Comparison

Refocus vs Summarly

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

Head to head
About

Refocus

This tool helps you regain control of your screen time by blocking distracting apps and websites. It offers customizable schedules, strict modes to prevent bypass, and analytics to track your usage. Available on iPhone and Mac.

Highlights
  • Block apps and websites
  • Strict mode with multiple bypass prevention methods
  • Customizable blocking schedules and timers
  • Location-based blocking
  • Screen time analytics
  • Mac app available
Features
Read full description

Refocus is an app blocker & website blocker that helps you limit screen time on apps! Refocus is easy to use, yet has powerful screen time control features: ▶ Various ways to restrict or lock apps and block websites. Choose what helps you focus! Block any app or site — from social media and games to messaging and news. ▶ "Strict Mode" feature prevents you from unblocking. Set a passcode, or use an NFC tag, or wait a duration (ex. 30 seconds), or do a copy text challenge, or utilize Pomodoro (limit unblocking to 5 times per day, for 25 minutes each, with a 5-minute cooldown between each unblock). ▶ Block for a specific duration (ex. app timer for 30 minutes). ▶ Block at specific times (ex. every weekday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM). ▶ Set app limits (ex. after 10 minutes of using Instagram, block it). Set an app time limit! ▶ Hide Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts in Safari. ▶ Block at the location you pick — whether it be home, work or school. ▶ View your daily, weekly and monthly Screen Time analytics. Use Refocus as a screen time tracker! ▶ Mac app that also lets you block apps and websites on macOS. ▶ And more! --- Visit www.refocusapp.co for more information. Terms of Use: - https://refocusapp.co/terms-of-use

About

Summarly

Read full description

A forty minute meeting leaves you with a forty minute recording. Summarly leaves you with six lines. Record, and the app turns the speech into text on the iPhone itself. Then, if you want it, it pulls out what the recording was actually about: the points, the decisions that were settled, the questions nobody answered, and the things people said they would do. NOTHING LEAVES THE PHONE There is no account to create and no server of ours to sign in to. Recordings, their text and their summaries stay on the device. Speech recognition runs offline, so it works in a basement meeting room with no signal. If you want a backup you can turn on iCloud sync, and that is your own iCloud, not ours. RECORDING AND TRANSCRIPTION ARE FREE Apple's own Voice Memos records and transcribes for nothing, so charging for that would be dishonest. Recording, transcription, search and the archive are unlimited on the free plan, and always will be. Pro is for the summaries. WHAT IT DOES • One tap to record, and it keeps going when you leave the app or lock the screen • A live indicator on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island while it runs • Mark a moment while recording, name it later, jump back to it in one tap • On-device transcription in English and Turkish • Long recordings handled in pieces, so an hour-long lecture transcribes fully • Search every word you have ever recorded • Folders, for keeping a project's recordings together • Fix anything the recogniser misheard • Export as plain text, Markdown, SRT subtitles, or the audio file itself • Delete the audio and keep the text, when storage matters more than the voice • A Home Screen widget that starts recording without opening the app • Works completely offline ABOUT THE SUMMARIES On iPhone 15 Pro and later, Summarly uses Apple's on-device intelligence to read the transcript and pull out what mattered. Nothing is sent anywhere for this. On earlier iPhones the summary feature is unavailable, but recording, transcription, search and export all work exactly the same. The summary is built only from what was said. It does not add advice, opinions or conclusions of its own, and where the recording is unclear it leaves the passage out rather than guessing. Check anything you plan to act on, the same as you would with your own notes. FREE AND PRO Five summaries a month are free. Pro removes the limit and unlocks Markdown and subtitle export. Pro has one price, not a list: a yearly plan, or a single payment if you would rather never think about it again. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://pinkontin.com/legal/summarly/

Screenshots

Refocus4 screens
Summarly3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Summarly at none against Refocus's shown. Refocus's advantage is iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). On price, in-app purchases 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. Refocus sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month and Summarly sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Refocus versus Summarly: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRefocusSummarly
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (12K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews92.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings12K — better—
Update frequencyWeekly—
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS16.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size52 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLabi, LLCMuhammed Furkan Kfrevi

Bugs and requests

Refocus

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Blocking issues after phone restart
  • Inconsistent behavior when pausing/unpausing sessions
  • Crashing when trying to block apps in certain categories

Requested features

5 requests
  • Passcode or biometric lock to prevent bypassing
  • More advanced blocking options (e.g., math problems to unblock)
  • Ability to purchase a one-time license instead of subscription
  • Notification warnings before blocking sessions end
  • Search function to find apps to block more easily

Summarly

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Refocus

Subscriptions7
  • Refocus Pro3 Days trial2 variants$7.991 Month
  • Refocus Pro3 Days trial$8.991 Month
  • Refocus Pro3 Days trial$9.991 Month
Show 4 more
  • Refocus Pro$49.991 Year
  • Refocus Pro1 Month trial2 variants$49.991 Year
  • Refocus Pro7 Days trial2 variants$49.991 Year
  • Refocus Pro7 Days trial$59.991 Year
2 purchases

Summarly

Subscriptions1
  • Summarly Pro Yearly$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • Summarly Pro Lifetime$34.99

Questions

Is Refocus free?
Refocus is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Summarly free?
Summarly is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Refocus or Summarly have ads?
Refocus shows ads; Summarly does not.

Other comparisons