Health, home and travel decision
Zero Contact
A competent iOS developer can recreate the core no-contact tracker and local coping tools (using prior open-source CBT/mobile projects as reference), but matching the App Store polish, distribution/payment handling, widgets, and any server-backed features makes a full replacement non-trivial.
View on the App Store↗Not priced
No pricing page we fetched carried a figure, so there is nothing to compare against. The build side is still real.
$100one-off120 h to build
$0/mo1 h/mo upkeep
No published price to break even against.
Open-source builds that already do this
Every project below is open source and already does this job today. Fork one, self-host it, or take the parts you need - the build prompt further down assumes an empty file, and this is the shortcut past that. Licences differ; check the one on each card before you ship. All Zero Contact alternatives, with the arithmetic →
What a replacement has to do
- Track a no-contact streak, log urges and moods, use distraction tools (fake text, breathing), and persist private journal entries locally.
What it still won’t have
- App Store distribution, reviews, and brand-recognition
- Polished UX and cross-device widgets matching the App Store release
- Built-in in-app purchase revenue & Apple subscription handling (if you skip implementing StoreKit)
- Any proprietary analytics, crash reporting, or usage-tracking integrated by the vendor
- "Talk to Bestie" AI chat and any server-side features
What remains hard
- Product polish and ongoing maintenance
First-year cost
No published price
Zero Contact does not publish a price we could read, so there is nothing to compare against. What building costs is below.
Money you would actually spend
Time you would spend
—
What you would spend
What we assumed
The verdict above measures whether you could build it. This one is only about money.
Runnable build prompt
Build a native iOS app in SwiftUI + Combine with local persistence (Core Data or SQLite) and optional Server API later. Core features in scope: streak and timer system, fake-text composer (never send), guided breathing flows, short distraction minigames, daily journal/mood entries, local notifications, simple calendar view, and an optional StoreKit subscription gate (or a local unlocked mode). Out of scope: server-side analytics, multi-user sync, third-party AI chat backend. Require error handling for storage and notifications, basic unit/UI tests, and CI to run tests.
How we checked
How the score was reached
- Partly verdict base52
- An open-source build was found+5
- 3 cited sources+3
- Evidence score60
The base comes from the verdict. Everything under it is a check that either happened or did not, and each one is a fact frozen in this record rather than a judgement made at render time - so the same evidence always produces the same number.
How scoring works →Cited sources · 3
Every page the run actually retrieved.
- official productZero Contact: Heal Faster App - App Store
- open sourceiSoron/uhabits
- open sourceFriesI23/mhabit
Integrity checks
What held up, and what did not.
