Pebbles Alternative: Tax Days vs Pebbles Compared (2026)
Pebbles takes a principled position: no GPS, no location permission, every trip logged by hand. Its listing covers 183-day thresholds, Schengen 90/180, US state residency and UK statutory residence tracking through templates you set up. It had 22 ratings across 16 storefronts in October 2026. Tax Days agrees with the privacy goal but does not force the trade-off: you can log every trip by hand too, or turn on battery-efficient automatic tracking that stays on your device, and the residency tests for 200+ jurisdictions are built in rather than templated. (Pebbles facts below are from its App Store listing as of October 2026.)
Pricing at a glance
Tax Days
Privacy-first iPhone app. No accounts, and your travel history never reaches our servers. Optional iCloud sync through Apple's CloudKit.
Pebbles
Pebbles: Tax & Visa Tracker is a privacy-first iPhone app for logging days in countries and US states by hand, with no GPS and no location permission, and custom templates for taxes, visas and residency goals.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Tax Days | Pebbles |
|---|---|---|
| Tracking method | Manual entry, or optional automatic tracking Yes | Manual only, by design |
| Location permission | Optional | Never requested |
| Tax rules | Built-in statutory tests: US federal SPT, all 50 states, UK SRT and more Yes | Templates and day goals you configure |
| Countries and US states | Yes | Yes, plus custom places |
| Schengen 90/180 | Yes | Yes |
| Platform | iPhone (iOS 17+) | iPhone (iOS 18+) |
Which one is right for you?
Tax Days is best for…
- People who want the option of automatic tracking without sending location to a server.
- Anyone who wants each jurisdiction's residency test applied, not a goal they set.
- Busy travellers who will not remember to log every crossing by hand.
Pebbles is best for…
- Anyone who will not grant any app location permission, ever.
- People who want to tag and filter trips by type, such as work or personal.
- Permanent residency and citizenship applicants setting day goals.
Bottom line: Pebbles is a good fit if you want a manual log and nothing else. The risk of manual-only logging is the day you forget, and a missed day is what a residency audit finds. Tax Days lets you choose: log by hand exactly as you would in Pebbles, or let it propose trips automatically from on-device location for you to confirm, with the tax tests already built in.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Pebbles app alternative?
If you want to stay manual but need tax rules built in, Tax Days works entirely without location access and applies the residency tests for you. If you want a Schengen-only planner, Schengen Simple. If you want automatic country counting, Country Days Tracker or Bounded.
Does Pebbles use GPS?
No. Its App Store listing says it has no background location tracking and requires no GPS or location permissions; all trips are logged manually.
Can I use Tax Days without location tracking?
Yes. Location tracking in Tax Days is optional. You can turn it off and log every trip by hand, and the residency calculations work the same way.
How much does Pebbles cost?
Pebbles' App Store listing does not state its prices in the description, so check the listing's in-app purchases in your country. Tax Days has a free tier, and Pro is $29.99/year or $4.99/month in the US.
Compare Tax Days with other trackers
Ready to try Tax Days?
$29.99/year. No accounts. No ads. Free tier included.