BePresent vs Buzzkill
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
BePresent
This app helps you regain control of your screen time through app blocking, gamified challenges, and real-life rewards. It encourages users to reduce phone usage, improve productivity, and enhance mental well-being by making digital detox engaging and beneficial.
- App Blocking Sessions (Individual, Group, BEAST MODE)
- Set Daily Goals and Build Streaks
- Monetary Stakes for Commitment
- Weekly Leaderboards and Friend Challenges
- Earn Real-Life Rewards (e.g., subscriptions, classes)
- Hourly Scrolling Awareness Reminders
- Time Tracking and Daily Reports
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BePresent is the #1 app to control your screen time and supercharge your productivity, mental health, and quality of life. Experience life beyond the screen as you reclaim Your Time and earn rewards that improve your life with BePresent! 25 years. That’s the average time you will spend on your phone. With a combination of app blocking, gamification, social competition with friends, and real-life rewards, you will reclaim YEARS of your life like thousands of BePresent members already have. We know you’ve tried to solve this problem before. But we’re not like other screen time apps. ▶ WHAT USERS ARE CELEBRATING ◀ • “I was able to go from 7+ hours per day to less than 2 hours! 10/10 would recommend” - Andrew M. • “FINALLY an app that actually curbs my screen addiction instead of time limits that I just ignore!” - Gina V. • “I’ve tried everything but nothing has worked. I almost gave up before I used BePresent! Thank god I tried it as I’ve reduced my screen time by over 3 hours a day!” - Jack W. Download now to experience life to the fullest. Instead of annoying app blockers or time limits, BePresent makes it fun and easy to stay off your phone. ▶ FEATURES ◀ [ BePresent App Blocking Sessions - Individual, Group, & BEAST MODE ] • Dive into Present Sessions! Dedicate breaks from screens, whether it's a focused study session or a no-phone night out. Team up with friends for Group Sessions and joint tech time-outs. Share updates, cheer, and keep one another accountable—all from within the app. Need a stringent break? Enter BEAST MODE, ensuring unwavering commitment [ Set Daily Goals and Build Your Streak ] • Choose your digital boundaries. Maintain your streak by sticking to set screen time limits. Back your commitment with a monetary stake — overshoot, and that stake's gone. Customize reminders and design your journey to digital well-being. [ Compete on Weekly Leaderboards and Challenge Your Friends] • Show off your productivity prowess by competing against others on weekly leaderboards. Advance tiers so you’ll feel like a productivity superhero every day. Practicing mindful phone habits has never been so motivating and rewarding! [ Earn Real-Life Rewards ] • The ultimate motivation - earn points you can redeem for real-life rewards by limiting your screen time. Best of all, your rewards will also improve your life. Learn to meditate with a premium Headspace subscription. Redeem free workout classes with ClassPass. Schedule discounted therapy sessions with BetterHelp. Earn these rewards and more all by staying off your phone. [ Never Doomscroll Again ] • Set hourly scrolling awareness reminders so you never lose track of time doomscrolling again [ Time Tracking & Daily Reports ] • Measure the moments you're truly present. Access daily and weekly breakdowns, complemented by a comprehensive day-before report, amplifying your adherence to reality. [ Improve Your Well-Being ] • By reducing screen time, you'll improve your overall well-being and gain access to educational content that explains how reducing screen time can benefit you in multiple ways. Learn how to manage ADHD better, improve your mental health, and be more present with your loved ones, all while improving your sleep and becoming less distracted. [ Complete Privacy and Data Security ] • Data dignity, delivered. All of your data is private and safe with Apple’s Screen Time API. We do not have access to any specific content you access on your iPhone, and none of your personal data ever leaves your device. ▶ WE'RE HERE FOR EVERY QUERY ◀ Questions or feedback? Reach us at https://www.getpresentapp.com/ or shoot an email at contact@getpresentapp.com. Let's journey to mindful tech use together. Note: All rewards are sponsored by BePresent and our partners. Apple does not sponsor any of the in-app rewards. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.getpresentapp.com/privacy-policy
Buzzkill
This app helps you break free from excessive app usage by sending timely, customizable notifications. Set specific apps to monitor and adjust the frequency and tone of alerts to match your habits and encourage mindful usage.
- Customizable app monitoring
- Adjustable notification frequency
- Variable notification tone (friendly to angry)
- Gradually increasing urgency
- Daily buzz-free time settings
- Daily usage limits with advance warnings
- Privacy-focused, on-device data storage
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Buzzkill helps you break out of doomscrolling by sending frequent notifications when you spend too much time in selected apps. Choose which apps you want to monitor and set a custom buzz frequency per app, so notifications match your habits instead of fighting them. Choose your preferred language and the tone you like. You can go from sweet and friendly all the way up to full-on ANGRY CAPSLOCKS when you really want a strong notification. As your usage goes up, notifications gradually become more urgent instead of repeating the same message over and over. Buzzkill uses a large set of around 3,000 notifications in English, Dutch, German and French. Other languages are supported as well, but currently use smaller message sets. You can set a daily buzz-free time so notifications only start after you have used that amount of time. You can also add a daily limit that is easy to change, with optional notifications sent in advance so you can slow down before you reach your cap. Buzzkill keeps your data on your device. Usage history is automatically deleted after seven days. Nothing is sent to a server, and no long-term profiles are built from your behaviour. It’s a privacy-first way to reduce your screen time without blocking your apps, and it’s not another data-hungry tracker.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: BePresent at 68% against Buzzkill's 0%. BePresent also leads on rating (4.8 vs 3.0) and ratings volume (67K vs 2). Buzzkill's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 24) and ads (none vs shown). On price, update cadence, device support and iOS requirement 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
Both are free to download. BePresent sells 23 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Buzzkill asks for nothing beyond the download.
BePresent holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: BePresent has 67K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 68% of BePresent's written reviews are positive against 0% of Buzzkill's.
BePresent ships an update every 5 days, Buzzkill every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | BePresent | Buzzkill |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (67K ratings) — better | 3.0 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 68.0% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 67K — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days — better | Every 6 days |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #27 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 105 MB | 15 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Screen Detox Inc | Jens Somers |
Customer experience
BePresent
Buzzkill
Bugs and requests
BePresent
Reported bugs
5 issues- Freezing and crashing issues
- Inaccurate screen time reporting
- Inability to restore purchases
- Persistent app blocking even after uninstallation
- Setup process getting stuck on permissions
Requested features
5 requests- Allow selective app blocking
- Exclude certain apps from screen time tracking
- More customization options for notifications
- Expand to iPad and other devices
- Improve overall stability and reliability
Buzzkill
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
BePresent
- Monthly$3.991 Month
- Monthly (Mid Tier)$6.991 Month
- Monthly (1-Week Free Trial)7 Days trial$6.991 Month
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- Monthly (1-Week Free Trial)7 Days trial$9.991 Month
- Monthly (1-Week Free Trial)7 Days trial$14.991 Month
- Annual$24.991 Year
- Annual (Mid Tier)$24.991 Year
- Annual (1-Week Free Trial)7 Days trial$24.991 Year
- BePresent Pro (Annual)$24.991 Year
- Free Trial for BePresent Pro7 Days trial$24.991 Year
- Monthly (1-Week Free Trial)7 Days trial$24.991 Month
- BePresent Pro (Annual)$29.991 Year
- BePresent Pro Family$39.991 Year
- Annual (1-Week Free Trial)7 Days trial$39.991 Year
- Annual (High Tier)$44.991 Year
- Annual (1-Week Free Trial)7 Days trial$49.991 Year
- BePresent Family7 Days trial$59.991 Year
- Annual (3-Day Free Trial)3 Days trial$59.991 Year
- Annual (30-day Trial)1 Month trial$59.991 Year
- Annual (1-Week Free Trial)7 Days trial$59.991 Year
- Annual (2-week Free Trial)14 Days trial$59.991 Year
- BePresent Pro Family (iCloud)7 Days trial$99.991 Year
- Annual (1-Week Free Trial)7 Days trial$99.991 Year
Buzzkill
No in-app purchases









