders and export. There are no ads, no subscription and no in-app purchases.
Will there be a paid tier later?
Karmanya will not remove or restrict any feature that exists today behind a payment. If an optional extra ever appears, everything you already have stays free.
Does it need an account or internet?
No. Karmanya works fully offline without an account. Signing in with Google is optional and only exists to sync your habits across your own devices.
Can I take my data with me?
Yes. You can export all of your habits and history as JSON or CSV at any time, and import them back.
How does it stay free?
Karmanya has no ads and does not sell data. The costs are small and paid by its developer, and people who find it useful can make a voluntary, one-time contribution on the support page.