Comparison

Roots vs Reclaim Your Time

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

Reclaim Your Time

Features
Read full description

Take back your time. We touch our phones 2,617 times a day on average — around 12 years of a lifetime spent staring at a screen. Reclaim is a Screen Time app for adults who want to spend those hours somewhere else. Set the rules you want to live by - Always on — permanent blocks for the apps you never want to open - Time windows — block during work hours, mornings, or evenings, with optional weekday filters - Daily limits — set a per-app minute budget; the shield kicks in when you cross it Block apps, entire categories, and websites — anything you can pick from your Screen Time settings. Start and stop rules from your home screen. Run multiple rules at once. Rules sync across your devices through your Reclaim account, so your intentions travel with you. A mindful pause before you break your own rules Reclaim is built around a simple idea: it should be easy to add a block, and slightly harder to remove one. To disable an active rule you slide a slider to the far right and long-press a confirm button. The friction is small — but often enough to let the urge pass. See where your time actually goes Your home screen shows the apps you've used the most over the last 15 days, right next to the rules you're building. No surprise dashboards, no analytics rabbit holes — just a quiet reminder of what your attention has been buying. Privacy first Reclaim uses Apple's official Screen Time framework and processes your usage data entirely on your device. Your app-usage data never leaves your phone. We don't sell data, we don't run ads, and we don't build a profile of you. Every hour you reclaim is an hour returned to your life.

Screenshots

Roots4 screens
Reclaim Your Time4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Reclaim Your Time at none against Roots's 10. Roots's advantage is iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.0). On price, update cadence, 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. Roots sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per 7 days. Reclaim Your Time asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Roots ships an update every 3 weeks, Reclaim Your Time fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Roots versus Reclaim Your Time: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRootsReclaim Your Time
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (3.2K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews75.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings3.2K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS18.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size361 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMWMNathan Beaumont

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

Reclaim Your Time

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Roots

Subscriptions10
  • Premium$7.997 Days
  • Roots Plus - Weekly Plan3 Days trial$7.997 Days
  • Roots - Monthly Plan$9.991 Month
Show 7 more
  • Roots Plus - Monthly Plan$9.991 Month
  • Roots Plus - Annual Plan$29.991 Year
  • Premium Pass$59.991 Year
  • Roots Plus - Annual Plan7 Days trial$59.991 Year
  • Premium Pass1 Year trial$99.991 Year
  • Premium3 Days trial$99.991 Year
  • Premium Pass7 Days trial$99.991 Year
None

Reclaim Your Time

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Roots free?
Roots is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Reclaim Your Time free?
Reclaim Your Time is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Roots or Reclaim Your Time have ads?
Neither Roots nor Reclaim Your Time shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Roots or Reclaim Your Time?
Roots ships an update every 3 weeks, and Reclaim Your Time fortnightly. Most recently, Roots was updated on November 3, 2026 and Reclaim Your Time on October 31, 2026.

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