Comparison

Jolt vs Phone Jail

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

Phone Jail

This app helps you regain control of your time and enhance focus by blocking distracting applications and managing screen time. It offers features like scheduled blocking, custom durations, and detailed usage analytics to support digital wellness and productivity.

Highlights
  • Block distracting apps and categories
  • Schedule blocking in advance
  • Set custom blocking durations
  • Strict Block mode
  • Track focus time analytics
  • Detailed app usage monitoring
  • Pomodoro timer
Features
Read full description

Take back your time and focus with Phone Jail – the intelligent app blocker and screen time companion. Designed for productivity and digital wellness, Phone Jail helps you with Premium features (requires subscription): - Block distracting apps & categories with optional Strict Mode - Schedule blocking in advance with flexible planning options - Set custom blocking durations from 2 minutes to 23 hours - Enable “Strict Block” to prevent interruptions even if the app is closed - Track your focus time with rich analytics – Focused, Distracted, and Offline breakdowns by hour - See detailed usage per app – Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook and more - Set smart alerts to be notified when screentime limits are reached - Use “Swipe to Block” for fast blocking sessions on demand - Monitor trends with daily focus reports and insights - Pomodoro feature - Daily App Limits feature Whether you're working, studying, or simply need time offline – Phone Jail helps you stay present and in control. Phone Jail is free to download and use with limited features. Unlock all features and premium content via a paid subscription.

Screenshots

Jolt4 screens
Phone Jail4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Phone Jail at 4.8 against Jolt's 4.3. Phone Jail also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 82%) and update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 weeks). Jolt's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, ratings volume, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 10 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per 7 days and Phone Jail sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Phone Jail holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 107 and 40 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 82% of Jolt's written reviews are positive against 100% of Phone Jail's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Jolt ships an update every 2 weeks, Phone Jail every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Jolt versus Phone Jail: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterJoltPhone Jail
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (107 ratings)4.8 (40 ratings) — better
Positive reviews82.2% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings107 — better40
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 5 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size177 MB89 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperASAKIRA CONSULTANTS LLPYuriy Chernin

Customer experience

Jolt

All ratings104 ratings
Positive81.7%
Neutral3.8%
Negative14.4%
Written reviews157 reviews
Positive82.2%
Neutral3.8%
Negative14.0%

Phone Jail

All ratings35 ratings
Positive97.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative2.9%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Jolt

Subscriptions9
  • Pro Plan - Weekly3 Days trial$5.997 Days
  • Pro Plan - Weekly3 Days trial$6.997 Days
  • Pro Plan - Weekly3 Days trial$7.997 Days
Show 6 more
  • Pro Plan - Weekly3 Days trial$8.997 Days
  • Pro Plan - Monthly3 Days trial$11.991 Month
  • Pro Plan - Monthly$15.001 Month
  • Pro Plan - Yearly3 Days trial$45.001 Year
  • Pro Plan - Yearly3 Days trial$51.001 Year
  • Pro Plan - Yearly$60.001 Year
One-time1
  • Hard Mode Sos$3.00
8 purchases

Phone Jail

Subscriptions7
  • Weekly 9.99$9.997 Days
  • Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Monthly 13.99$13.991 Month
Show 4 more
  • Annual 29.99$29.991 Year
  • Monthly 29 99$29.991 Month
  • Annual7 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • Annual 69.997 Days trial$69.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Pro$69.99

Questions

Is Jolt free?
Jolt is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Phone Jail free?
Phone Jail is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Jolt or Phone Jail?
Phone Jail is rated higher. Jolt averages 4.3 out of 5 from 107 ratings, while Phone Jail averages 4.8 from 40 ratings.
Do Jolt or Phone Jail have ads?
Phone Jail shows ads; Jolt does not.
Which is updated more often, Jolt or Phone Jail?
Jolt ships an update every 2 weeks, and Phone Jail every 5 days. Most recently, Jolt was updated on October 30, 2026 and Phone Jail on November 5, 2026.

Other comparisons