Comparison

Roots vs ScrollWager

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 regain control of your phone usage by setting app limits, scheduling downtime, and participating in detox challenges. It provides insights into your screen time habits and offers features like 'Monk Mode' for focused periods. Aimed at improving well-being and reducing phone addiction.

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

ScrollWager

This app locks your applications, requiring you to earn screen time by completing challenges or physical activities to unlock them. It aims to make app usage a conscious decision rather than an automatic habit. Earned minutes carry over, and a hard daily limit prevents excessive challenges.

Highlights
  • Apps locked around the clock
  • Unlock one app at a time
  • Earn minutes by moving
  • Hard daily challenge limit
  • Strict Mode for deletion prevention
  • Streak and milestone tracking
  • Usage history
Features
Read full description

Your apps are locked. All day, every day. To get in, you spend screentime you earned. Tap a locked app and ScrollWager asks one question: how much of your screentime is this worth? Set the amount, take the challenge, live with the result. Win and the app opens for exactly the minutes you set. Lose and it stays locked. That is the whole idea. Scrolling stops being automatic and becomes a decision. HOW IT WORKS 1. Pick the apps you want locked. They stay locked around the clock — no schedules, no time windows, nothing that opens on its own. 2. Tap one. ScrollWager asks how many minutes it is worth to you, starting at 5. 3. Take on the challenge. Flip a coin, spin a wheel, play a hand, clear a grid or drop a ball. 4. Win and the app opens for the minutes you chose. Lose and those minutes are gone. 5. Out of minutes? Earn more. Walk, do pushups in front of the camera, or solve a quick puzzle. WHAT YOU GET - Locked around the clock. No schedule to set, no window that opens by itself. - One app at a time. An unlock opens the app you tapped, not your whole phone. - A daily allowance. Each morning your balance is topped up to the daily limit you chose. Minutes you earn on top stay until you spend them. - Earn by moving. Steps and camera-counted pushups both pay into your balance. - Earn by thinking. A daily Word Guess, Word Groups, Logic Grid and Sudoku, plus Quick Math and Trivia anytime. - Strict Mode. While it is on, no app can be deleted, ScrollWager included, and locked apps cannot be taken off your list. Adding more is always allowed. - Streaks and milestones. Every day the lock holds counts. - History. What you earned, what you spent, and what it cost you. BUILT FOR - Anyone who opens the same app without deciding to - People who have tried blockers and tapped straight through them - Students and anyone protecting a block of work - Anyone who wants scrolling to cost something instead of being forbidden PRIVACY ScrollWager uses Apple's Screen Time API. Which apps you pick and how you use them stays on your device — Apple's system does not let that data out. SUBSCRIPTION ScrollWager needs an active subscription to lock and unlock apps. Without one the locks come off, and your app list, balance and streak stay where they are. Privacy Policy: https://scrollwager.app/privacy Terms of Use: https://scrollwager.app/terms Support: https://scrollwager.app/support

Screenshots

Roots4 screens
ScrollWager4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Roots at 76% against ScrollWager's 33%. Roots also leads on ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (2.9K vs 4). ScrollWager's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 weeks) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model 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. Roots sells 18 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month and ScrollWager sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ScrollWager holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Roots has 2.9K ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 76% of Roots's written reviews are positive against 33% of ScrollWager's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Roots ships an update every 2 weeks, ScrollWager every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Roots versus ScrollWager: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRootsScrollWager
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (2.9K ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews75.6% of reviews — better33.3% of reviews
Number of ratings2.9K — better4
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 2 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS18.018.0
Further details — not scored
Size355 MB29 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMWMMaurice Wolf

Customer experience

Roots

All ratings2,867 ratings
Positive94.4%
Neutral1.8%
Negative3.8%
Written reviews369 reviews
Positive75.6%
Neutral5.1%
Negative19.2%

ScrollWager

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral33.3%
Negative33.3%

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

ScrollWager

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
3 purchases

ScrollWager

Subscriptions3
  • ScrollWager Pro$7.997 Days
  • ScrollWager Pro$24.991 Year
  • ScrollWager Pro$49.991 Year

Questions

Is Roots free?
Roots is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ScrollWager free?
ScrollWager is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Roots or ScrollWager?
ScrollWager is rated higher. Roots averages 4.8 out of 5 from 2.9K ratings, while ScrollWager averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Roots or ScrollWager have ads?
ScrollWager shows ads; Roots does not.
Which is updated more often, Roots or ScrollWager?
Roots ships an update every 2 weeks, and ScrollWager every 2 days. Most recently, Roots was updated on October 12, 2026 and ScrollWager on October 13, 2026.

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