Comparison

PopList vs Grounded | Screen Time Blocker

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

PopList

Organize your thoughts and tasks with flexible notes that can be freely arranged, resized, and expanded. Ideal for brainstorming, managing to-do lists, and structuring ideas visually.

Highlights
  • Freeform text and picture layout
  • Draggable, resizable notes
  • Organize ideas
  • Brainstorming tool
  • Repeatable to-do lists
Features
Read full description

- You can layout text & picture freely. - Each note can be drag, contract or expand. - This app is suitable for organizing ideas, brain storming, repeatable ToDo(ex. shopping list), and so on.

About

Grounded | Screen Time Blocker

This app helps you break phone scrolling habits with guided reflections and rewards for putting your device down. It encourages building positive real-world habits by turning your progress into a growing tree.

Highlights
  • Intentional pause with reflection activities
  • Rewards for putting phone down
  • Track real-world habits like reading
  • Customizable app limits
  • Uses Apple Screen Time API
  • Privacy-focused data handling
Read full description

Break the habit of mindless scrolling, and reclaim your time! Grounded interrupts your automatic scrolling and helps you build better habits. Traditional app blockers just slap a lock on your screen without addressing the underlying habit, leaving you frustrated and looking for workarounds. Grounded works like a coach. It guides you through an intentional pause using quick activities, like taking a second to breathe or reflecting on your triggers, to help you wake up from that scrolling trance. When you choose to put the phone down, or log offline habits like reading and stretching, Grounded rewards your progress by turning your real-world wins into a thriving tree. HOW IT WORKS Set your limits: Pick the apps that distract you the most and choose when to pause them, like during work, dinner, or before bed. Pause and reflect: When you try to open a blocked app, Grounded gives you a helpful pause. You can do a quick breathing exercise, figure out what triggered your urge, or answer a short question about how you feel. Walk away and grow: After the pause, the choice is yours. If you decide not to open the app and put your phone down, you are rewarded! Your tree grows to celebrate your focus. Track real-world habits: On the activities tab, you can add quick, easy things you would rather do than scroll (like stretching or reading). Log these habits when you finish them, and watch your tree grow even more! WHY IT WORKS Coach, not cop: You stay in control. Grounded offers a moment to think instead of harsh lockouts you cannot change. Awareness builds change: Short exercises help you see why you picked up your phone (like being bored or stressed) so you can make a better choice next time. Double the rewards: You get rewarded for the bad habits you stop (walking away from scrolling) AND the good habits you start (logging your daily goals). PRIVACY AND CONTROL Your Data is Yours: We only collect the data necessary to power your Grounded experience, such as your manual reflections and habit choices, so you can track your personal progress. Powered by Apple Screen Time: Grounded utilizes Apple’s official Screen Time API to securely pause your distracting apps. Zero Screen Time Tracking: Grounded never collects, sees, or accesses your private device usage data. Apple secures your Screen Time data in a read-only sandbox on your device, ensuring it remains completely invisible to us and 100% private to you. *All features described above require a subscription.* Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

PopList1 screens
Grounded | Screen Time Blocker4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: PopList at free with in-app purchases against Grounded | Screen Time Blocker's subscription. Grounded | Screen Time Blocker's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 months). On price, rating, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. PopList sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Grounded | Screen Time Blocker sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for PopList against 5.0 for Grounded | Screen Time Blocker. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Grounded | Screen Time Blocker has 6 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PopList ships an update every 2 months, Grounded | Screen Time Blocker every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
PopList versus Grounded | Screen Time Blocker: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPopListGrounded | Screen Time Blocker
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (6 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings16 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.0 — better18.1
Further details — not scored
Size18 MB58 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperShigenori KumagaiBlake Vonder Haar

Customer experience

PopList

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Grounded | Screen Time Blocker

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

PopList

One-time1
  • Upgrade$3.99
2 purchases

Grounded | Screen Time Blocker

Subscriptions2
  • Grounded Pro - Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Grounded Pro - Annual7 Days trial$34.991 Year

Questions

Is PopList free?
PopList is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Grounded | Screen Time Blocker free?
Grounded | Screen Time Blocker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, PopList or Grounded | Screen Time Blocker?
PopList and Grounded | Screen Time Blocker are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 6 ratings respectively.
Do PopList or Grounded | Screen Time Blocker have ads?
PopList shows ads; Grounded | Screen Time Blocker does not.
Which is updated more often, PopList or Grounded | Screen Time Blocker?
PopList ships an update every 2 months, and Grounded | Screen Time Blocker every 2 days. Most recently, PopList was updated on November 3, 2026 and Grounded | Screen Time Blocker on October 30, 2026.

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