Comparison

Lesscreen vs DOTS

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Lesscreen

Features
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Lesscreen helps you reduce screen time and block distracting apps, so you can make room for what matters. Start a focus session, schedule regular breaks from apps, or set a shared daily time limit. FOCUS WHEN YOU CHOOSE Choose the apps, categories or websites you want to block, then set a focus duration. Start with 25, 45 or 60 minutes, or adjust the session to suit your day. BUILD A ROUTINE Schedule blocking for work, study or bedtime. Choose your start time, end time and days of the week. Overnight schedules can continue into the next morning. SET A DAILY LIMIT Give your selected apps a shared daily time budget. When the budget is reached, that selection is blocked for the rest of the day. The limit resets at local midnight. START WITH A TEMPLATE Work time, Wind down and Less social scrolling give you a starting point you can make your own. PROTECT YOUR PLANS An optional setting prevents you from stopping, editing or deleting a plan inside Lesscreen while it is actively blocking. You remain in control of Screen Time permission in iOS Settings. CLEAR, SIMPLE CONTROLS Manage your routines in one place and see which plans are active. If plans overlap, an app unlocks only when no active plan is still blocking it. No account is required. Your selected apps and plans are stored on your device. Lesscreen uses Apple's Screen Time features and requires permission to block your selection. Daily limits are shared across each plan's selection, not separate limits for every app. On iOS 17.4 and later, earlier usage from the same day is included. Available in English, Spanish, French, German, Simplified Chinese and Vietnamese. Requires iOS 16 or later.

About

DOTS

Visualize your finite time and protect it from distractions. Set daily app limits, schedule downtime, and track reclaimed hours to live more intentionally. Features include a life grid, focus mode, and weekly reflections.

Highlights
  • Life grid visualization
  • Focus mode to block distractions
  • Daily app time limits
  • Scheduled downtime
  • Weekly reflections
  • Time reclaimed tracking
Features
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You have one life. About 4,000 weeks, if you're lucky. DOTS shows you every single one - as a grid of dots - so the time you have stops being an abstraction and starts feeling real. Then it helps you protect it. THE LIFE GRID Each dot is one week of your life. See the weeks you've already lived, the one you're in right now, and the ones still ahead. It's a quiet, powerful reminder that your time is finite - and worth defending. FOCUS MODE Start a focus session and DOTS shields the apps that pull you away. No willpower battles, no endless scrolling. Just the space to do what actually matters to you. DAILY LIMITS Set a daily time budget for the apps that eat your hours. When you hit your limit, DOTS steps in with a calm reminder of the commitment you made to yourself not a guilt trip, just a nudge back to your intentions. MINDFUL BLOCKING Choose the apps and categories you want to manage. DOTS uses Apple's Screen Time technology to block them on your terms, for the time you decide. Everything is opt-in and fully in your control. WEEKLY REFLECTIONS Look back on how you spent your time, notice your patterns, and set intentions for the week ahead. Small, honest check-ins that compound into real change. BUILT FOR YOU, AND ONLY YOU DOTS manages your own device, for your own goals. It is not a parental-control or tracking app. Your usage data stays private - stored on your device and synced only to your personal iCloud. We don't collect it, sell it, or share it. WIND-DOWN The "just ten minutes" that becomes two hours, fixed. Set a bedtime window and a short allowance. You get your few minutes, a gentle heads-up as the time runs low, then your apps wind down until morning. Keep it and your sleep streak grows. SCHEDULED DOWNTIME Block the apps that pull you away on a schedule that fits your life - work hours, school, dinner, deep work. Set it once and it runs every day, on its own. PER-APP LIMITS Give each app its own daily budget instead of one shared timer. Keep essentials like Maps, your bank, and Messages always allowed, and get a heads-up a few minutes before a limit is reached. TIME WON BACK See the hours you reclaim from focus sessions and protected nights add up as a growing field of green dots. The cost of a screen is easy to feel - now the winnings are too. LIFE LIVED A ten-second daily check-in: did you actually use the time you saved the way you meant to? It builds a quiet record of the days you showed up for your own life, not just the time you saved. MILESTONES Count down to the dates that matter - a birthday, a goal, a someday - in weeks. Seal a letter to your future self that opens on the very day it arrives. ON YOUR LOCK SCREEN AND WITH SIRI Follow your focus countdown live on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island, and start or end a session hands-free with a Shortcut. WHY DOTS IS DIFFERENT Most screen-time apps treat the symptom. DOTS starts with the why: a clear, visceral picture of how precious your time is. Once you feel that, blocking an app stops feeling like a restriction and starts feeling like a choice - your choice. Privacy Policy: https://novarch.lol/dots-privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://novarch.lol/dots-terms Your life. Your time. Your choice. Download DOTS and start protecting the weeks you have left.

Screenshots

Lesscreen4 screens
DOTS4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Lesscreen at none against DOTS's 4. Lesscreen also leads on iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.1). DOTS's advantage is update cadence (every 8 days vs every 12 months). On price, 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. DOTS sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Lesscreen asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lesscreen ships an update every 12 months, DOTS every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
Lesscreen versus DOTS: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLesscreenDOTS
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—2 — better
Update frequencyEvery 12 monthsEvery 8 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS16.0 — better26.1
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB53 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperShenzhen Jirry Jirry Technology Co., Ltd.Novarch LLC

In-app purchases

None

Lesscreen

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

DOTS

Subscriptions3
  • Weekly Premium$1.997 Days
  • Monthly Premium$4.991 Month
  • Yearly Premium$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$49.99

Questions

Is Lesscreen free?
Lesscreen is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is DOTS free?
DOTS is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Lesscreen or DOTS have ads?
Neither Lesscreen nor DOTS shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Lesscreen or DOTS?
Lesscreen ships an update every 12 months, and DOTS every 8 days. Most recently, Lesscreen was updated on October 12, 2026 and DOTS on October 24, 2026.

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