Fabulous is a habit and routine app that its official site describes as having grown into a self-improvement, coaching and mental health platform. Solo Era is an iPhone app for practising doing things alone through weekly missions. Choose Fabulous if you want guided daily routines, and Solo Era if the thing you want to change is how comfortable you are doing things on your own.
Side by side
| Solo Era | Fabulous | |
|---|---|---|
| Core idea | Practise doing things alone, in small missions | Build routines and habits with guidance |
| Rhythm | A weekly mission as a place to begin | Daily routines and habits |
| Tracking | Before-and-after nervousness ratings, XP, weekly streak | Routines, habits, community challenges |
| Journal | Photo and notes with each mission, or a free entry | Gratitude journal |
| Platforms | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Pricing | Free to download; a subscription is required to start missions | Premium billed monthly or annually, with a trial (official site) |
| Best for | Building comfort with solo outings | Structuring a day around habits |
We leave Fabulous price amounts and any "freemium" label out; check the current offer in the app. For Solo Era, any free trial depends on the offer and eligibility shown in the app.
About Fabulous
According to the App Store listing, Fabulous is a daily habit tracker. The official site, thefabulous.co, says the product began as a habit and routine app and evolved into a self-improvement, coaching and mental health platform. It also says it was incubated in Duke University's Behavioral Economics Lab with Dan Ariely.
Features named on the listing and site include routines, habits, community challenges and a gratitude journal. Premium is billed monthly or annually and includes a trial. It is a bigger product than a simple tracker, so expect more content and more guidance than you would get from an empty checklist.
About Solo Era
Solo Era is built around the idea that eating alone, going to a cinema alone or travelling alone is a skill you practise, not a personality trait. The core unit is a mission, shown as a ticket. The task stays up front; you can turn it over for instructions and what it helps you practise.
- Seven categories: food, movement, culture, travel, everyday, solitude and people.
- Five difficulty levels, from level 1 (the gentlest) to level 5 (the biggest step).
- Examples straight from the library: "Ask for a taste at a deli or cheese counter, then buy some." (food, level 1) and "Take a local heritage railway trip." (travel, level 3).
- A weekly mission, plus custom missions you write yourself.
- Before-and-after ratings of how nervous you felt, plotted in Progress over months, with XP and a weekly streak.
- A photo journal and a Solo Pass that keeps the same code as your story grows.
It is free to download, and a subscription is required to start missions. Solo Era is iPhone only and is not therapy or medical care.
How they differ in practice
Daily structure versus weekly step
Fabulous is designed for the rhythm of a day: morning routine, evening routine, habits. That makes it good at turning "I should" into a schedule. Solo Era does not try to fill your day. It gives you one real-world step per week to begin with, because the things it trains, such as sitting in a restaurant alone, cannot be done five minutes at a time.
What the habit is
If the target is a repeatable action like stretching or a bedtime routine, Fabulous is the natural fit. If the target is a situation that makes you hesitate, Solo Era is more specific. You can plan a routine with our routine builder, but a routine will not by itself get you into the cinema alone.
How progress shows up
Fabulous shows routines and habits you complete. Solo Era shows how nervous you felt before and after each mission, over months, and keeps a photo journal. We make no claim that doing missions will reduce your nervousness. The ratings simply let you see your own trend.
Guidance and tone
Fabulous leans toward coaching and a broader well-being platform. Solo Era is narrow: missions, ratings, journal. If you want lots of guidance, Fabulous provides it. If you find big wellness platforms heavy, a narrower app may feel lighter.
Community
Fabulous lists community challenges. Solo Era has no social network, matching or dating features. It is a private practice space, and you share only when you choose.
Who should choose which
Pick Fabulous if:
- you want your mornings and evenings structured
- you like guidance and coaching language
- you want Apple Watch support
Pick Solo Era if:
- you put off activities because you would have to go alone
- you want one small, concrete task each week
- you want to look back at a photo journal and your own ratings
You can use both: Fabulous for the daily frame, Solo Era for one real outing a week. If you do, keep the number of daily tasks small.
Solo Era for iPhone
Try it with Solo Era
Solo Era gives you one realistic mission a week, records how nervous you felt before and after, and keeps a photo journal of what you did. An iPhone app. A subscription is required to start missions; any free trial depends on the offer and eligibility shown in the app.
A fair way to decide
Spend one week on each approach. In week one, set up two or three routines in a free tool such as our habit tracker. In week two, try our 7-day challenge or a level 1 mission. Which week left you feeling more like you moved forward? That is your answer.
If you decide Fabulous is not for you, see our list of Fabulous alternatives. For a broader ranking, read best habit apps.
Last checked: 2026-10-21. Facts about other apps come from their official sites and App Store listings and can change, so confirm current details before you decide.
FAQ
Is Solo Era a Fabulous alternative?
Only partly. Fabulous is a habit and routine app. Solo Era is for practising things alone through missions. They overlap in building better habits, but they train different things.
Which is better for beginners?
For a first step toward self-improvement, a simple routine is easy to start. If your specific goal is going out alone, a level 1 mission is the gentlest entry. Both are small by design.
Does Solo Era have a free trial?
Solo Era is free to download and a subscription is required to start missions. Any free trial depends on the offer and eligibility shown in the app before purchase.
Are either of these therapy apps?
No. Fabulous describes itself as a self-improvement and mental health platform, but neither app replaces professional care. Solo Era is not therapy or medical care. Talk to a doctor or therapist if you are struggling.
Does Solo Era work on Apple Watch or Android?
No. We only claim an iPhone app for Solo Era.
Solo Era for iPhone
Try it with Solo Era
Solo Era gives you one realistic mission a week, records how nervous you felt before and after, and keeps a photo journal of what you did. An iPhone app. A subscription is required to start missions; any free trial depends on the offer and eligibility shown in the app.
