Swift Paperless vs BackToLife Focus
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Swift Paperless
This app allows users to manage documents directly from their iOS device. It seamlessly integrates with a self-hosted document management system, ensuring data privacy and control. Easily find, categorize, and add new documents on the go.
- Native iOS integration
- Paperless-ngx compatibility
- Document finding
- Document categorization
- Add documents from phone
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Swift Paperless is a native iOS app that interacts with the popular Paperless-ngx document management software. Paperless-ngx is self-hosted, and therefore fully privacy preserving: you control your data! With Swift Paperless, it's easy to find, categorize and also add documents from your phone!
BackToLife Focus
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NO MORE THAN 60 MINUTES OF DISTRACTION A DAY BackToLife helps you lose less time to distracting apps and spend it on the things that actually matter to you. HOW? Set your own daily limit (30/45/60 min) for distracting apps like Instagram, TikTok or Clash Royale. Your daily and monthly progress is always just a glance away. CLIMB THE RANKS Your progress doesn't go unseen: every conscious choice moves you further along your rank journey. New areas grow, ranks are reached and your path becomes visible step by step. All of it is there to keep you motivated to stay under your daily limit. STAY ON TRACK WITH FRIENDS And you don't have to do it alone. Connect with friends, follow each other's progress and push each other in weekly challenges. Doing it together is a proven way to stay disciplined. REAL LIFE Use the time you've reclaimed for real-life tasks and good habits, on your own or together with your friends. It's not about being perfect or never touching your phone again. It's about choosing more consciously what you want to spend your time on. Take your time back. For you, your goals and real life. Terms of Use (Apple Standard EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: BackToLife Focus at every 8 days against Swift Paperless's monthly. On price, ads, 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. Swift Paperless sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and BackToLife Focus sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Swift Paperless ships an update monthly, BackToLife Focus every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Swift Paperless | BackToLife Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (77 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 97.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 77 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 8 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 30 MB | 129 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Paul Gessinger | Lou Philip Carstens |
Bugs and requests
Swift Paperless
Reported bugs
7 issues- Metadata box not resizable on iPhone 13 Mini
- Document upload screen sometimes exits unexpectedly
- Extra step to access iOS share sheet
- Cannot scroll multi-page PDFs on iPad
- Server removal from list upon logout
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- Editing area only half screen after update
- App crying about certificate issue with HTTPS
Requested features
12 requests- Ability to quickly open next document in current view (like 'save & next')
- Option to hide preview side bar for full-screen document view
- Smarter server management in multi-instance setup
- Ability to search within a document
- Support for Title view only without thumbnails
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- Siri Shortcuts support for adding documents
- Option to add from a network scanner
- Support for SSO
- Ability to copy file content from the app
- Option to send documents from archive via share menu (e.g., email)
- Grid view with thumbnails on iPad
- Direct donation link in the app
BackToLife Focus
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Swift Paperless
- Coffee money$3.99
- Proper thank-you$8.99
- Above and beyond$17.99
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- Legendary generosity$44.99
BackToLife Focus
- BackToLife Pro Monthly7 Days trial$3.991 Month
- BackToLife Pro Yearly7 Days trial$24.991 Year
Questions
Is Swift Paperless free?
Is BackToLife Focus free?
Do Swift Paperless or BackToLife Focus have ads?
Which is updated more often, Swift Paperless or BackToLife Focus?
Other comparisons
