Beeminder
Beeminder is a commitment-device service: you set a quantified goal, the app plots a required path on a graph, and if your data falls off that path you derail and are charged real money from a card on file. Pledges start small and escalate with each failure, so staying on track gets progressively more expensive to abandon.
| Category | Commitment device / quantified goal tracker |
|---|---|
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android; integrations with many trackers and apps |
| Price | Free to start; you pay pledges when you derail; optional premium plans (check current pricing) |
| Stakes | Pledge ladder $0, $5, $10, $30, $90, $270, $810, $2,430, $7,290; cappable at any level |
| Best for | Data-minded people, quantifiable goals, chronic quitters of free apps |
| Limitations | Only works for goals you can count; requires trusting yourself to enter honest data |
What happens when you fail
Going off your graph's required path is called derailing. Beeminder emails you a legitimacy check; unless you reply that the derailment was not legitimate (data error, illness, emergency), your card is charged the current pledge after about 24 hours. The goal then restarts with roughly a week of buffer, and the pledge steps up one level, from $5 to $10 to $30 and so on, unless you have set a pledge cap. The money goes to Beeminder; that is openly their business model, and the incentive is exactly that you do not want to fund them.
What it does well
- Escalating stakes mean the deterrent grows to match you: $5 is ignorable, $90 rarely is.
- Automatic data from integrations (fitness trackers, GitHub, Duolingo, RescueTime and others) removes self-report temptation.
- The graph's flat spots and buffer days permit flexible pacing, unlike rigid daily streaks.
Where it falls short
- Goals must be numeric. 'Write better' cannot be beeminded; 'write 300 words a day' can.
- Manual-entry goals depend on honest logging, and lying to the graph quietly kills the whole mechanism.
- For anxious people, real financial threat can convert procrastination into dread rather than action.
Related
Implementation intentionsTemporal discounting
Frequently asked questions
What happens if you fail a Beeminder goal?
You derail: after a legitimacy-check email and roughly a 24-hour window, your card is charged your current pledge, the goal restarts with about a week of buffer, and the next pledge is one step higher unless you capped it.