# Opal vs Bambook

The clearest difference is update cadence: Opal at every 6 days against Bambook's every 3 months. Opal also leads on ratings volume (91K vs 8) and chart position (#42 vs unranked). Bambook's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Opal sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days and Bambook sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Bambook holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Opal has 91K ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 61% of Opal's written reviews are positive against 67% of Bambook's.

Opal ships an update every 6 days, Bambook every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Opal | Bambook |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (91K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/opal-screen-time-control/id1497465230/reviews) | **[5.0 (8 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bambook-ocr-scanner/id6480379651/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **91K** | 8 |
| Positive reviews | 61.3% of reviews | **66.7% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 6 days** | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#42** | — |
| Size | 331 MB | 33 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **16.0** |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Opal OS](https://appshunter.io/developer/1497465229) | [Bambook v.o.f.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1259243137) |

## What reviewers say

### Opal

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/opal-screen-time-control/id1497465230)

**Currently charting:** #42 Top Grossing · Productivity, #77 Top Free · Productivity (US App Store)

This app helps you regain control of your digital life by managing screen time and blocking distracting applications. It offers features like app limits, focus challenges, and progress tracking to improve productivity and well-being.

**Highlights:** Screen time control, App blocker, Focus difficulty settings, App limits, Mindful block screens, Focus reports, Calendar integration

**Features:** Family Sharing, iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (8)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Weekly Plan | $4.99 | per 7 days |
| Weekly Plan | $9.99 | per 7 days |
| Opal Student Weekly | $9.99 | per 7 days |
| Monthly Plan | $19.99 | per month |
| Monthly Plan | $19.99 | per month |
| Opal Pro Subscription | $49.99 | per year |
| Yearly Plan | $99.99 | per year |
| Yearly Plan | $99.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Helps reduce screen time
- 🚀 Effective at blocking distracting apps
- 💡 Customizable blocking schedules
- 🎨 Aesthetically pleasing design
- 🔒 Difficult to bypass blocks

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Expensive subscription
- 🐛 Buggy and unreliable at times
- 🔓 Easy to bypass blocks in some cases
- 🤯 Can be frustrating when blocks don't work as expected
- 🕰️ Longer wait times to take breaks

**Reported bugs**

- Blocks apps that are not selected
- Inconsistent behavior when ending focus sessions
- Crashes when trying to manage blocked apps
- VPN issues causing other connectivity problems

**Requested features**

- Allow more customization of blocked apps
- Integrate with more productivity tools
- Provide more granular time tracking and reporting
- Offer a one-time purchase option
- Improve stability and reduce bugs


### Bambook

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bambook-ocr-scanner/id6480379651)

Digitize handwritten notes with advanced OCR and AI to create editable text, correct spelling, and organize your content. Easily edit, search, and share your scanned notes as PDFs or JPGs.

**Highlights:** Automatic page detection and scanning, Handwritten text to editable digital text conversion, AI-powered spelling and grammar correction, Organize notes with naming, sorting, and batch scanning, Edit scans with cropping, rotating, and text addition, Search notes by name or handwritten content, Share scans to various cloud services and apps

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 Month | $1.99 | per month |
| 6 Months | $3.99 | per 6 months |
| 12 Months | $4.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Opal free?

Opal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Bambook free?

Bambook is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Opal or Bambook?

Bambook is rated higher. Opal averages 4.7 out of 5 from 91K ratings, while Bambook averages 5.0 from 8 ratings.

### Do Opal or Bambook have ads?

Neither Opal nor Bambook shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Opal or Bambook?

Opal ships an update every 6 days, and Bambook every 3 months. Most recently, Opal was updated on November 3, 2026 and Bambook on October 24, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*