Comparison

NLR OpenPATH vs AffirmLock

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

Head to head
About

NLR OpenPATH

Track your travel modes like car, bus, or bike to measure energy use and carbon footprint. Understand your travel patterns, experiment with sustainable options, and contribute to community-level data for better urban planning.

Highlights
  • Track various travel modes
  • Measure energy consumption
  • Calculate carbon footprint
  • Analyze travel patterns
  • Contribute to community data
  • Smart background data collection
  • Annotate travel diary
Features
Read full description

The National Laboratory of the Rockies' Open Platform for Agile Trip Heuristics (NLR OpenPATH) enables people to track their travel modes—car, bus, bike, walking, etc.—and measure their associated energy use and carbon footprint. The app empowers communities to understand their travel mode choices and patterns, experiment with options to make them more sustainable, and evaluate the results. Such results can inform effective transportation policy and planning and be used to build more sustainable and accessible cities. NLR OpenPATH informs individual users about the impact of their choices, and also makes aggregated, community-level data on mode shares, trip frequencies, and carbon footprints available via a public dashboard. NLR OpenPATH incorporates continuous data collection and analysis via a smart phone app backed by a server and automated data processing. Its open nature enables transparent data collection and analysis, while allowing it to be configured for individual programs or studies. On first install, the app does not collect or transmit data. Once you click the link or scan the QR code to join a given study or program, you will be asked to consent to data collection and storage before the app begins functioning. If you are not part of a partner community or program but are simply interested in quantifying your individual carbon footprint, you can join the NLR-run open-access study. In the aggregate, your data might be used as the control for experiments run by our partners. At its core, the app represents an automatically sensed travel diary, constructed from background sensed location and accelerometer data. You can annotate the diary with semantic labels as requested by a given program administrator or researcher. Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life. Therefore, the app automatically turns off the GPS if you are not moving. This significantly reduces the battery drain caused by location tracking. The app results in ~ 5% battery drain for up to 3 hours of travel per day.

About

AffirmLock

This app helps you pause before opening distracting applications. It prompts a mindful check-in, including mood naming, reflection, affirmations, and breathing exercises, before unlocking selected apps. A premium subscription is required after the trial period.

Highlights
  • App blocking with Apple Screen Time
  • Mood check-ins before unlocking
  • Optional journal reflections
  • Personalized affirmations
  • Guided breathing exercises
  • Progress tracking and widgets
Read full description

AffirmLock helps you pause before opening distracting apps. Choose the apps that tend to pull you into mindless scrolling, then let AffirmLock turn those unlock moments into a short mindful check-in. Before your selected apps unlock, you can name your mood, write an optional reflection, receive an affirmation, and take a quick breathing reset. PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION REQUIRED AFTER TRIAL AffirmLock requires an active Premium subscription after any free trial where available. AffirmLock Premium is available as monthly and yearly auto-renewable subscriptions. Current U.S. pricing is $7.99/month or $59.99/year, with a 3-day free trial where available. Localized pricing and trial terms are shown in the App Store purchase sheet before confirmation. PREMIUM INCLUDES - Blocking selected apps with Apple Screen Time - Mood check-ins before unlocking selected apps - Optional journal reflections - Personalized affirmations - Saved and shareable affirmations - Guided breathing exercises - Gentle reminders - Check-in and streak progress - Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets WHY AFFIRMLOCK Most app blockers are built around restriction. AffirmLock is built around interruption with intention. It gives you a moment to notice why you are reaching for an app, then choose whether to continue. PRIVACY Journal history and app preferences are stored locally on your device. If you choose to generate a personalized AI affirmation, the mood, optional journal context, recent affirmation context, and app version needed for that request may be sent through AffirmLock's secure API solely to generate the affirmation. AffirmLock does not sell personal data or use third-party advertising tracking. SUBSCRIPTION Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel in iOS Settings > Apple ID > Subscriptions. Terms of Use: https://affirmlockapp.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://affirmlockapp.com/privacy AffirmLock is not a medical device and does not provide medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice.

Screenshots

NLR OpenPATH4 screens
AffirmLock4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: AffirmLock at 100% against NLR OpenPATH's 0%. AffirmLock also leads on rating (5.0 vs 2.7) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 5 weeks). NLR OpenPATH's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, ratings volume, ads 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. AffirmLock sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. NLR OpenPATH asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

AffirmLock holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 13 and 5 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of NLR OpenPATH's written reviews are positive against 100% of AffirmLock's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

NLR OpenPATH ships an update every 5 weeks, AffirmLock every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
NLR OpenPATH versus AffirmLock: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNLR OpenPATHAffirmLock
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.7 (13 ratings)5.0 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings13 — better5
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size78 MB13 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNational Renewable Energy LaboratoryGlenny AI Studio LLC

Customer experience

NLR OpenPATH

All ratings13 ratings
Positive30.8%
Neutral15.4%
Negative53.8%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

AffirmLock

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

NLR OpenPATH

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

AffirmLock

Subscriptions2
  • AffirmLock Premium - Monthly3 Days trial$7.991 Month
  • AffirmLock Premium - Yearly3 Days trial$59.991 Year

Questions

Is NLR OpenPATH free?
NLR OpenPATH is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is AffirmLock free?
AffirmLock is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, NLR OpenPATH or AffirmLock?
AffirmLock is rated higher. NLR OpenPATH averages 2.7 out of 5 from 13 ratings, while AffirmLock averages 5.0 from 5 ratings.
Do NLR OpenPATH or AffirmLock have ads?
Neither NLR OpenPATH nor AffirmLock shows ads.
Which is updated more often, NLR OpenPATH or AffirmLock?
NLR OpenPATH ships an update every 5 weeks, and AffirmLock every 2 days. Most recently, NLR OpenPATH was updated on October 25, 2026 and AffirmLock on October 7, 2026.

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