Comparison

ScreenZen vs DrillLock

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

DrillLock

This app requires users to solve a math problem before accessing distracting applications, helping to create focused study sessions. It offers scheduled blocking, usage limits, and temporary unlocks for essential apps. A pro subscription unlocks advanced features for serious learners.

Highlights
  • Math challenge to unlock apps
  • Scheduled app blocking
  • Usage limit blocking
  • Temporary unlocks
  • Essential app exceptions
  • Multiple rule support (Pro)
Read full description

Your study hours and your sleep are too important to leave to willpower. DrillLock locks the apps that eat them, and nothing opens again until you solve a math problem. You choose the apps that pull you away, and the hours they stay shut. Reach for one anyway and the math is waiting. Your hand stops, and the moment passes. IF THIS SOUNDS LIKE YOU • You sit down to study, open one app for a second, and the next hour is gone • You get into bed on time and you're still awake at 1 a.m., scrolling • You have a deadline this week and keep drifting away from the work • You're studying for an exam, a license, or a degree while working full time • You've tried Screen Time and found it far too easy to tap right past WHAT YOU CAN DO Everyone starts with the same rule set: one lock — Instant or Schedule — the math challenge, and three ten-minute unlocks a day. • Start focusing right now (Instant) Choose 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or an hour, and the noisy apps are out of reach for exactly that long. Made for the moment you finally sit down. • Decide once when the phone goes down (Schedule) Set the days and the time windows a single time. Your study block and your bedtime then hold on their own, so you're not renegotiating with yourself at midnight. • One question stands between you and the app (Math Challenge) Nothing opens until you solve a math problem and get it right. It's a small enough step to clear when you truly need the app, and just enough friction that most of the time you set the phone down instead. • Ten minutes, three times a day (Temporary Unlock) Get the challenge right and the app opens for ten minutes, then re-locks itself — no timer to watch, and one tap ends it early when you're done sooner. You get three a day. Once you've used the third one, the challenge stops appearing until tomorrow, and the lock simply holds. GOOD TO KNOW • DrillLock needs Screen Time permission to lock and release apps • Phone and other essential apps are never locked, so you can always reach help in an emergency • Locking runs on Apple's Screen Time system, so iOS decides part of how a blocked app looks and behaves • Every locking decision is made on your iPhone. DrillLock does not send your browsing history or the names of the apps you restrict. DrillLock collects anonymous usage data to improve the app. PRO: WRITE THE RULES YOURSELF • Run several locks at once, so your study block, your work hours, and your bedtime each get their own • Allowlist mode: shut everything except the handful of apps you name • Lock by usage instead of by the clock (Time Limit): give an app a daily allowance, and the moment you pass it, it closes for the rest of the day • Design the temporary unlock yourself: one to ten a day, at five, ten, twenty, or thirty minutes each • Hard challenges, with your own choice of digit count and number of questions Loosening a rule — more unlocks, longer ones, easier math — takes effect at midnight, never in the moment you want it. Tightening one takes effect right away. PRO is about setting your own terms in advance, not about getting out of them later. PRO is an auto-renewing subscription, monthly or yearly. You can cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings. Deciding once is easier than deciding fifty times a day. Set the rule tonight, and take back the hours that were quietly going missing. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

ScreenZen4 screens
DrillLock4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: ScreenZen at 50K against DrillLock's 1. ScreenZen also leads on chart position (#153 vs unranked) and device support (3 vs 1). DrillLock's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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 DrillLock sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 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 — 4.9 for ScreenZen against 5.0 for DrillLock. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ScreenZen has 50K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ScreenZen ships an update every 3 weeks, DrillLock every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
ScreenZen versus DrillLock: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterScreenZenDrillLock
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (50K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews93.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings50K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
Best chart rank#153 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.4 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size159 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperScreenZen LLCFRONTLINE LLC

Customer experience

ScreenZen

All ratings50,446 ratings
Positive97.2%
Neutral1.2%
Negative1.6%
Written reviews6,531 reviews
Positive93.3%
Neutral2.7%
Negative4.0%

DrillLock

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
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

DrillLock

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
2 purchases

DrillLock

Subscriptions2
  • Challenge Pack Monthly7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Challenge Pack Yearly14 Days trial$19.991 Year

Questions

Is ScreenZen free?
ScreenZen is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is DrillLock free?
DrillLock is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, ScreenZen or DrillLock?
DrillLock is rated higher. ScreenZen averages 4.9 out of 5 from 50K ratings, while DrillLock averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do ScreenZen or DrillLock have ads?
Neither ScreenZen nor DrillLock shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ScreenZen or DrillLock?
ScreenZen ships an update every 3 weeks, and DrillLock every 5 days. Most recently, ScreenZen was updated on October 2, 2026 and DrillLock on September 29, 2026.

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