Comparison

Dopamine Menu vs RetroScreens

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

Head to head
About

Dopamine Menu

This app offers personalized activity suggestions to combat boredom, anxiety, or feeling stuck. It helps users rediscover enjoyable activities, especially beneficial for those with ADHD, executive dysfunction, or burnout.

Highlights
  • Personalized activity collection
  • Combats boredom and anxiety
  • Supports ADHD and executive dysfunction
  • Healthier alternatives to doomscrolling
  • Rediscover enjoyable activities
Features
Read full description

Some days, even deciding what to do feels exhausting. Dopamine Menu helps you create a personalized collection of activities so you always have something to turn to when you're feeling bored, overwhelmed, anxious, or stuck. Whether you have ADHD, struggle with executive dysfunction, are recovering from burnout, or simply want healthier alternatives to doomscrolling, Dopamine Menu helps you rediscover the little things that make you feel like yourself again.

About

RetroScreens

Features
Read full description

RetroScreens is a library of classic-inspired ambient motion visuals, rebuilt as modern native scenes for iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and Mac. Open the app, pick a visual, and let your device become a quiet piece of motion design: morphing geometry, 3D pipes, color fields, starfields, flip clocks, split-flap boards, plasma waves, sand-table paths, cellular patterns, and more. The launch catalog includes 24 visuals: - Test Pattern - Departures - Lorenz - Rosette - Lifelike - Flip Clock - Neon Grid - Plasma - Flocks - Flying Microwaves - Starfield - Mystique - Lake - Pipeworks - 3D Text - Tunnel - Shapeshifter - Ribbons - Green Rain - Bubbles - Cradle - Filament - Bounce - Sand Table RetroScreens is built for the Apple devices you already have: - Play immersive foreground visuals on iPhone and iPad - Use the Apple TV app as a living-room visual library - Use the Mac app directly - Unlock the full v1 catalog once and use it across supported Apple platforms with the same App Store account Some visuals are precise and minimal. Some are bright, strange, and nostalgic. All of them are rendered on-device and tuned for foreground playback, ambient presentation, and slow visual texture. RetroScreens includes free starter visuals. Full Unlock opens the full premium catalog and premium settings.

Screenshots

Dopamine Menu4 screens
RetroScreens4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Dopamine Menu at none against RetroScreens's 1. RetroScreens's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 6 days vs every 3 months). On price 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. RetroScreens sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Dopamine Menu asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Dopamine Menu ships an update every 3 months, RetroScreens every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 5 level
Dopamine Menu versus RetroScreens: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDopamine MenuRetroScreens
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (3 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 6 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV — better
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB40 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRachael StraussDave Davis

In-app purchases

None

Dopamine Menu

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

RetroScreens

One-time1
  • Unlock All$1.99

Questions

Is Dopamine Menu free?
Dopamine Menu is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is RetroScreens free?
RetroScreens is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Dopamine Menu or RetroScreens have ads?
Dopamine Menu shows ads; RetroScreens does not.
Which is updated more often, Dopamine Menu or RetroScreens?
Dopamine Menu ships an update every 3 months, and RetroScreens every 6 days. Most recently, Dopamine Menu was updated on October 21, 2026 and RetroScreens on October 18, 2026.

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