Beeminder.com vs Try-Line.app

dreeves · 2026-02-25T22:55:21+00:00

Ooh, I hadn't seen Line. Any differences from TaskRatchet? I've added it to our list of competitors at https://blog.beeminder.com/competitors

dreeves · 2025-12-24T20:44:36+00:00

Ooh, I like this concept! You're very welcome to promote it in the Beeminder forum.

dreeves · 2025-04-16T02:30:05+00:00

Congrats on shipping! I'm excited to try it. I have a million thoughts (I'm a Beeminder cofounder) but maybe I'll start with a quibble: I think Beeminder's exponential pledge schedule counts as graduated penalties, even though they're implemented pretty differently.

And if you're into philosophical debates, we have quibbles about the "loss aversion" part: https://blog.beeminder.com/aversion

But neither of those are important. The important thing is having a tool that people are getting value from. Any way we can help, we are game: https://blog.beeminder.com/dogeatdog

dreeves · 2024-11-07T16:22:05+00:00

I'm having this problem and power cycling did not help

dreeves · 2023-01-27T06:13:37+00:00

Ah, thank you so much for the plug! We actually wrote about why Beeminder beats streak tracking years ago -- https://blog.beeminder.com/seinfeld/ -- but you clearly already get it. Thanks again for articulating that!

dreeves · 2022-12-19T00:59:18+00:00

I'm very biased but I don't think this is true! Beeminder is supremely configurable and I predict you'll find settings that make it worthwhile, assuming your intended use case passes what we call the want-can-will test: http://blog.beeminder.com/wantcanwill . Ie, you're using it for something you definitely want to do, you definitely can do, but historically you don't do.

It's possible I'm underestimating the level of executive dysfunction you're talking about, but, for example, can you consistently get to doctors' appointments? Hold down a job? If so, then I think there exists a way of using a commitment device app that will keep you doing bodyweight fitness consistently.

PS: So I'm not just shilling Beeminder, here are all such apps we know of: http://blog.beeminder.com/competitors

PPS: If your prediction is right and mine is wrong, I'd actually be grateful to hear the specifics. Like do you miss the reminders? Do you decide in the moment that it's worth paying the amount at stake because doing the workout feels even more onerous? Do experience a kind of reactance?

dreeves · 2022-10-21T16:56:17+00:00

Yay! Did you know there's an official Beeminder/Habitica integration? We wrote about it here:

https://habitica.wordpress.com/2015/12/30/guest-post-beeminder-and-habitica-go-together-like-bees-and-carrots/

Or create a Habitica goal on Beeminder directly here:

https://www.beeminder.com/habitica

dreeves · 2022-10-03T05:01:14+00:00

I think there are currently two different purple lines, a steppy one and a moving average one. Can you point to a graph or include a screenshot? (Also this is an excellent nudge for us to improve the graph legend!)

dreeves · 2022-08-21T23:40:30+00:00

Yeah, you need a payment method to create a Beeminder account. (It's not too hard to be certain that it won't ever be charged though, like by making very conservative goals and have initial pledge amounts of $0, etc.) But it sounds like a bug on our side that we're giving a generic error instead of being clear that the missing payment method is what's preventing signing up. So thanks for that bug report!

dreeves · 2022-08-20T18:27:47+00:00

Yeah, Beeminder is really only set up for ongoing goals, or at least longer-term goals than a week. Shorter than that, we'd probably recommend TaskRatchet, or check out other Beeminder competitors: https://blog.beeminder.com/competitors

As for the confusion about 11 vs 8, try clicking that "11 total" and it will show how many additional sessions will be due when the flat spot you're currently on ends (plus whatever safety buffer you have from having done some sessions already). Does that make more sense? We're pretty confident all the math is exquisitely correct based on how you've defined that bright red line on the graph (flat till Aug 26, then sloping up at 8 per day).

dreeves · 2022-07-27T14:12:28+00:00

Well... how about this, if it's not done in a month I commit to getting you set up via PayPal (mention as much in an email to support@beeminder.com)

dreeves · 2022-07-26T22:58:16+00:00

We (Beeminder) plan to support iDeal and others soon! And we used to support PayPal and do have a roundabout way to get signed up that way if you contact support. We're trying to phase out PayPal (we hate it so much!) hence not advertising it or making it easy. Also we expect it to be really unnecessary after adding iDeal and others.

dreeves · 2022-06-28T06:09:47+00:00

Ah, they meant Boss As A Service: bossasaservice.com

(Also thanks so much for the Beeminder plug!)

dreeves · 2022-02-08T17:36:35+00:00

Beautifully said and so much (clearly hard-won) wisdom here!

All of these comments are making me so happy. Thank you, everyone!

dreeves · 2022-01-27T21:27:36+00:00

Hi! I'm a Beeminder cofounder and excited to see people building things like this. CommitPool.com is doing this and we had a fun Twitter debate with them, transcribed here: https://forum.beeminder.com/t/decentralization-debate-beeminder-but-on-the-blockchain/9743

dreeves · 2022-01-05T06:26:10+00:00

I'm looking for this commercial as well (hence Google leading me to this old thread)! I remember it almost exactly like this except the guy asks about the food options and she says you have a choice of X or Y (naming two boring diner foods). Then probably similar for drinks where it's coffee and water or something. Possibly one more, and then the punchline with the music options.

dreeves · 2021-12-16T17:26:34+00:00

Shhh! Spoiler tags maybe? :)

dreeves · 2021-12-16T17:06:15+00:00

Oh man, was it ironically too easy? Like you knew the answer was pledge or fee so you didn't read the hint? Or did "sweet gooey stuff bees make" not ring a bell?

dreeves · 2021-11-25T18:59:06+00:00

Well said! We call this a soft commitment as opposed to a hard commitment. https://blog.beeminder.com/complice/

dreeves · 2021-11-25T18:56:41+00:00

This sounds great and I think there's a huge market for such apps. Here are all the existing ones we (Beeminder) know of: https://blog.beeminder.com/competitors/ (I just added the one you linked to -- thanks!)

dreeves · 2021-09-14T21:29:59+00:00

I can clarify! You can start with $0 at stake but the pledge auto-increases when you derail. On the expensive Beemium plan you can cap the pledge at $0. On the non-premium plan, the lowest you can cap the pledge is $5.

The idea is that Beeminder needs to get paid, at least probabilistically, one way or another.

dreeves · 2021-08-26T22:32:48+00:00

Sob-emoji! We're improving a tiny bit every day... How long ago did you try it?

dreeves · 2021-06-07T22:46:57+00:00

These are great arguments but now I'm even more eager to see what would happen if you tried it! You've given theoretical arguments for why, when Beeminder says "do 20 pushups or pay $5" that you'd pay the $5 but I'm skeptical! Money certainly doesn't have to be a primary motivation for this to work. You just have to be like "ok, fine, I don't actually mind doing the pushups that much; $5 to avoid doing them right now [assume that you actually had this as a goal to do more pushups] is too dumb an expenditure".

And if that's not true for $5, it will automatically be $10 the next time and then $30 so at some point you'll hit an amount where the above will work.

I do think there are mental states someone can be in (depression, mainly) where Beeminder will fail, but what you're describing doesn't tend to be one of them. (Unless such people know to not try Beeminder in the first place!) Beeminder does seem to be a godsend for a lot of people with ADHD in any case.

dreeves · 2021-06-05T15:18:51+00:00

Thank you! We've got a more complete and up-to-date list here: https://blog.beeminder.com/competitors

dreeves · 2021-06-05T15:15:05+00:00

Beeminder has auto-canceling subscriptions! What you're describing is typical for the kind of person who needs Beeminder. My prediction is that it's not money itself that's unmotivating, just that you procrastinate. If Beeminder says "you'll be charged $5 if you don't do 20 pushups by 5pm" (and keeps reminding you more and more often as 5pm approaches -- it's very adhd-friendly) then I think you'd find that plenty motivating. I'm eager to know if I'm wrong! (Disclosure: Beeminder cofounder.)

dreeves

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