Comparison

Scroll Toll vs Holdback

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

Head to head
About

Scroll Toll

This app helps you manage screen time by setting custom limits and pledging donations to charities when you exceed them. It offers voluntary donations with total transparency, allowing you to track your pledges and choose when to contribute.

Highlights
  • Custom screen time thresholds
  • Charity pledges
  • Pledge tracking
  • Secure, voluntary payments
  • Daily reminders and nudges
  • Progress tracking and sharing
Features
Read full description

Reclaim Your Time — And Make It Count Scroll Toll is the world’s first app that transforms excessive screen time into an opportunity for positive change. Set your own screen time limits and pledge a small donation to a charity of your choice whenever you go over. No automatic charges, ever — just real stakes that you choose to act on. By connecting your phone use to causes you care about, Scroll Toll helps you stay mindful, live more intentionally, and do good in the process. Why Scroll Toll? Attach Meaning to Your Minutes: Turn each minute of screen time into a chance to support a cause — on your terms. Voluntary Donations, Real Impact: Over your limit? We’ll track your pledge — but you choose if and when to donate. Total Transparency: No surprise charges. You always confirm each donation before anything is processed. Scroll With Purpose: The more mindful you are, the more good you can do. Every session is a chance to create positive impact. Features 1. Custom Screen Time Thresholds - You decide how long is too long. Set daily limits for any group of apps. Your phone habits, your rules. 2. Charity Pledges - Choose from vetted nonprofits or add your own. Each minute past your limit adds to your pledge — but payment is always optional. 3. Pledge Tracking & Secure Payments - Easily track how much you’ve pledged. Fulfill donations anytime from the app — or not at all. There are no automatic payments. 4. Friendly Motivation - Stay encouraged with daily reminders and gentle nudges from our in-app mascot, built to keep you aware and inspired. Who Is It For? Whether you're a busy professional, a student trying to reduce screen time, or a parent wanting to model healthy tech habits — Scroll Toll offers a powerful, flexible way to reconnect with your time and contribute to the causes you love. If you've tried other screen time apps and found them too easy to ignore, this one's different — because now there's more at stake, and you're in charge. How It Works: 1. Set Your Threshold - Decide how much screen time feels healthy for you. 2. Choose a Charity - Pick a cause that matters. Link it to your profile. 3. Scroll Past Limit? We Track It - If you exceed your threshold, we tally your pledge — no charges unless you choose to fulfill it. 4. Donate If You Want - Tap “Donate My Pledge” on the home screen whenever you're ready. Or not at all. It’s always your choice. 5. Track & Share Progress- See your impact build up over time — and inspire others by sharing milestones. Join the Movement We believe small, mindful actions can drive meaningful change — in your life and in the world. Start building better phone habits and support causes you care about. Download Scroll Toll today. Powered by Untether Ventures INC, a verified nonprofit with a Candid Silver Seal: https://app.candid.org/profile/16028359/untether-ventures-inc-33-3017664?pkId=1fba52dd-648b-458b-9730-29d4045d4d98&isActive=true

About

Holdback

This app helps you regain control of your screen time by locking chosen apps until you meet a daily step goal, adhere to a schedule, or stay within a set time limit. It offers a 'never allowed' option for apps you wish to permanently block. Focus sessions can lock your entire phone for dedicated work periods.

Highlights
  • Unlock apps with step goals from Apple Health
  • Schedule app availability
  • Set daily time limits for apps
  • Permanently block apps
  • Focus sessions to lock entire phone
  • Hard mode to prevent changing settings
  • Track walking history and milestones
Features
Read full description

Holdback locks the apps that eat your day until you've walked your step goal — or on a schedule, or on a daily limit. Steps come from Apple Health FOUR WAYS TO LOCK • Step goal — your apps stay locked until you've walked your goal for the day. • Schedule — pick the hours your apps stay shut. Nights, work blocks, early mornings. • Daily limit — give an app twenty minutes. When they're gone, they're gone. • Never Allowed — apps you are done with, blocked around the clock, with no unlock at all. All four apply only to the apps, websites and categories you choose. Nothing else on your phone is touched. When you want the whole phone shut for an hour, that's a focus session. WALK TO UNLOCK Set a step goal. Until you reach it, the apps you picked won't open. Steps are read from Apple Health, so there is nothing to fake — no taps to farm, no coins to earn, no minutes to buy back. Open Hours keep your morning usable. Pick the window where your apps stay open even if the goal isn't done — or switch it off and the lock runs around the clock. Reach the goal, and everything opens for the rest of the day. YOUR STEPS, IN ONE PLACE Week, month and year of walking, drawn out day by day. Days on goal, longest streak, best day, averages. The record starts the day you install Holdback and keeps going. Six milestones sit on top of it, from 20 000 steps in a day up to 100 000. FOCUS SESSIONS The four rules above run on their own, all day. A focus session is the one you start by hand — and while it runs, every app on your phone is locked, not just the ones you picked. Set a timer, or run an open-ended stopwatch and stop when the work is done. Rain, waves, thunder, fire or birdsong in the background. HOW IT WORKS 1. Choose the apps you want under control. 2. Pick how they unlock — a schedule, a limit, steps, or not at all. 3. Get on with your day. HARD MODE Switch it on and your settings lock along with your apps. You can raise a goal at any time, but lowering it, changing the days, or swapping the apps waits until that day's steps are done. It closes the loophole most blockers leave open — editing your way out instead of walking. You can remove every restriction at any time by deleting Holdback. Calls, messages and emergency services are never affected. YOUR DATA STAYS YOURS Holdback cannot see which apps you block. Apple's Screen Time framework hands the app anonymous tokens, not app names. Your step data is read from Apple Health and never leaves your device. No account, no sign-up, no ads, no data sold. Terms of Use: https://holdbackapp.github.io/legal/terms-of-service.html Privacy Policy: https://holdbackapp.github.io/legal/privacy-policy.html

Screenshots

Scroll Toll4 screens
Holdback4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Scroll Toll at none against Holdback's 2. Scroll Toll also leads on ratings volume (18 vs 1). Holdback's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs monthly). On price, rating, review sentiment 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. Holdback sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per 7 days. Scroll Toll asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Scroll Toll against 5.0 for Holdback. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Scroll Toll has 18 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Scroll Toll ships an update monthly, Holdback every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Scroll Toll versus Holdback: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterScroll TollHoldback
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (18 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings18 — better1
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supportedFree — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS16.6 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size40 MB262 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperUntether Ventures Inc.Raman Pazdniakou

Customer experience

Scroll Toll

All ratings18 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Holdback

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Scroll Toll

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Holdback

Subscriptions2
  • Holdback Pro Weekly$7.997 Days
  • Holdback Pro Yearly7 Days trial$49.991 Year

Questions

Is Scroll Toll free?
Scroll Toll is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Holdback free?
Holdback is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Scroll Toll or Holdback?
Scroll Toll and Holdback are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 18 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Scroll Toll or Holdback have ads?
Neither Scroll Toll nor Holdback shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Scroll Toll or Holdback?
Scroll Toll ships an update monthly, and Holdback every 2 weeks. Most recently, Scroll Toll was updated on November 4, 2026 and Holdback on November 5, 2026.

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