Comparison

ScreenZen vs ScrollBuddy

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

Head to head
About

ScreenZen

This app offers multiple strategies to help you reduce screen time and control app usage. Features include delayed app opening, timed scrolling interruptions, and customizable app limits. It also provides options for strict blocking, settings protection, and encourages mindful breaks.

Highlights
  • Delayed app opening
  • Scrolling interruption
  • Set app goals and limits
  • Configurable daily schedules
  • Strict app blocking
  • Screen time tracking for distracting apps
  • Settings protection locks
Features
Read full description

Multiple strategies to reduce your screentime 1. Delay before opening your app: A bit of time before choosing if you need to open your distracting app. You can have the wait time increase each time you open your app. 2. Interrupt your scrolling: Check your distracting apps for short periods of time so you don't get sucked in. 3. Set an app goal and optionally block when you reach your limit. 4. Configurable for different days of the week and time by app. 5. Messages like "Is this important" before opening your app. 6. See your screen time for only your distracting apps. Don't worry about Google Maps bloating up your time. 7. Strict block your apps: Either for time ranges, after a certain number of opens or ScreenTime. 8. Locks on Settings to prevent you from changing your settings when you want to open an app. 9. Breathing and other activities to encourage you not to need to open the app while waiting for it to unlock. 10. Streaks to encourage you not to exceed your limits or override your settings.

About

ScrollBuddy

This app helps break addictive scrolling habits by introducing friction and scheduled limits. It allows you to set time budgets for your favorite social apps, offering gentle nudges and optional accountability with a partner. Focus on your well-being and reclaim your time with a kinder system.

Highlights
  • Scheduled time windows for app usage
  • Daily time budgets for apps
  • Kind block screens when time is up
  • Limit multiple social apps in one place
  • Micro-escape timers for breaks
  • Optional buddy accountability
  • Smart nudges and warnings
Features
Read full description

Your apps start the day shut. You write up to three tasks, and finishing one earns thirty minutes with them. That is the whole loop. The apps you named are blocked from midnight, before you have to decide anything. Willpower at seven in the morning is a bad plan. A choice you already made is a good one. Then you write the day. One to three tasks, no more. SB, the buddy in the app, helps you turn a vague intention into something you can start, and asks about the one that is too big to begin. Once the page is sealed, that is the day. Finishing a task mints a pass: thirty minutes with your apps, and then they close again. Before a task counts as done, SB asks one honest question about it. "Done, really? What did the gym session actually look like?" Nobody checks your answer. That is the point. Passes bank, up to five. Spending one takes a moment. SB asks what it is for, the apps open for thirty minutes, and they shut again quietly when the time is up. An unspent pass is a good day. In the evening the bell rings at the hour you chose. SB tells the day back to you in your own words: what got done, what you said about it, what did not happen, and how much closer you are to this month's goal. Then he asks what tomorrow is for, and you write the next page before you sleep. The month has one goal, with a finish line you can count. Twelve gym sessions. Four chapters. Ten applications sent. Tasks either serve it or they do not, and the book keeps the tally. ScrollBuddy was built by one person. Your first full day is on the house: plan it, live it, finish it, and write tomorrow. After that it costs money to keep going: a small subscription, monthly or yearly, or a single purchase that keeps it for good. The prices are shown in the app before you decide. If it does not help, walk away free, no hard feelings. There is no account and no login. Your goal, your tasks, your honest answers and your day count live on your phone and nowhere else. There is no partner to disappoint, no leaderboard, and nobody reading your day but you. Blocking uses Apple's Screen Time permission. ScrollBuddy never sees which apps you open or what you do inside them.

Screenshots

ScreenZen4 screens
ScrollBuddy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: ScreenZen at 93% against ScrollBuddy's 0%. ScreenZen also leads on rating (4.9 vs 3.9) and ratings volume (50K vs 9). ScrollBuddy's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. ScreenZen sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and ScrollBuddy sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ScreenZen holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ScreenZen has 50K ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 93% of ScreenZen's written reviews are positive against 0% of ScrollBuddy's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ScreenZen ships an update every 3 weeks, ScrollBuddy every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
ScreenZen versus ScrollBuddy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterScreenZenScrollBuddy
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (50K ratings) — better3.9 (9 ratings)
Positive reviews93.4% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings50K — better9
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#157 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.4 — better26.4
Further details — not scored
Size159 MB13 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperScreenZen LLCAaron Vinod

Customer experience

ScreenZen

All ratings50,446 ratings
Positive97.2%
Neutral1.2%
Negative1.6%
Written reviews6,715 reviews
Positive93.4%
Neutral2.7%
Negative4.0%

ScrollBuddy

All ratings9 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral22.2%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral100.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

ScreenZen

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Unlock button not working as expected
  • App stops working after some time
  • Compatibility issues with iOS 16 update

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add more customization options
  • Integrate with productivity/to-do apps
  • Add more pause/break options
  • Improve website blocking functionality

ScrollBuddy

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

4 purchases

ScreenZen

One-time4
  • Kind Tip$5.00
  • Generous Tip$10.00
  • Amazing Tip$20.00
Show 1 more
  • Fantastic Tip$40.00
9 purchases

ScrollBuddy

Subscriptions5
  • Weekly Premium$1.997 Days
  • Monthly Premium$3.991 Month
  • ScrollBuddy Monthly Premium$12.991 Month
Show 2 more
  • Yearly Premium7 Days trial$19.991 Year
  • ScrollBuddy Annual Premium$29.991 Year
One-time4
  • Good buddy$4.99
  • Great buddy$9.99
  • Best buddy$17.99
Show 1 more
  • Lifetime Premium$49.99

Questions

Is ScreenZen free?
ScreenZen is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ScrollBuddy free?
ScrollBuddy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, ScreenZen or ScrollBuddy?
ScreenZen is rated higher. ScreenZen averages 4.9 out of 5 from 50K ratings, while ScrollBuddy averages 3.9 from 9 ratings.
Do ScreenZen or ScrollBuddy have ads?
Neither ScreenZen nor ScrollBuddy shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ScreenZen or ScrollBuddy?
ScreenZen ships an update every 3 weeks, and ScrollBuddy every 9 days. Most recently, ScreenZen was updated on October 13, 2026 and ScrollBuddy on October 5, 2026.

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