Comparison

Roots vs Lock In Squad

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

Head to head
About

Roots

This app helps you manage your phone usage by setting app limits, scheduling downtime, and offering challenges to reduce screen time. It aims to improve focus, be more present, and cure phone addiction by monitoring digital dopamine and providing a personal balance score.

Highlights
  • App and website blocking
  • Scheduled downtime
  • Phone detox challenges
  • Monk Mode for strict blocking
  • Digital dopamine monitoring
  • Daily goals and progress tracking
  • Personal balance score
Features
Read full description

Roots is the #1 screen time app. Set boundaries with your phone, and unlock more time.  Screen time has a major impact on our mental and physical wellbeing. We're here to help — with better app limits, digital downtime, daily goals, balance score, and more. Join thousands of people using Roots to build a better relationship with their phone. WHAT TO EXPECT - Better screen time management - Unlock 2 hours per day - Stop scrolling mindlessly - Cure your phone addiction - Detox from phone dopamine - Find better balance - Be more present - Stay focused BLOCK NOW - Start blocking apps at any time with one tap BETTER APP LIMITS - Block any app or website based on time limits or number of opens SCHEDULE DOWNTIME - Be intentional with "mindful mornings", "evening wind down", and more PHONE DETOX CHALLENGES - Personalized challenges to compete with yourself and friends - Challenges with neuroscientist and Roots Chief Science Officer, Tj Power BLOCK WITH "MONK MODE" - App blocking that doesn't let you unblock until tomorrow MONITOR DIGITAL DOPAMINE - Not all screen time is equal, so we help you understand the impact of each app DAILY GOALS - Set goals for screen time and phone pickups, and track your daily progress PERSONAL BALANCE SCORE - Daily score helps keep you accountable with beautiful illustrations and visuals SCREEN TIME TRENDS - View the progress and trends of your screen time journey BUILD A STREAK - Build a streak as you stay under limits, earn cheat days and custom app icons BLOCK ADULT WEBSITES - Keep yourself off adult websites once and for all DON’T JUST TAKE IT FROM US "We’re all guilty of being obsessed with our phones. Roots helps you break free." -- Tj Power, Neuroscientist and Author “It's beautiful, and it works” -- Jameston78 “This app does what it says” -- Casper-F “Worth every penny” -- Thehikingfool PRIVACY GUARANTEED We use Apple’s Screen Time API so all of your phone usage data stays on your phone. TERMS & CONDITIONS - Auto-Renewing Subscription Options: Roots Plus (Monthly or Annual) - Terms: https://www.getroots.app/terms - Privacy Policy: https://www.getroots.app/privacy-policy

About

Lock In Squad

This app helps you limit screen time by blocking selected apps, categories, or websites. You can set schedules, use timers, and even collaborate with friends to stay focused together. Earn in-app currency to customize your experience or watch ads for bonuses.

Highlights
  • Block apps, categories, and websites
  • Set custom schedules
  • Group lock-ins with friends
  • Live Activity on Lock Screen
  • Progress tracking and streaks
  • In-app shop for customization
Features
Read full description

Lock In Squad blocks the apps that pull you away while you're locked in, on your own or together with your friends. Pick your apps, start a timer or a stopwatch, and they stay blocked until you hold the Lock Out button. BLOCKING • Pick apps, whole categories such as Social or Games, and websites in Apple's Screen Time picker. • Choose Block these apps, or choose Allow only these apps to keep up to 50 apps open while every other app and website stays blocked. • Set up to five schedules, such as weekdays from 9 AM to 5 PM, and your apps lock at those times even with Lock In Squad closed. • When a timer reaches zero, your apps stay blocked until you lock out. • To lock out, you hold the button for 1 to 30 seconds, however long you set, which gives you a moment to change your mind. • On iPhone, a Live Activity keeps your lock-in time on the Lock Screen. FRIENDS • Add friends by name or user ID, or share a link that adds you as a friend. • Start a group lock-in and follow the live standings while you lock in together. Invite friends in the app or with a link. • Give a group lock-in set times. Everyone who accepts them has their apps blocked at those times, and that time counts in the group's standings. • Keep a friend streak going on the focus days you share. • Like your friends' longer lock-ins, streak milestones, and group wins in Activity. • A glowing dot on a friend's picture means they're locked in right now. Send a nudge to a friend who hasn't started yet, or a cheer to one who has. • The weekly leaderboard ranks you and your friends by time locked in, and each week's winner wears a crown all the next week. PROGRESS • Your streak counts only the focus days you pick on the Block tab. • Share your streak, your week or a group win as a card made for stories, with a link that adds you as a friend. • Set a daily goal from 15 minutes to 4 hours on the Block tab. Your profile shows how close you are today, and its heatmap marks the days you hit it. • Your profile charts your focus time over 7, 30 or 90 days, a year or all time, next to a heatmap of the days you locked in. • Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets show your lock with your streak or today's minutes. On a focus day you haven't locked in, the lock gets more worried as midnight gets close. • Reminders come from your lock, in its own voice, and switches in Settings turn them off by type. THE SHOP Each minute locked in earns you one minute for the Shop. Give your lock a body color, face, hat and top, pick a background and a button color, and save up for safes from a piggy bank to a vault door. Your safe's door shuts when you lock in and opens when you lock out. You can also watch an ad for 10 bonus minutes. A friend who signs up with your referral code gets 1,000 minutes, and you get 1,000 after their first lock-in. PRICE Lock In Squad is free to use. An ad can show when you end a stopwatch lock-in or quit a timer early, but never when you finish a timer. Premium is a single payment, with no subscription. It removes ads and comes with the Diamond safe and a Premium badge next to your name. Lock In Squad runs on iPhone and iPad, and blocking apps needs iOS 16 or later. It works with VoiceOver and has a dark mode in Settings. Start as a guest, then sign in with Apple, Google or email to keep your progress, see your stats and add friends. The privacy policy is at lockinsquad.com/privacy and the terms are at lockinsquad.com/terms.

Screenshots

Roots4 screens
Lock In Squad4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Roots at none against Lock In Squad's shown. Roots also leads on ratings volume (3.1K vs 8). Lock In Squad's advantage is update cadence (daily vs every 3 weeks) and review sentiment (100% vs 76%). On price, 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. Roots sells 18 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month and Lock In Squad sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Lock In Squad holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Roots has 3.1K ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 76% of Roots's written reviews are positive against 100% of Lock In Squad's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Roots ships an update every 3 weeks, Lock In Squad daily. Both last shipped on October 30, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Roots versus Lock In Squad: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRootsLock In Squad
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (3.1K ratings)5.0 (8 ratings) — better
Positive reviews75.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3.1K — better8
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksDaily — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size361 MB55 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperMWMEli Young

Customer experience

Roots

All ratings3,142 ratings
Positive94.2%
Neutral2.1%
Negative3.7%
Written reviews370 reviews
Positive75.7%
Neutral5.1%
Negative19.2%

Lock In Squad

All ratings8 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Roots

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Apps getting blocked when they shouldn't be
  • Screen time data not syncing correctly
  • Frequent app crashes and freezes
  • Subscription issues and inability to cancel
  • Trouble with the initial setup and syncing

Requested features

5 requests
  • Home screen and lock screen widgets
  • Customizable challenges and ability to share with friends
  • More options for the 'Do Not Disturb' mode
  • Improved analytics and progress tracking
  • Ability to easily adjust app limits without resetting

Lock In Squad

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

18 purchases

Roots

Subscriptions18
  • Roots Plus - Monthly Plan$6.991 Month
  • Premium$7.997 Days
  • Roots Plus - Weekly Plan3 Days trial$7.997 Days
Show 15 more
  • Roots - Monthly Plan$9.991 Month
  • Roots Plus - Monthly Plan$9.991 Month
  • Roots - Monthly Plan$19.991 Month
  • Premium Pass7 Days trial$19.991 Month
  • Roots Plus - Annual Plan$29.991 Year
  • Premium$39.991 Year
  • Roots Plus - Annual Plan7 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • Premium Pass$59.991 Year
  • Roots Plus - Annual Plan7 Days trial$59.991 Year
  • Premium1 Month trial$69.991 Year
  • Roots Plus - Annual Plan$79.991 Year
  • Premium Pass1 Year trial$99.991 Year
  • Premium3 Days trial$99.991 Year
  • Premium Pass1 Month trial$99.991 Year
  • Premium Pass7 Days trial$99.991 Year
1 purchases

Lock In Squad

One-time1
  • Lock In Premium (No Ads)$4.99

Questions

Is Roots free?
Roots is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Lock In Squad free?
Lock In Squad is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Roots or Lock In Squad?
Lock In Squad is rated higher. Roots averages 4.7 out of 5 from 3.1K ratings, while Lock In Squad averages 5.0 from 8 ratings.
Do Roots or Lock In Squad have ads?
Lock In Squad shows ads; Roots does not.
Which is updated more often, Roots or Lock In Squad?
Roots ships an update every 3 weeks, and Lock In Squad daily. Most recently, Roots was updated on October 30, 2026 and Lock In Squad on October 30, 2026.

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