Manifesta vs Stella — an honest comparison of manifestation apps

By Necati Dogrul, developer of Manifesta · 12 September 2026

Disclosure: written by the developer of one of the two apps. Sections where Stella is stronger are stated explicitly.

Short answer: Stella is the better pick if you want to listen: it generates audio narratives of your goals as if they were already true, and it has by far the larger user base. Manifesta is the better pick if you want a practice with a beginning, an obstacle step and an end: write the wish, name what is in the way, release it in a ritual, hear it in your own voice, and close it when it comes true.

At a glance

	Manifesta	Stella
US App Store ratings (12 Sep 2026)	New (released July 2026), no US ratings yet	4,929 · 4.7★
Core loop	Write a wish, name the obstacle, make a tiny plan, release it in a cinematic ritual, see it daily, mark it realised	Listen to personalised audio narratives that describe your goals as already achieved
Obstacle and plan step	Yes (mental contrasting and if-then planning)	Not stated in the listing
Voice	Your own recordings of your affirmations	Generated audio narratives and affirmations
Daily surface	Home and Lock Screen widgets, a lock-screen candle, gentle streak	Daily listening with progress tracking
Ambient	Universe Sessions: 5–15 minute cosmic video and sound	Audio narratives
When a wish comes true	Galaxy transforms; keepsake card to keep or share	Progress tracking
Languages	19 store languages; interface in English and Turkish	See listing
Price	Free tier; Premium $4.99/week (3-day trial) or $39.99/year in the US; one-time Lifetime unlock	Subscription; price varies by offer
Minimum iOS	iOS 17	iOS 15.1

Where Stella is genuinely better

Scale. Nearly five thousand ratings in under a year. Manifesta has none in the US yet.
Immersion. Personalised, generated audio that describes your specific goals is a strong daily hook, and Stella does nothing else, which is a feature.
Zero effort. You do not write anything; you listen. If the obstacle step sounds like homework, Stella is the lighter product.

Where Manifesta is better

The obstacle. Before a wish is released, Manifesta asks what is in the way and what you will do when it shows up. This is the part of goal research (mental contrasting, if-then planning) that changes behaviour; positive imagery alone does not.
Your voice, not a generated one. Affirmations are recorded by you and replayed to you.
A loop that closes. Wishes have a "realised" state. The galaxy changes, and you get a keepsake. Nothing in Stella's listing describes an end state.
Presence without opening the app. Widgets, a lock-screen candle and a soft streak keep the intention visible.
Turkish. Interface in Turkish as well as English; store listing in 19 languages.

Where they are the same

Both are daily-practice apps with a free tier and a subscription, both are built around your own stated goals, and neither can promise an outcome. Manifesta's listing says so explicitly.

Who should pick which

Pick Stella if you want an immersive audio habit with no writing.

Pick Manifesta if you want a ritual with an obstacle step, your own voice, and a moment of closure when the wish comes true.

Method

Rating counts from the US App Store via Apple's public iTunes lookup API on 12 September 2026. Stella's features are taken from its own store listing; its subscription price is not quoted because it varies by offer. Corrections: necatidogrul7@gmail.com.

Download Manifesta on the App StoreFree to download · iPhone · iOS 17 or later · 19 store languages