EXPERIMENT
Can You Survive a Day Using Only Indie Apps?
What if you deleted every app made by a big company and replaced them with indie alternatives? We tried it. From the moment we woke up to the moment we went to bed, we used only apps built by indie developers — all tracked on IndieRank. Here's what happened.
7:00 AM — Wake Up
Checking the Weather
First thing in the morning: what's the weather? Instead of Apple Weather, we reached for Thermometer++ — built by a single developer with over 41,000 ratings.
Thermometer++
7:30 AM — Morning Commute
Music on the Go
No Spotify, no Apple Music. Instead, Hayaemon — a music player with 42,000 ratings, built by one developer. Speed control, pitch shift, and loop features that Spotify doesn't have.
Hayaemon - Music Player
9:00 AM — Work Starts
Getting Focused
Need to focus? Study Bunny is a Pomodoro timer with character progression — you grow a bunny as you study. 20,000 ratings and a 4.7★ average. Way more fun than a plain timer.
Study Bunny: Focus Timer
12:30 PM — Lunch Break
Capturing the Moment
Lunch looked good. Instead of the iPhone camera, we used 1998 Cam — a vintage camera that makes every photo look like it was taken on a disposable. The #1 indie developer worldwide on IndieRank.
1998 Cam - Vintage Camera
3:00 PM — Afternoon Slump
Brain Training
Instead of scrolling social media, we tried Math Brain Booster Games. Quick math challenges to wake up the brain. 27,000 ratings from one developer.
Math Brain Booster Games
6:00 PM — Cooking Dinner
Recipe Management
Time to cook. CookThrough lets you save and organize recipes with a clean interface. 7,800 ratings — no ads, no clutter, just recipes.
CookThrough - Recipe Manager
9:00 PM — Winding Down
Journaling
End the day with Hikidashi Diary — a minimal journaling app where you organize thoughts with tags. 25,900 ratings. The perfect way to reflect before sleep.
Hikidashi Diary
10:00 PM — Bedtime
Night Reading Light
One last app before bed. Readlight turns your phone into a soft reading lamp. No ads, no subscriptions. Just light. Good night.
Readlight: Night Reading Light
The Verdict
We survived. More than that — we discovered apps that are genuinely better than their big-company alternatives.
No tracking, fewer ads, more personality. Every app on this list was built by 1-3 people who cared about solving a real problem.
The App Store has over 2 million apps. The best ones aren't always the most famous.
The App Store has over 2 million apps. The best ones aren't always the most famous.