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Ciao! vs Orbit
Orbit: Friendship Tracker, by Harry Lee (Beyond Tomorrow Studios)
A free iPhone app where each friend is a planet in your own solar system, closer if you want to see them more often, and green, amber or red depending on how long it has been.
1 rating in the US App Store, October 2026. iPhone only, released in June 2026 and last updated in August 2026.
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Ciao!
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Orbit
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|---|---|---|
| What it costs | One payment $9.99 |
Free |
| Free tier | 3 friends | Everything, no paid plan listed |
| Account needed | None | None |
| Where it runs | iPhone | iPhone |
| Where your notes live | Your phone and your own iCloud | Your device and your own iCloud |
| A creature for each friend | 15 animals, 6 moods | A planet for each friend that drifts and glows |
| A weekly swipe deck | Yes | No |
Every row comes from Orbit’s own App Store listing or website, read on 2 October 2026. Nothing here is taken from another app’s reviews.
Sources: Orbit on the App Store
Where Orbit wins
- •It is free, and its listing shows no paid plan.
- •A Long-Distance mode, where calls and texts count differently from meeting in person.
- •A meeting diary with date, photo, place and notes, plus stats on every time you got in touch.
Where Ciao! wins
- •A deck on Sunday of the friends who are due. You swipe right when you’ve talked, and that is the week done.
- •Notes that come back when you get in touch, with WhatsApp, Message and Call buttons on each friend.
- •English, Italian and Spanish. Orbit is in English only.
Which one should you actually get?
Orbit and Ciao! share a lot: a rhythm for each friend, no account, your own iCloud, and a picture that shows who has drifted. Orbit is free and has a long-distance mode and a photo diary, so try it first if you do not want to pay anything. Ciao! adds the weekly deck and notes that show up when you reach out, and costs $9.99 once after 3 friends.
