Barrier vs basilic
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Barrier
This app helps you break free from social media distractions by blocking access to social apps. It encourages healthier digital habits by requiring users to watch an ad or wait before accessing them, promoting mindful usage and digital wellness.
- Block social media apps
- Limit app access
- Promote healthier digital habits
- Incentivize reduced scrolling
- Digital wellness assistant
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Are you tired of wasting precious hours scrolling through social media apps? Do you want to break free from the cycle of constant distractions? Barrier is here to help. Our app acts as a blocker for social media apps, limiting your access and promoting healthier digital habits. With Barrier, you can only open your social media apps if you watch an ad or wait our 30 second load times, creating an incentive to reduce the amount of time you spend scrolling mindlessly. But Barrier is more than just a blocker. It's a digital wellness assistant, helping you take control of your digital life Don't let social media control your life. Take back control with Barrier!
basilic
This app helps you plan your shopping trips and organize your favorite items. Create and share lists, group items by store and category, and quickly add recurring purchases. It offers a fast and beautiful interface for effortless grocery management.
- Multiple real-time shopping lists
- Group items by supermarket and category
- Favorites for recurring items
- Share lists for real-time collaboration
- Quick item addition and editing
- Bulk-assign supermarkets/categories
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Basilic helps you plan your shopping and keep your favorites organized in one beautiful, fast app. Create lists, group items by supermarket and category, and check things off as you go. Save your staples as favorites so you can reuse them anytime, and share lists with others to collaborate in real time. Key features: • Create multiple shopping lists with real‑time updates • Add items quickly and edit with a long press • Group by supermarket and category, with collapsible sections • Favorites (templates) for your recurring items • Bulk‑assign supermarkets/categories to favorite items • Rename supermarkets and categories instantly • Share lists and favorites with others • Apple and Google sign‑in Whether you’re planning a weekly grocery trip or managing multiple stores, Basilic keeps everything tidy, fast, and effortless.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: basilic at none against Barrier's shown. basilic also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). Barrier's advantage is ratings volume (343 vs 1). On price, update cadence, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
basilic holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Barrier has 343 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Barrier ships an update fortnightly, basilic every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Barrier | basilic |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (343 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 80.3% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 343 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 8 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 42 MB | 33 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Haplo, LLC | LifeBits Inc. |
Customer experience
Barrier
basilic
Bugs and requests
Barrier
Reported bugs
14 issues- Blocking does not work at correct times or remains blocked at incorrect times
- Blocking stops working after a while
- Apps remain unlocked after unlocking
- Streak keeps breaking for no reason
- Custom schedule does not unlock when it's supposed to
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- Last iOS release caused issues with re-locking after unlocking
- Timer resets but apps remain unlocked after unlocking
- Instagram and TikTok not always blocked
- App stops working after a few days, requires re-download
- Editing screen for blocked apps crashes sometimes
- Custom schedule setting does not work for overnight blocking (end time before start time)
- Does not unlock apps half the time after watching an ad
- Cannot make edits to timer or unlock time
- Cannot unlock apps without reinstalling after deleting the app before unlocking
Requested features
7 requests- Ability to set different apps to lock during different times
- More flexibility in setting multiple check-in times
- Option to customize the duration after watching an ad
- Fix for custom schedule not working for overnight blocking
- Option to have a daily time limit per app
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- Ability to set a certain amount of time per day and then block apps
- Update to end the 10-minute screentime after the ad finishes
basilic
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Barrier
No in-app purchases
basilic
No in-app purchases









