Brainway vs StartKick
Brainway app review: what you pay, what renews, how to cancel
Brainway and StartKick both start with a quiz about procrastination and end with a plan. Brainway’s is built on tracking your days; ours on one small first step. The bigger difference is in the billing and the small print, so here is both, line by line, with the sources. Checked on 26 October 2026.
StartKick is for people who keep putting off something they want or need to do. A free 2-minute check shows what tends to get in your way, then you get one small first step for a real task.
Take the free 2-minute checkShort answers
- Is Brainway worth it?
- Some people like its tracking and its lessons on procrastination. The ratings are split: 4.1 on the US App Store, 3.3 in the UK, 2.7 on Google Play, and 40% one-star reviews on Trustpilot, many of them about billing and renewals.S1, S2, S3, S12
- How much does Brainway cost?
- The App Store lists "Unlimited access" at $29.99 and $59.99 (UK: £29.99 and £59.99) without saying how long each lasts. Web prices are not published; they are shown after the quiz.S1, S2, S8
- Is it a one-time payment?
- No. Under its Subscription Terms, "All our paid services are provided on a recurring Subscription basis."S4
- How do I cancel Brainway?
- In the App Store or Google Play if you bought it there. If you bought it on the web: the Manage Subscription page on brainway.app, or an email to help@brainway.app. Uninstalling does not stop charges.S7, S13, S14, S1
- Can I get a refund?
- Periods that have started are non-refundable as far as the law allows; anything else is "case-by-case" and "at our sole discretion".S4, S6
- Who is Brainway for?
- Adults (the App Store rates it 18+) who like logging their days in detail and want to see how sleep, food, exercise and mood relate to focus.S1
The bill
What’s free
BrainwayThe app is free to download. "Continued access requires a subscription."S1
StartKickThe 2-minute check and one small first step for a real task. The plan, the coach and the tools are paid. The coach is software, not a person.
In the stores
Brainway"Unlimited access" at $29.99 and $59.99 on the US App Store, £29.99 and £59.99 in the UK. The store page does not say how long each lasts. Google Play: $29.99 to $59.99 per item.S1, S2, S3
StartKick$29, £29 or €29 for the first year, then $59, £59 or €59 a year. The price includes tax and is the number Stripe charges.S15
On the web
BrainwayNo public price list. The plan is sold after a quiz. Most customers in Europe are charged in euros, "even if their local currency differs".S8, S10
StartKickThe same price for everyone in a currency. You see it before checkout.
One-off or subscription
BrainwayBrainway’s own reviews page quotes a customer pleased with "a reasonable one time fee". The Subscription Terms: "All our paid services are provided on a recurring Subscription basis."S11, S4
StartKickA yearly plan that renews at the regular yearly price, or a monthly plan that renews every month. Both prices are shown before checkout.S15
Free trial
BrainwayThe Subscription Terms say free trials, introductory pricing or promotions "may" be offered; the length is not published.S4
StartKick3 days free, card needed. Then the first year at $29, £29 or €29, or $7.99, £7.99 or €7.99 a month.S15
What renewal costs
Brainway"Our standard rate for your plan" (Subscription Terms, 3). Promotional plans "may revert to standard pricing".S4
StartKick"The regular yearly price shown before checkout."S15
Warning before renewal
Brainway"We do not guarantee separate notices before your trial ends unless required by law." (Subscription Terms, 4)S4
StartKickAn email when the trial starts. On the yearly plan, a reminder before it renews.S16
Extras
BrainwayThe Terms say your "designated coach or the platform interface" may suggest paid add-ons, and what you buy that way falls under the same recurring billing terms. A developer reply on the App Store: "some products are billed separately".S4, S1
StartKickThe coach is included. One optional pack of 500 extra coach messages for $5, £5 or €5, one payment, nothing renews.
The small print
How to cancel
BrainwayBought in the App Store or Google Play: cancel in the store. Bought on the web: the Manage Subscription page (your email, then a 4-digit code sent to it), or an email to help@brainway.app. The same help article also tells web buyers to write to support to cancel. Uninstalling the app or deleting your data does not stop charges.S7, S4, S1
StartKickOne tap under Your plan in the app, or at link.com. No email, no call.S16
Refunds
BrainwayPeriods that have started are non-refundable "to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law". Other refunds are "case-by-case" and "at our sole discretion"; a faulty product must be reported within 14 days "with visual proof attached". In the EEA, the UK and Switzerland the 14-day right of withdrawal is lost if you agree at checkout to start straight away.S4, S6
StartKickForgot to cancel? Ask within 24 hours of your first payment and we refund it in full. It is written in the Terms.S15
Who you are dealing with
BrainwayMEDICAL SCORE UAB, Panevėžys, Lithuania; it is the seller on the App Store, and Google Play shows the developer as "Health Score". Terms under Lithuanian law. US residents: binding individual arbitration, class actions waived, opt-out within 30 days.S1, S3, S5
StartKickAndrej Sinkovič s.p., Ljubljana, Slovenia. Slovenian law, and your consumer rights where you live stay in place. One email address, answered by the person who built it.S15
Your data
BrainwayThe App Store privacy label lists health and fitness data, contact info and user content as linked to you. No data is listed as used to track you.S1
StartKickYour answers, tasks and result never go to Meta or Google. Meta learns that someone viewed a page, left an email or paid, nothing more. In the EU, the EEA and the UK nothing is measured until you allow it.S17
What people report
Brainway rates 4.1 on the US App Store from 1,683 ratings and 3.3 on the UK store from 632, where a third of ratings are one star. On Google Play it rates 2.7 in the US and 2.9 in the UK, from 4,162 ratings and more than 100,000 downloads. On Trustpilot it scores 3.6 from 1,129 reviews; 454 of them, 40%, give one star. Of the 20 reviews on Trustpilot’s first page on the day we checked, all 16 with three stars or more came through Brainway’s own invitations, and all 4 with one or two stars were written unprompted.S1, S2, S3, S12
The same story repeats across the stores and Trustpilot: a one-week, one-month or three-month plan bought as a one-off that then renewed; no plan or cancel button inside the app; refunds refused under the terms; several add-ons offered at checkout. Brainway replies to these reviews, pointing to its terms and to help@brainway.app. Trustpilot’s own summary of 683 reviews says people find the start easy and the features helpful, and dislike the upselling at sign-up and the unexpected renewals.S1, S2, S3, S12
Two quotes, their words:
What you get
Starting point
BrainwayA quiz, then a personalized productivity plan.
StartKickA 2-minute check that shows what tends to stop you: one of six ways people get stuck. No diagnosis.
Daily use
BrainwayDaily logs of focus, mood, tasks, sleep, diet, exercise and energy, with reports on how they relate.
StartKickA 28-day plan: one small step a day, sized to the minutes you have (5 to 45), with a timer you can extend.
Coach
Brainway"Optional coach support". The Terms say the coach may suggest paid add-ons.
StartKickA coach that knows your plan and what’s stopping you. Included.
Learning
BrainwayLessons and strategies on procrastination, "CBT-based strategies", cognitive reframing.
StartKick40 short lessons, 4 to 5 minutes each, each with something to try today. Included.
Habits
BrainwayHabit tracking, and "experiments" such as a caffeine or digital detox.
StartKickHabit Builder: up to three habits at once, 60 days each, built on your own obstacles.
Calm
BrainwayMindfulness and relaxation tools, focus meditations.
StartKickSlow breathing, a 5-4-3-2-1 reset and a quiet minute, one tap from Today.
With others
BrainwayNot part of Brainway’s feature list.
StartKickCo-op: a friend or a matched partner, shared tasks and habits.
Elsewhere
BrainwayiPhone and Android apps, and a web version at my.brainway.app. Connects to Apple Health and Google Fit.
StartKickWorks in any browser and installs to your home screen. A free Chrome extension gives you the first step for the page you have open.
Where Brainway is ahead
BrainwayDetailed tracking of sleep, food, exercise and mood with reports on how they relate, Apple Health and Google Fit, a photo diary, apps on both stores and a web version.
StartKickStartKick is new (2026), built and answered by one person, and it is about starting tasks, not tracking your body and mood. We would rather you know.
Brainway’s features from its store pages and help center S1, S8, S9. StartKick’s from the app as of 26 October 2026.
Where Brainway is ahead
- Much deeper tracking: focus, mood, sleep, diet, exercise and energy, with reports on how they relate.S1
- Apple Health and Google Fit connections, a photo diary and a journal.S1
- Small self-experiments, such as a caffeine or digital detox, with before-and-after results.S1
- Apps on both stores plus a web version.S1, S3, S9
When StartKick fits better
- You want to see what tends to stop you, and get a first step for a real task, in 2 minutes and for free, before you pay anything.
- You want one yearly price, with tax included, and to know it renews before you pay.
- You want to cancel in one tap, not by email or an email code.
- You want a full refund if you forget to cancel and ask within 24 hours of the first payment.
- You want the coach included, and nothing else that renews.
And when it doesn’t: if you want to log your sleep, food, exercise and mood every day and see how they shape your focus, Brainway does far more of that than we do.
Take the free 2-minute checkHow to cancel Brainway
- Find where you paid. Check your Apple or Google Play subscriptions first. If Brainway isn’t there, Brainway says it "may have been purchased via our website".S2
- Apple: App Store > your profile > Subscriptions > Brainway > Cancel.S13
- Google Play: Google Play > your profile > Payments & subscriptions > Subscriptions > Brainway > Cancel.S14
- Website: go to brainway.app/manage-subscription, enter the email you signed up with, then the 4-digit code sent to it (check spam), and cancel. Or email help@brainway.app from that address, write "Cancel my Brainway subscription", and add a receipt if you have one.S7, S4
- Add-ons: some products are "billed separately", so check that each one is canceled.S1
- Timing: store plans renew unless canceled 24 hours before the period ends.S1
- Uninstalling or deleting your data does not stop charges.S1
- Refunds: for store purchases, ask Apple or Google; for web purchases, write to help@brainway.app.S6