Sheep Chores
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A buyer's guide

What to look for in a chore app

Before building Sheep Chores we read the reviews of every chore app we could find. Parents are remarkably consistent about what they want and what drives them away. Here is the list, and where Sheep Chores stands on each line.

The table stakes

Every well-rated chore app has these, and so does Sheep Chores: several kid profiles, repeating chores, points or money per chore, a rewards store, parent approval before a reward is granted, optional photo proof, reminders, streaks and progress, a shared family calendar, a kid-safe mode where children can only view and complete, and a PIN-protected parent area.

What drives parents away

Subscription creep

Free tiers capped at one kid or ten chores, savings goals behind a paywall, a monthly fee that outlives the habit. Sheep Chores is free for one kid and two chores, then one purchase for the whole flock. Every feature, every kid, every device, no subscription.

Broken sync, lost edits, dead apps

Apps with their own servers go down, log you out and lose data when the company moves on. Sheep Chores has no server. Data lives in your iCloud, syncs between your devices, works offline and folds conflicts together when devices reconnect.

“It adds a screen without removing a job”

If you still sit with the kid to tick things off, nothing improved. Approve from the banner on your iPhone, give older kids a trust level with a weekly spot-check, and let routines run the morning.

Cluttered, dated, hard for little hands

Tiny rows and grown-up menus lose a six-year-old. Kid Mode is one board of big cards, read-aloud, a picture board for pre-readers, a sheep that hops.

Unfair between siblings

Few apps rotate chores or let kids choose. Takes turns, up for grabs and together are built in, with a fairness report.

Forgotten tasks

A chart nobody looks at is paper. Reminders before a chore is due, an always-on fridge chart on the family iPad, an evening summary for you.

Questions to ask any chore app

  1. What does it cost in year two? Sheep Chores: nothing.
  2. Where is my family's data? Sheep Chores: in your private iCloud database. We cannot see it.
  3. Do my kids need accounts? Sheep Chores: no. Kids are profiles; everything syncs on the family's iCloud.
  4. Can both parents approve? Sheep Chores: yes, on two Apple IDs, each with notifications.
  5. Can a chore pay real money and can I see the ledger? Sheep Chores: yes, every cent is a line, exportable as CSV.
  6. Does it work for a four-year-old and a fourteen-year-old? Sheep Chores: picture board and read-aloud at one end, trust levels and Shortcuts at the other.
  7. What happens offline? Sheep Chores: everything works; iCloud catches up.
  8. Are there ads, analytics or trackers? Sheep Chores: none, and the privacy label says “data not collected.”

What Sheep Chores deliberately does not do

  • Move real money. Debit-card chore apps are bank products; Sheep Chores keeps the books and you pay out on Shear Day however you like.
  • Lock the device. Unlock gates make the deal visible and tell you when it is earned; they do not shield apps. Pair them with Screen Time or a Shortcuts automation if you want enforcement.
  • Run on Android or the web. It is an iPhone and iPad app built on iCloud, which is what makes the no-accounts, no-server design possible.

Why the sheep

The research on rewards (going back to the 1970s) says fixed prizes for everything can dull a child's own motivation, while progression, choice, unexpected bonuses and a sense of contribution last. So Sheep Chores has unpaid flock duties alongside paid jobs, up-for-grabs chores a kid chooses, surprise bonuses, a sheep that grows and dresses up at no cost to you, and a switch to plain words for families who want none of the farm.

Questions

Is there a free trial?

The free plan is the trial: one kid and two chores with every feature, for as long as you like. The whole flock is a single one-time purchase; the sample family (Settings › Data) fills every screen once it is unlocked, and Apple's refund process applies as for any purchase.

How many kids can I add?

As many as you have once the whole flock is unlocked; the free plan starts with one kid and two chores. There is no per-kid pricing and no cap on routines or rewards.

What if we stop using it?

Your data is in your iCloud; export the ledger and history as CSV any time. There is nothing to cancel.