TantalusPath vs ScrollTax
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
TantalusPath
This app uses random positive reinforcement to help you achieve your goals and align with your values. It guides you through a cycle of anticipating, earning, and enjoying rewards, with customizable options and progress-based unlocks.
- Random positive reinforcement
- Goal and value alignment
- Reward anticipation and earning
- Customizable reward pools
- Unlockable progress and story
- Tips on intermittent rewards
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Get ready to unleash the power of random positive reinforcement to better move yourself in line with your values and goals. Get your mind working for you! What will you accomplish with your reward-enhanced brain? Using Tantalus Path involves a four step cycle: 1: Anticipate the reward- think about how great it will be to experience 2: Earn the reward- use that anticipation to make progress on something that aligns with your values and goals 3: Roll for a reward- come back to the app and see what you win! 4: Enjoy the reward- or go back to Step 2 if you didn't win As you make consistent progress towards becoming the person you want to be, you will unlock new ways to manage your rewards and how they are awarded, and progress the story. Customize your reward pool until it perfectly matches what works for your unique brain. Unlock and choose between roll types to ensure the correct rewards show up at the right time. Along the way you'll receive tips on implementing random intermittent reward so you can become an expert without having to read all the scientific literature. Your mind is powerful vehicle, and it's time to get in the driver's seat! Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
ScrollTax
This app helps you break addictive app habits by making you earn back screen time. Earn points through activities like reading, focusing, chores, or exercise, and spend them to unlock your chosen apps. It enforces limits with a debt system for overspending.
- Lock addictive apps
- Earn screen time via reading, focus, chores, steps, sunlight
- Debt carryover for overspending
- 30 daily grace minutes
- Emergency unlock feature
- Live Activities on Lock Screen
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What if doomscrolling had a price? ScrollTax locks your most addictive apps. Earn them back by reading, focusing, doing chores, working, walking, working out, or going outside. The system enforces it. Every 5 minutes of screen time costs 1 tax point. Hit zero and your apps re-lock automatically. Go over budget and the overage becomes debt — it carries into tomorrow, so you start the next day already in the red until you work it off. Your phone, on a budget. HOW IT WORKS Pick your apps. Select any apps to put on a budget using the iOS Screen Time picker. Social media, games, news, browsers — they're locked by default. Earn tax points. · Reading — 10 min = 1 point · Focus — 10 min = 1 point · Chores — 15 min = 1 point · Work — 60 min = 1 point, tracked by your iPhone Work Focus · Steps — 2,000 steps = 1 point · Workout — 15 min = 1 point · Mindfulness — 10 min = 1 point · Standing — 3 hours = 1 point · Sunlight — 15 min outside = 1 point (Apple Watch) · Sleep — 7+ hours = 2 points, from Apple Health or your Sleep Focus Each source has a daily cap, so no single habit can buy the whole day. Spend your budget. 1 point = 5 minutes of screen time. Tracked automatically in the background. Hit zero and your apps re-lock on their own. You also get 30 free grace minutes every day. MEET ZUNŌ A little brain that lives on your Home screen. Its mood follows your balance: bright when you're earning, frazzled when you're scrolling. Poke it, pet it, keep it happy. Prefer a quieter look? Switch to Classic. WORK MODE AND SLEEP MODE Add ScrollTax to your iPhone Work or Sleep Focus. While the Focus is on, your taxed apps stay locked, and the time counts as work or sleep. When it turns off, they reopen. THE LOCK IS REAL ScrollTax uses Apple's own Screen Time enforcement. There's no dismiss button, no three-tap override. If you want Instagram, you have to earn it. Yes, that means walking 2,000 steps. YOUR DATA STAYS YOURS ScrollTax never sees which apps you open or what you view. No account. No ads. Your history syncs through your own iCloud. FREE · All ten earn sources · Work mode and Sleep mode · 30 grace minutes per day · 1 emergency unlock per day · Debt carryover — overage rolls to tomorrow · Live Activity and widgets · Hard mode — disable the emergency unlock · Your last 7 days of progress SCROLLTAX PRO · Custom earn rates and grace · Debt controls · Trends, patterns and your full history ScrollTax. Your phone, on a budget. Legal: EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://scrolltax.hipporasy.dev/privacy Terms: https://scrolltax.hipporasy.dev/terms
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: ScrollTax at every 8 days against TantalusPath's every 3 months. ScrollTax also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). TantalusPath's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.8) and iOS requirement (16.4 vs 18.0). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads 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. TantalusPath sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and ScrollTax sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
TantalusPath holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 4 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
TantalusPath ships an update every 3 months, ScrollTax every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | TantalusPath | ScrollTax |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better | 4.8 (4 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 3 | 4 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 8 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 102 MB | 13 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Serendipity Systems LLC | Marasy Phi |
Customer experience
TantalusPath
ScrollTax
In-app purchases
TantalusPath
- Tantalus Subscription$3.991 Month
- Gem bundle$59.99
ScrollTax
- Pro Monthly$9.991 Month
- Pro - Annually$24.991 Year









