Comparison

Limit vs Kept

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

Head to head
About

Limit

This app helps you regain control of your phone usage by setting daily time limits for distracting applications. It blocks apps by default, making each use a conscious decision and helping you improve focus and presence.

Highlights
  • Blocks distracting apps by default
  • Set daily time limits
  • Mindful app usage tracking
  • Behavioral science principles
  • Runs quietly in the background
  • Promotes focus and presence
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Scrolling steals your time – Limit helps you take it back. Limit transforms how you use your phone through simple, science-based behavioral design. You choose your distractions, set a daily time limit, and go on with your day. Limit blocks those apps by default – so every time you open one, it’s a mindful choice, not a reflex. When you decide to use a distracting app, your time budget starts ticking. When your limit is reached, those apps stay blocked for the rest of the day. You’ll feel the difference in focus, mood, and time – one intentional decision at a time. Why Limit * Blocks distractions by default – every tap becomes intentional. * Set it once, live your day – Limit runs quietly in the background. * Behavioral science built-in – based on proven habit-change principles. * Free – no subscriptions, no upsells, no ads. * Backed by Freedom – trusted by millions for digital well-being and focus. Limit doesn’t shame you for using your phone. It simply helps you stay aware, present, and in control. Whether you want to focus on work, be more present with family, or reclaim creative time, Limit makes it easier to live intentionally. Download Limit and enjoy your apps – mindfully.

About

Kept

Features
Read full description

Kept helps you spend less time on the apps that eat your day. Pick one app, or up to 5, and give each one a daily limit. Kept checks in while you use it, and it can block those apps for the hours you want back, like your evenings or bedtime. Everything stays on your phone, and there are no ads. HOW IT WORKS • Pick your apps in Apple's own picker. Kept doesn't block whole categories, and Phone, Messages, alarms, and any app you don't pick are never blocked. • Set a daily limit of 15, 30, or 45 minutes, 1 hour, or your own number. Under its limit, the app opens as usual. Kept asks "Keep going?" after every 5, 10, or 15 minutes of use (you pick), and it can ask more often after your 3rd Keep going of the day. • When the limit is used up, the app stays blocked until midnight. You can get more time inside Kept. It costs a freeze if you have one. If you don't, it costs your streak and a wait that gets longer each time that day. • Protected time. Set hours when your limited apps are blocked, like Evenings from 5 to 9 PM or Bedtime from 10 PM to 7 AM. An emergency of 5 or 15 minutes is the only way through. You can turn one off for today, and it comes back on at midnight. • Protect now blocks your limited apps from this minute for 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, or until 9 PM. Start it from Home, Shortcuts, or Siri, or from Control Center on iOS 18 or later. A countdown shows on your Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island. • Your week shows the days and evenings you kept, how often you said I'm done, your hardest hour, and one suggestion. A Lock Screen widget shows whether Kept is on, when protected time ends, and how many apps are done for today. • Every day you stay within your limits adds a day to your streak. Every 7 days you earn a freeze, which gives one app another round of today's limit. KEPT FREE AND KEPT PRO Every new install gets all of Kept Pro free for 14 days. The trial runs inside the app. You don't add a payment method or sign up, and nothing is charged when it ends. After 14 days Kept keeps working as Kept Free, with 3 limited apps, 1 protected time, 1 freeze, and Your week for this week and last. If you set up more than that, you choose what stays, and the rest is saved for later. Kept Pro adds a weekday and a weekend limit for each app and every past week in Your week. It also limits up to 5 apps, sets up to 5 protected times, and holds up to 3 freezes. • Kept Pro Monthly: $2.99 per month • Kept Pro Yearly: $19.99 per year • Kept Pro Lifetime: $49.99, a one-time purchase Protect now, the widget, emergencies (3 a month), and turning Kept off are free on every plan. PRIVACY AND WAYS OUT There's no account, sign-in, analytics, or tracking. Your Screen Time data stays on your iPhone, and Kept never sees your apps' names as text. Kept sends one notification at most, an optional 5-minute warning, and it's off until you turn it on. Turn Kept off in Settings and everything unblocks right away. Kept turns itself back on at 6 AM, unless you choose I turn it back on. SUBSCRIPTION TERMS Prices are in US dollars and may vary by country. Monthly and Yearly are auto-renewing subscriptions. Payment is charged to your Apple Account when you confirm the purchase. A subscription renews automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and your account is charged for the renewal within the 24 hours before the period ends. You can manage or cancel any time in iOS Settings → your name → Subscriptions, or in Kept under Settings → Kept Pro → Manage subscription. Lifetime is paid once and never renews. Family Sharing is on for all three. Kept uses Apple's Screen Time and needs iOS 17 or later. It's made by one person. Questions and bug reports go to kept@brucelabs.io. Terms of Use: https://kept.brucelabs.io/terms Privacy Policy: https://kept.brucelabs.io/privacy Support: https://kept.brucelabs.io/support

Screenshots

Limit4 screens
Kept4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Limit at none against Kept's 3. Kept's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 6 weeks). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Kept sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Limit asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Limit ships an update every 6 weeks, Kept every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Limit versus Kept: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLimitKept
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (265 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews78.8% of reviews—
Number of ratings265 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.6 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEighty Percent SolutionsWade Bruce

In-app purchases

None

Limit

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Kept

Subscriptions2
  • Kept Pro Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Kept Pro Yearly$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Kept Pro Lifetime$49.99

Questions

Is Limit free?
Limit is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Kept free?
Kept is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Limit or Kept have ads?
Neither Limit nor Kept shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Limit or Kept?
Limit ships an update every 6 weeks, and Kept every 4 days. Most recently, Limit was updated on October 27, 2026 and Kept on October 24, 2026.

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