Glod wrote this page, and Glod is one of the ten apps compared, so we have a stake in the result. To keep it fair, every fact about another app comes from that app's own App Store listing, linked in the table so you can check it.
Facts checked against the US App Store . Prices and features change, so check the listing before you subscribe.
Glow-up apps mostly fall into two groups. Some analyze or score your face from a photo. Others give you a plan of habits to follow. Several of them do a bit of both.
The comparison
| App | What it does | Pricing as listed on the App Store | Platforms | Evidence shown |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glod: Glow-Up Coach (Glod, us) | Habit plan. Coaches daily sunscreen, sleep, strength training with enough protein, and simple skincare as a short daily checklist. Includes an AI coach chat (Pro) and an AI-generated "future self" preview, which the listing calls "a motivator, not a prediction." Its glow score is based on your habits, not your face. | Free basics. Pro: $4.99/month or $29.99/year. No weekly plan. | iPhone (iOS 17+). Also runs on Apple-silicon Macs and Apple Vision. | Studies cited in listing: none (it calls the habits "evidence-backed"). In the app, many lessons link the study they draw on. Rating: 5.0 (1 rating). |
| Glowdess - Glow Up Coach | Feature analysis + habit tracker. Analyzes "your unique features" to build a personalized "Glow Up Blueprint": makeup for your face shape, color analysis, a skincare routine, hair care and a wardrobe capsule. Also has a habit tracker, morning and evening routines, private progress photos and streaks. The Blueprint needs a subscription. The listing doesn't mention a face score. | Weekly $6.99. Monthly $19.99. Annual $39.99. | iPhone (iOS 16.1+). Also runs on Apple-silicon Macs and Apple Vision. | Studies cited in listing: none (it calls the Blueprint "science-backed"). Rating: 4.7 (156 ratings). |
| Umax - Become Hot | Face score. Subtitle: "Get your ratings." You take a selfie and get an analysis aimed at "facial attractiveness." Results need a subscription, and extra scans cost extra. | Weekly Premium $3.99–$9.99. Monthly Premium $9.99–$24.99. "You as a 10/10" $6.99. "Supercharge" $3.99. | iPhone and iPod touch (iOS 13.4+). Also runs on Apple-silicon Macs and Apple Vision. | Studies cited in listing: none. The listing says it does not offer medical advice. Rating: 4.6 (51,716 ratings). |
| Glow - AI Beauty Coach | Face scan + product picks. Scans your face for an AI analysis aimed at a skin glow-up, then gives personalized product recommendations, beauty routines and a 24/7 AI chat. The analysis needs a subscription. The listing doesn't mention a face score. | Weekly $2.99, $4.99 or $7.99. Monthly $8.99 or $9.99. Yearly $19.99, $39.99, $44.99 or $59.99. | iPhone, iPad and iPod touch (iOS 15.4+). Also runs on Apple-silicon Macs and Apple Vision. | Studies cited in listing: none. The listing says it does not offer medical advice. Rating: 4.5 (1,399 ratings). |
| GlowUp Daily: Improve Yourself | Broad self-improvement plan. Workout plans, nutrition tracking, "looksmaxxing" routines (jawline exercises, face debloat plans), posture work with AI height prediction, a journal, meditation, an AI coach, and daily tasks with streaks. The listing doesn't mention a face score. | Weekly $4.99 (offer: $2.99). Yearly $64.99 (offer with free trial: $44.99). "70% Offer Plan" $19.49. | iPhone, iPad and iPod touch (iOS 15.0+). Also runs on Apple-silicon Macs and Apple Vision. | Studies cited in listing: none. Rating: 4.4 (15 ratings). |
| Skin Bliss: Skincare Routines | Skincare toolkit. Subtitle: "Product Scanner & Tracker." A routine builder and step-by-step routine player, an ingredient checker for "clashes, duplication, or irritation risks," barcode and ingredient-list scanning, shelf-photo analysis, a skin diary and an AI face scan for visible skin concerns. The listing doesn't mention a face score. See Skin Bliss vs Glod. | Pro Monthly $6.99. Pro Yearly $34.99. Face Scanner $1.99. Supporter options $5.99–$29.99. The description mentions a free trial of Pro. | iPhone and iPad (iOS 15.1+). Also runs on Apple-silicon Macs and Apple Vision. | Studies cited in listing: none. Rating: 4.7 (912 ratings). |
| Fabulous: Daily Habit Tracker | General habits + coaching. Morning and evening routines, a planner, journaling, meditation, short workouts, community challenges and coaching series (anxiety, productivity and more); Premium adds one-on-one coaching. No skincare features are listed. See Fabulous vs Glod. | Ten in-app purchases from $16.99 to $59.99, including Annual Subscription $49.99 and Premium Quarterly $39.99. | iPhone (iOS 17+), Apple Watch and Apple Vision. | Studies cited in listing: none. Rating: 4.4 (about 89,000 ratings). |
| YouCam Makeup: Face Editor | Photo editor + virtual try-on. Live makeup try-on, face shaping and retouching, hair, nail and outfit try-ons, AI image and video generation and an "AI Beauty Agent" chat. It edits photos; it doesn't track habits or score faces. See face-scan apps vs Glod. | Premium (Monthly) $5.99–$9.99. Premium (Yearly) $31.99–$39.99. Pro Yearly offers $79.99. | iPhone and iPad (iOS 17+). Also runs on Apple Vision. | Studies cited in listing: none. Contains ads. Rating: 4.7 (about 156,000 ratings). |
| Glam Up - Perfect Your Look | Selfie analysis + makeup. From a selfie: face shape, eye shape, skin tone, color season, celebrity lookalikes, step-by-step makeup routines and product picks, plus "your glow-up potential." Analysis needs a subscription. The listing doesn't mention a numeric score. | Glam Up Pro $5.99–$10.99. Glam Up Pro+ $8.99–$12.99. Premium+ $8.99. | iPhone and iPad (iOS 13.4+). Also runs on Apple-silicon Macs and Apple Vision. | Studies cited in listing: none. Rating: 4.5 (about 33,000 ratings). |
| UGlow: GlowUp Boost Confidence | Tasks + face-scan tracking. Daily fitness, skincare and diet tasks, a "Face Scan Progress Tracker," a calorie and macro meal logger, an AI coach and a habit builder. Every feature is marked "(Paid)." The listing doesn't mention a face score. | Monthly Subscription $8.99. Yearly Subscription $62.99. | iPhone (iOS 15.3+). | Studies cited in listing: none. Rating: 4.9 (8 ratings). |
We only checked the US App Store, not Google Play or other countries.
Which one makes sense?
A face-analysis app makes sense if you want a quick, one-off read on makeup, colors or styling for your features. Treat any attractiveness score as entertainment, since none of these listings cites research showing its scores are valid. A routine coach makes more sense if you want to look different in a few months, because the changes with the strongest evidence (daily sunscreen, enough sleep, strength training and a retinoid) come from habits kept up for weeks. That's what Glod is built to coach.
Umax alternatives: what to use instead of a face-rating app
If you want to look better rather than get a score, the alternative to Umax is an app that coaches habits with research behind them, like daily sunscreen, sleep and strength training. Glod is one, and it doesn't rate your face. We compare Umax with LooksMax AI, GlowUp AI and Glod, and look at how accurate face ratings are, in Umax alternatives (2026).
Side-by-side comparisons
- LooksMax AI alternatives: face ratings vs a habit plan.
- Skin Bliss vs Glod: ingredient checker or daily habit plan?
- Fabulous vs Glod: general habits or a glow-up plan?
- Face-scan and makeup apps vs Glod: YouCam Makeup, Glam Up and UGlow.
FAQ
Is a weekly or a yearly plan cheaper?
Yearly, if you'll use the app for more than a couple of months. Weekly prices add up: $4.99 a week comes to $259.48 over 52 weeks. Glowdess's weekly plan ($6.99) would cost $363.48 over a year, compared with $39.99 for its annual plan. A weekly plan is cheaper only if you want to try an app briefly and then cancel. Glod has no weekly plan: Pro is $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year, which is about $2.50 a month. On iPhone you can cancel any App Store subscription in Settings → your name → Subscriptions (Apple Support).
What happens to my face photos?
In Glod, your progress and skin photos stay on your phone. Only if you choose to create the AI "future self" preview, the photo you pick is sent to our image provider (OpenAI) to make the image. Glod doesn't store it afterwards, and it isn't used to train AI models. The details are in our privacy policy. Face-analysis apps need your photo to work, so before you upload one, read the "App Privacy" section of the app's listing and its privacy policy. Each listing is linked in the table above.
Does Glod rate your face?
No. Glod's glow score runs from 0 to 100 and is based on how consistently you do your habits. It doesn't look at your face.
Why should I trust a comparison written by Glod?
You don't have to. Every fact in the table comes from the app's own listing, and each listing is linked so you can check it. Nobody paid to be included. If we got something wrong, email vilde@vevatne.no and we'll fix it.
Educational only — not medical advice. App facts are taken from each app's public US App Store listing on November 6, 2026, and may have changed since. Glod is a competitor of the other apps listed. App names belong to their owners.