Comparison

Jolt vs Breaktime

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

Head to head
About

Jolt

This app helps you reduce screen time and build healthier phone habits by blocking distracting apps and setting usage limits. It offers personalized insights, focus sessions, and challenges to keep you motivated and in control of your device.

Highlights
  • Block distracting apps and websites
  • Set daily duration and open limits for apps
  • Focus sessions with optional breaks
  • Customizable schedules and prebuilt templates
  • Deep Focus Mode with non-bypassable timers
  • Personalized habit insights and progress tracking
  • Join global challenges and earn rewards
Read full description

You know exactly what you should be doing right now. So does your phone - and it's betting you'll check it anyway. Jolt is built for people who are done losing that bet. —— KNOW IF YOU'RE ACTUALLY IMPROVING Attention Forecast - New Before your day starts, Jolt tells you how it's likely to go. One predictive score built from last night's sleep, your 28-day usage trend, your streak, and your blocking discipline. Attention Score: One number. Every day. Your Focus, Sleep, and Discipline combined. It rises when all three do - it won't let one good habit carry the weight of two bad ones. Watch it over 7, 14, 30 days. The direction it moves is the most honest feedback you'll get. Discipline Score: The gap between the limits you set and the limits you actually held. Not whether you blocked Instagram - whether you stayed blocked when it counted. Most people are surprised by this number. That's the point. Focus Score: Most people think they're focused. The Focus Score measures whether they actually were - how much deep work you completed, how many sessions you finished without quitting, how little you touched your phone mid-session. The score doesn't round up. Sleep Score: Your last pickup before bed. Your first reach in the morning. How many times you interrupted your own sleep. Tracked, scored, shown back to you every day. —— SET LIMITS THAT ACTUALLY HOLD Duration Limit: Daily time cap on any app - 30 minutes on Instagram, 20 on YouTube. When it hits, it locks. No snooze, no exceptions. Open Limit: Cap how many times you open an app each day. Three opens on Twitter. Five on Reddit. Once you've hit the number, it's done. Blocking Modes: Easy: a breathing pause before the app opens. Medium: rapid taps or a timed challenge - your brain earns the unlock. Hard: nothing gets through. Hard Mode: Set it once. Can't edit, delete, or override it until the next day. Your morning self makes the rules. Your evening self lives with them. —— FOCUS SESSIONS Focus Flights - New: You don't start a timer anymore. You book a flight. Pick a destination reachable in your focus window. Choose your seat: First Class seals the cabin - no early exit. Business puts a challenge between you and the door. Economy lets you tap out. Board, take off, block your apps. Land and it logs as a completed flight. Quit early and it goes down as a crash - distance credited for how far you got. Every flight lives in your Flight Wallet. Focus Sessions Block every distracting app for a set window - deep work, exam session, meeting hour. 20+ templates or build your own. Everything else disappears until you're done. Quick Sessions: One tap. Immediate block. Zero setup. Focus right now, not after configuring anything. —— CLOSE EVERY LOOPHOLE Sleep Schedule: Set your bedtime and wake-up time. Every distracting app locks automatically. You choose which essentials stay on - everything else is off until morning, with full tracking of every pickup. Accountability Partner: A real person who sees your screen time and must approve every override. Not an algorithm. A human who will actually push back. GPS Blocking: Set your office, library, or gym. The moment you arrive, Jolt activates. The environment does what willpower can't. Good Apps First: Use your journal, reading app, or workout tracker first. Once you do, the distracting apps unlock. Focus becomes the price of entry. Block 18+ One toggle. Every adult site and app - off. Shield Customisation - New: The screen that blocks you now looks how you want it. Choose a persona or build your own: custom text, colors, and icon. Turn on Randomized Experience, and it changes every time a block fires. —— PRIVACY FIRST: All blocking runs locally via Apple's Screen Time API. No personal data leaves your device. Download free. Block your first app in 30 seconds. Support: hello@thejoltapp.com Terms: thejoltapp.com/terms & https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy: thejoltapp.com/privacy

About

Breaktime

This app helps you regain control over your screen time by blocking distracting applications. It requires you to set a duration for app usage and start a timed break before accessing blocked apps, ensuring accountability and promoting digital wellbeing.

Highlights
  • Block distracting apps 24/7
  • Timed breaks for app access
  • Customizable delay for reconsideration
  • Strict Mode with no bypasses
  • Travel Mode for automatic unblocking
  • Scheduled recurring blocking
  • Daily limit goals and streaks
Features
Read full description

How it works: - Block apps permanently or set a schedule - Friction before EVERY unlock with 14+ different modes - Set a time limit on how long you'll unlock for - When your time's up your apps are automatically reblocked Other features designed for focus: - 14+ friction modes to help you reconsider: pushups, eye contact, tap to unlock, typing a quote or a breathing cycle and more. - Strict Mode, where no breaks or bypasses are allowed. - Travel Mode, automatically unblock apps when you're away from home. - Scheduling: Setup automatic recurring blocking. - Set a daily limit goal and stay motivated with streaks. - Advanced customisations to suit your focus needs. - No collection of your phone usage or personal data. - Minimal UI designed as simple as possible to be less stimulating and distracting. - Lightning-fast setup. You’re ready to go in 30 seconds. In a world where apps do everything they can now to keep you scrolling, Breaktime is designed to give you back control. It takes a different approach, believing that being intentional with your downtime and deciding how long you want to spend on an app beforehand is essential to digital wellbeing. It’s built for the people who value their focus, productivity, and time away from your phone. Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy policy: https://breaktimeapp.github.io/privacy-policy

Screenshots

Jolt4 screens
Breaktime4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Breaktime at 4.7 against Jolt's 4.4. Breaktime also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs fortnightly). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Jolt sells 28 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Breaktime sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Breaktime holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 101 and 67 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 82% and 81% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Jolt ships an update fortnightly, Breaktime every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Jolt versus Breaktime: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterJoltBreaktime
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (101 ratings)4.7 (67 ratings) — better
Positive reviews82.2% of reviews — better81.3% of reviews
Number of ratings101 — better67
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size207 MB22 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperASAKIRA CONSULTANTS LLPNathan Chan

Customer experience

Jolt

All ratings101 ratings
Positive84.2%
Neutral4.0%
Negative11.9%
Written reviews157 reviews
Positive82.2%
Neutral3.8%
Negative14.0%

Breaktime

All ratings67 ratings
Positive89.6%
Neutral6.0%
Negative4.5%
Written reviews16 reviews
Positive81.3%
Neutral12.5%
Negative6.3%

In-app purchases

28 purchases

Jolt

Subscriptions24
  • Pro Plan - Monthly3 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Pro Plan | Weekly$4.997 Days
  • Pro Plan - Weekly3 Days trial$5.997 Days
Show 21 more
  • Pro Plan - Monthly3 Days trial$5.991 Month
  • Pro Plan - Weekly$6.997 Days
  • Pro Plan - Weekly3 Days trial$6.997 Days
  • Pro Plan - Weekly3 Days trial2 variants$7.997 Days
  • Pro Plan - Weekly3 Days trial$8.997 Days
  • Pro Plan - Monthly - Discounted3 Days trial$11.991 Month
  • Pro Plan - Monthly3 Days trial$11.991 Month
  • Pro Plan - Monthly - T3 D03 Days trial$13.991 Month
  • Pro Plan - Monthly$15.001 Month
  • Pro Plan - Monthly3 Days trial$17.991 Month
  • Pro Plan - Yearly - T3 D23 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • Pro Plan - Yearly - T3 D0$45.001 Year
  • Pro Plan - Yearly - T3 D13 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • Pro Plan - Yearly - NY503 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • Pro Plan - Yearly - NY253 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • Pro Plan - Yearly - 753 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • Pro Plan - Yearly - T1 D0$51.001 Year
  • Pro Plan - Yearly - T1 D23 Days trial$59.991 Year
  • Pro Plan - Yearly$60.001 Year
  • Pro Plan - Yearly - T2 D03 Days trial$69.991 Year
  • Pro Plan - Yearly - T1 D13 Days trial$69.991 Year
One-time4
  • Hard Mode Sos$3.00
  • Pro Plan | Lifetime$39.99
  • Pro Plan | Lifetime$79.99
Show 1 more
  • Pro Plan | Lifetime$199.99
7 purchases

Breaktime

Subscriptions6
  • Breaktime Premium7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Breaktime Premium7 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • Breaktime Premium - Monthly3 Days trial$4.991 Month
Show 3 more
  • Breaktime Premium7 Days trial$24.991 Year
  • Breaktime Premium7 Days trial$34.991 Year
  • Breaktime Premium - Annually3 Days trial$49.991 Year
One-time1
  • Premium Promo$24.99

Questions

Is Jolt free?
Jolt is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Breaktime free?
Breaktime is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Jolt or Breaktime?
Breaktime is rated higher. Jolt averages 4.4 out of 5 from 101 ratings, while Breaktime averages 4.7 from 67 ratings.
Do Jolt or Breaktime have ads?
Neither Jolt nor Breaktime shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Jolt or Breaktime?
Jolt ships an update fortnightly, and Breaktime every 4 days. Most recently, Jolt was updated on September 21, 2026 and Breaktime on September 22, 2026.

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