Comparison

Screen Time vs Screen time control

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

Head to head
About

Screen Time

This app promotes mindful screen time by tracking usage and providing gentle nudges when sessions end, rather than outright blocking. It helps users understand their habits and make conscious choices about their digital engagement.

Highlights
  • Session-based time tracking
  • Automatic start and stop timers
  • Gentle nudges, not hard blocks
  • Guilt-free timer snoozing
  • Detailed usage statistics
  • Customizable session lengths and daily goals
Features
Read full description

Blocking apps sound good in theory. In practice, you turn them off the moment they get in the way, and then feel worse about it. Break Check brings your screen time down without blocking a thing. You see how long you have been going, get a nudge when your time is up, and decide what happens next. No locked screens, no workarounds, no shame spiral. TRACK ANY HABIT, NOT JUST SCREEN TIME Doomscrolling, binge watching, gaming, the gym, shopping, reading, a bathroom break that got away from you. If you can start it and stop it, you can put it on a timer. SET A DAILY GOAL Give a habit a daily limit. Stay under it and the day counts as a win. Every day you meet your goal adds to your streak. NO HARD CUTOFFS When your time is up you get a gentle notification and the timer keeps counting, so you always know where you stand. Need longer? Add a few minutes with one tap. OR A REAL ALARM For a habit that needs a firmer stop, end the session with a full alarm instead. It gets through silent mode and Focus. NOTHING TO FORGET Timers can start and stop on their own: when you open an app, when you arrive somewhere, or at a time you pick each night. Your social apps can run their own timer. The gym one starts when you walk in. Setup takes about a minute. CONTROL IT FROM ANYWHERE A running timer sits in your Dynamic Island, Notification Center and Lock Screen, so you can check it or pause it without opening anything. Start one from Control Center, your Action Button, or a Home Screen widget. SEE WHERE YOUR TIME GOES Watch each day add up, spot your patterns, and see how close you are to your goal. Your time is kept as real sessions rather than one daily total, so you can find the hour you did not know you were spending. LIFE HAPPENS Waiting at the doctor? Long train ride? Some phone time should not count. Snooze every timer at once and take a guilt free break. No streak broken, no pressure. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account. Nothing to sign up for, ever. Break Check never asks for Screen Time access and never sees which apps you open, only the timers you start. Your habits sync through your own iCloud and are never collected or sold. YOUR FIRST TIMER IS ALWAYS FREE Not a trial. Track one habit for as long as you like, at no cost. Unlimited adds the rest: a timer for every habit, full alarm alerts, and the button that snoozes them all. Monthly, yearly, or a one-time purchase that is yours forever. Privacy Policy: https://codewerm.com/breakcheck/privacy-policy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Screen time control

Features
Read full description

Scroll less. Read more. You know the loop. You pick up your phone for one thing and look up forty minutes later, the thing undone. The feed is good at that. It's the only thing it's good at. Lummi blocks the apps that do this to you. Pick the ones you open without thinking, set a daily limit, and that's that - no "five more minutes" button to talk yourself into. When you reach for a blocked app anyway, Lummi doesn't just slam a wall down. It offers you the next page of whatever you're reading instead. Because there's a whole library inside. Real books, your own shelves, highlights and notes that stick around, a night mode that won't fry your eyes at 11pm. Thousands of titles. Start tonight with the classics. There's also a flame named Lummi who takes your screen time a little personally. Stay under your limit and it burns bright. Slip and it dims. It's a small thing, but a creature quietly rooting for you beats a red notification badge every time. And none of it phones home - your Screen Time data never leaves your device. We couldn't see it if we wanted to. If you own more unread books than read ones, this is for you. Enough scrolling. Start your first chapter. - Lummi requires a subscription to unlock app blocking, goals, and the full reader. • Payment is charged to your Apple Account at purchase confirmation. • Subscriptions auto-renew unless turned off at least 24 hours before the period ends; your account is charged within 24 hours prior to renewal. • Manage or cancel anytime in Apple Account settings. Privacy Policy: https://ilummi.app/privacy Terms of Use: https://ilummi.app/terms

Screenshots

Screen Time4 screens
Screen time control4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Screen time control at every 3 days against Screen Time's weekly. On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Screen Time sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Screen time control sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Screen Time ships an update weekly, Screen time control every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on September 13, 2026 and September 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Screen Time versus Screen time control: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterScreen TimeScreen time control
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (12 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings12 — better—
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size32 MB17 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperCodeWerm LLCAntonio Sanchez

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Screen Time

Subscriptions3
  • Unlimited Monthly$1.991 Month
  • Unlimited Yearly Early Adopter$9.991 Year
  • Unlimited Yearly7 Days trial$11.901 Year
One-time1
  • Unlimited Lifetime$39.99
2 purchases

Screen time control

Subscriptions2
  • Lummi Pro (Weekly)$8.997 Days
  • Lummi Pro (Yearly)7 Days trial$49.991 Year

Questions

Is Screen Time free?
Screen Time is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Screen time control free?
Screen time control is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Screen Time or Screen time control have ads?
Neither Screen Time nor Screen time control shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Screen Time or Screen time control?
Screen Time ships an update weekly, and Screen time control every 3 days. Most recently, Screen Time was updated on September 13, 2026 and Screen time control on September 8, 2026.

Other comparisons