Stop Biting vs Nailed: Subscription vs Mac Menu Bar App
Two apps built on the same detection engine, with very different scopes — a minimal Mac menu bar utility vs a cross-platform habit system
By Igor Gazivoda · Founder, Stop Biting
Choose Nailed if you’re on an Apple Silicon Mac — its store listing requires macOS 12 or later and an Apple M1 chip or later — and want nothing recurring; choose Stop Biting, at $2.99/month or $29/year, if you need Windows, an Intel Mac or a browser version, or you want streaks, incident history and habit-reversal content around the detector. Nailed and Stop Biting share more DNA than any other two apps in this category: both use Google’s MediaPipe machine learning models running via WebAssembly, entirely on-device. The difference is scope. Nailed is a deliberately minimal macOS menu bar app; Stop Biting is a subscription that adds Windows, a browser version, streak tracking, incident history, and a habit-reversal content library. One caveat before any of the comparisons below: nailedapp.io advertises $4.99, but the Mac App Store listing that is its only download link currently shows the app as a free download with no in-app purchases. Check the store page before you assume a price. Disclosure: Stop Biting is our product — we re-verified every Nailed claim here against nailedapp.io and its App Store listing on 10 September 2026 and tried to represent it fairly.
Stop Biting vs Nailed: what’s the difference?
Same detection engine, different scope: Nailed is a macOS-only menu bar app; Stop Biting adds Windows and the browser, streak tracking, incident history and a habit-reversal content library.
Details re-verified against nailedapp.io and Nailed’s Mac App Store listing on 10 September 2026. Pricing and features change — confirm on the vendor’s site before buying.
| Stop Biting | Nailed | |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Web app (PWA) in a browser on Mac or Windows | macOS only (menu bar app); its store listing requires macOS 12 or later and an Apple M1 chip or later |
| Price | $2.99/month or $29/year | nailedapp.io advertises $4.99 one-time; its Mac App Store listing currently shows “Free”, with no in-app purchases |
| Free trial | 3 days, no credit card | None listed |
| Detection engine | MediaPipe models via WebAssembly, on-device | MediaPipe models via WebAssembly, on-device |
| Alerts | Audible alarm, multiple alert types | Red screen flash, optional beep |
| Tracking | Bite-free streaks and a timestamped incident history | Its App Store listing is subtitled “Offline nail-biting tracking” and says it helps you track the habit; no streaks or incident history are described |
Do Stop Biting and Nailed use the same detection technology?
Yes — both run MediaPipe’s hand and face models, compiled to WebAssembly, locally on your own machine.
Under the hood, the two apps make the same technical bet: MediaPipe’s hand and face models, compiled to WebAssembly, running locally. Nailed’s site describes it plainly — machine learning detects when your hand approaches your mouth, everything runs on your Mac, the camera feed is processed in memory and immediately discarded, no servers, no analytics.
Stop Biting’s detection works the same way, and we publish the same commitment: no camera data ever leaves your device, and nothing is sent while detection runs.
So the honest framing isn’t "which detector is real" — both are. It’s "how much system do you want around the detector."
Why choose Nailed over Stop Biting?
Nailed asks for nothing recurring. Its site advertises $4.99 as a single purchase, and when we checked its Mac App Store listing on 10 September 2026 the app was listed as a free download with no in-app purchases at all. Either way there is no subscription — and if the free listing is current, Nailed is simply the cheapest credible detector in this category, which is worth saying plainly on a page published by one of its competitors.
It’s also admirably unobtrusive: it lives in the menu bar, flashes the screen red and optionally beeps when it catches you, and its site emphasizes minimal CPU and battery usage. For a conscious minimalist who just wants the awareness signal and nothing else, Nailed is a well-made tool.
Why choose Stop Biting over Nailed?
Platforms: Nailed is macOS-only, and its store listing requires macOS 12 or later on a Mac with an Apple M1 chip or later — so an older Intel Mac rules it out entirely. Stop Biting runs as a no-install web app in any modern browser on Mac or Windows, including on machines where you can’t install software.
Trying before buying: Nailed lists no free trial. Stop Biting’s 3-day trial requires no credit card, so you can test detection accuracy on your actual desk before paying. This is a smaller advantage than it looks right now — if Nailed’s store listing is free, trying it costs nothing either.
The system around the alarm: Stop Biting tracks bite-free streaks and keeps a timestamped incident history, and ships with over 100 science-backed guides on habit reversal training, so the alarm feeds a method rather than standing alone. Nailed does track: its App Store listing is subtitled “Offline nail-biting tracking” and says the app helps you track the habit. What it doesn’t describe is streaks, an incident history you can review, or any treatment content — so the difference is depth of measurement, not its absence.
The honest counterpoint: if the awareness signal alone fixes your habit, Stop Biting’s subscription buys you things you may not need — and on price Nailed wins outright for Mac users on Apple Silicon.
Which is cheaper, Stop Biting or Nailed?
Nailed: advertised at $4.99 once on nailedapp.io, and listed as a free download on its Mac App Store page when we checked. Stop Biting: $2.99/month, or $29/year (~$2.42/month).
There’s no way to spin that: on price alone Nailed wins, and it wins by more if the free store listing is the current one. If price is your deciding factor and you’re on an Apple Silicon Mac, get Nailed.
What the subscription pays for is the rest of the system — Windows and browser support, streaks and a reviewable incident history, alert options, ongoing model and feature updates, and the content library. Whether that’s worth ~$29/year depends on how established your habit is: casual biters often need only the nudge; chronic biters typically need the tracking and the method. Prices re-verified on 10 September 2026 against both nailedapp.io and its App Store listing, which did not agree — treat the store page as the one that decides what you actually pay.
Should I buy Nailed or subscribe to Stop Biting?
Choose Nailed if: you’re on an Apple Silicon Mac, you want nothing recurring, you’re confident the red-flash awareness cue alone will do it, and you don’t need streaks or a reviewable incident history.
Choose Stop Biting if: you’re on Windows, an Intel Mac, or need a browser version; you want streaks and incident data to measure progress; or your habit has survived previous attempts and you want the full habit-reversal toolkit around the detector.
Frequently asked questions
Every answer below rests on the same 10 September 2026 check of nailedapp.io and the Mac App Store listing that site links to.
Does Nailed work on Windows?
No — it’s a macOS menu bar app, and its store listing requires macOS 12 or later on a Mac with an Apple M1 chip or later. Stop Biting runs as a web app in any modern browser on Mac or Windows.
How much does Nailed cost?
Its site advertises $4.99 as a one-time purchase, while the Mac App Store listing it links to currently shows the app as a free download with no in-app purchases. Check the store page before assuming a price.
Does Nailed track your progress?
Yes. Its App Store listing is subtitled “Offline nail-biting tracking” and says the app helps you track the habit. What it doesn’t describe is streaks or a reviewable incident history.
Does Nailed have a free trial?
No free trial is listed. Its App Store listing showed the app as a free download when we checked, so trying it may cost nothing anyway; Stop Biting’s 3-day trial needs no credit card.
How we verified this page
Every Nailed detail on this page was re-verified on 10 September 2026 against nailedapp.io and the Mac App Store listing that site links to as its only download button. Two things changed in Nailed’s favour and are corrected above: its store listing now shows the app as a free download with no in-app purchases, so we no longer present $4.99 as the price you pay, and that listing describes nail-biting tracking, which an earlier version of this page said was absent. Where a vendor’s own two sources disagree — as they do here on price — we show both and name each rather than picking the one that flatters us. Confirm on the App Store page before downloading.
A note on medical advice
This article is for general information only and is not medical advice. Nail biting and related body-focused repetitive behaviours (BFRBs) can have medical and psychological dimensions that deserve individual attention. For diagnosis or treatment — of BFRBs, infections, or any condition discussed here — consult a qualified professional: a GP or dermatologist for physical symptoms, or a therapist experienced with BFRBs for the habit itself. The TLC Foundation for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors (bfrb.org) maintains a directory of BFRB-informed clinicians.