gapcheck

For UK gap years · 16+

Your gap year, on track and not on your own.

Set your goals for the year. Check in every evening in two minutes. Gap Check shows you the gap between what you said you'd do and what you actually did, then helps you close it.

Free to use
Two minutes a day
Your journal stays private

70+checked opportunities

2 minto check in each evening

£0to get started

16+everyone aged 16 and over

Most gap years don't go wrong in one big moment. They slip, one quiet evening at a time. Gap Check catches the slip while it's still small.

How it works

Four steps. Every day of your year.

Plan it

Say where you want to be by the end of your gap year. Set weekly targets for job applications, workouts, your project and learning, plus a travel fund that works out what to save each week.

Check in

Every evening, two minutes. Did you do today's one thing? How was your day? What did you actually do? Then set tomorrow's one thing.

See the gap

Your week against your own targets, in green and red. Your biggest gap in big type, and and soon an honest reality check that's blunt about what you did, never about who you are.

Find what's next

Real opportunities, checked: working holidays, volunteering, paid placements and courses, with real costs, age limits and honest notes on what they're actually like.

Your plan

By September 2027

Saved £3,000

A job I actually like

Fit enough to run 10k

Weekly targets

Job applications5

Workouts3

Days on my project4

Japan fund · save £42 a week

Day 236 day streak

Today's one thing was

Apply to 3 bar jobs

YesPartlyNo

How was today?

BadOKGood

Worked outLearned something

You said 5 job applications.You did 2.

Job applications2 of 5

Workouts3 of 3

Days on my project1 of 4

Opportunities

Pays youAustralia Working HolidayAges 18–35 · up to 3 years

FreeRSPB residential volunteeringFree accommodation on a nature reserve

Pays youEDT Year in IndustryPaid STEM placement · apply in autumn

Opportunities

Real things to do with your year. Checked.

Not a list you could find on Google. Every opportunity is checked against the official source, with real costs, real age limits, red flags, and what it's actually like.

Your year

What could your year look like?

Whatever you want from it, Gap Check turns it into weekly targets and holds you to them, kindly but honestly.

Three friends hiking up a mountain — Go somewhereSave for the trip, week by week, with the travel fund.

A man running along a beach at sunrise — Get fitSet a workout target and see every week you hit it.

Three people looking out over mountains — Find your peopleMeet others with the same plans as you.

Features

Everything your year needs

One place to plan it, track it and be honest about it.

Evening check-in

Mood, applications, workouts, phone time and tomorrow's one thing, in under two minutes.

Streaks

A day counter, a streak and a seven-day strip that shows the days you kept your word.

Reality check Coming soon

Straight or harsh. Blunt about what you did, never about who you are.

Private journal

Everything you've written, newest first. Private to your account and never shared.

Checked opportunities

Filter by type, cost and your age, save a shortlist, and see red flags before you book anything.

Travel fund

Where you're going, what it costs, and exactly how much to save each week to get there.

For parents

Help them make this year count, without the nagging.

A gap year can be the best year of their life, or a year that quietly slips away. Gap Check gives your child structure they set themselves, and an honest nudge every evening, so you don't have to be the one asking "what did you do today?"

They set the goals. Gap Check keeps them honest about them.
Their journal stays private. Not even parents can read it.
Real opportunities, checked. Real costs, real age limits, and warnings about dodgy "voluntourism".
Built with wellbeing in mind. If someone seems to be struggling, the tough talk stops and they're pointed to real support.

Gift a year of Gap Check Plus: coming soon

Four friends looking out over a lake and mountains

Coming soon

Not on your own.

Find people with the same plans as you: the same interests, the same destination, the same dates. Chat, meet up, and travel together.

Match by where you're going and when
Chat before you go
Keep each other on track

Chat and meet-ups are for people aged 18 and over.

From the creator

Why I built Gap Check

“This is precious time, and I’m wasting it.”

I started my gap year at 18 with no real plan. I wanted time to recharge, and I told myself I'd let the wind take me wherever it wanted. Maybe I'd travel. Maybe I'd start a business. I went interrailing. Then, for a couple of months, I lost myself.

I didn't know where to start. I'd sign up for jobs and feel nothing. Most days, all I did was scroll on my phone. Then I took an honest look at myself and asked: what am I actually doing?

That question changed things. Slowly, I got more productive. Now I've got a part-time job, and I'm building Gap Check.

I built it for anyone who's been where I was. Feeling stuck doesn't make you lazy. It means you need something honest to show you the gap, and help you close it, one evening at a time.

Louis MacintoshCreator of Gap Check

Interrailed
Got stuck
Got going

FAQ

Questions

Is it free?

Yes. You can sign up and use Gap Check for free. Extra features may come later as an optional upgrade, but the core app will stay free.

Who is it for?

Anyone aged 16 or over in the UK taking a gap year who wants to make it count. Chatting and meeting up with other people will be for over-18s only.

How long does it take each day?

About two minutes in the evening. That's the whole point: small, honest check-ins that add up.

Who can see my journal?

It's private to your account. We never share it, show it to anyone or sell it, and other users can never see it.

I'm a parent. Can I see what my child writes?

No. Their journal and check-ins are private to them. In future there may be an optional weekly summary, like "checked in 6 of 7 days", but only if they choose to share it, and never their journal or mood.

Are the opportunities sponsored?

No. They're chosen because they're genuinely useful, and checked against official sources. If we ever earn money from a link, we'll label it clearly.

What's harsh mode?

A blunter reality check. It's honest about what you did and didn't do, but it never attacks you as a person. If things seem hard, it switches off and points you to support instead.

Make this year count.

Two minutes tonight is all it takes to start.