Comparison

ChessLock vs ChessScroll

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

Head to head
About

ChessLock

This app helps you control screen time by blocking distracting applications. To take a break, you must solve chess puzzles, sharpening your mind and earning your pause. It's designed for anyone seeking enhanced focus and productivity with a unique, brain-boosting approach.

Highlights
  • Block distracting apps
  • Solve chess puzzles for breaks
  • Customizable focus sessions
  • Brain-training puzzles
  • Private by design, no data collection
  • Pro version for advanced features
Features
Read full description

Take control of your screen time like never before—with your brain as the key! Screen Time Control: ChessLock is a powerful focus tool that blocks distracting apps… and makes you earn your breaks by solving chess puzzles. Designed for those who want real productivity with a fun twist, ChessLock combines proven focus techniques with the timeless game of chess to help you stay in control. - How it works: Create a Focus Session Select the apps you want to block. Once it starts, you're locked in—no cheating allowed! Pause With Purpose Want a break? Solve a chess puzzle to unlock it. No puzzle, no pause. Train Your Brain Each puzzle challenge helps keep your mind sharp and focused. - Unlock More with ChessLock Pro Unlimited focus sessions Choose your puzzle difficulty Smarter, stronger app blocking Earn meaningful breaks More brain-boosting control - Why Chess? Chess is the perfect game to sharpen concentration, improve problem-solving, and help reset your brain during focused work. It’s not just screen time management — it’s brain time empowerment. - Private by Design No accounts, no personal data collection, no creepy tracking. Your preferences are stored locally, and analytics are completely anonymous. You stay in control. - Built for Everyone Whether you’re a student, freelancer, parent, or pro, ChessLock gives you a mindful, brain-powered way to manage your screen time. Download Screen Time Control: ChessLock and make every pause a power move.

About

ChessScroll

This app locks distracting applications behind chess puzzles. Solve a puzzle to earn minutes of screen time for your chosen apps. It aims to reduce screen time by integrating practice into existing habits.

Highlights
  • App locking with chess puzzles
  • Customizable scroll time per puzzle
  • Offline puzzle functionality
  • Personalized puzzle difficulty
  • Privacy-focused, no account needed
  • Reduces screen time through habit integration
Features
Read full description

Your feed costs a move now. ChessScroll seals the apps that eat your evenings — Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, whichever you choose — behind a chess puzzle at your level. Solve it and you earn minutes of scroll. Fail it and the position waits. That's the whole app. That's the whole deal. THE DEAL 1 puzzle = minutes of scroll. You set the exchange rate. HOW IT WORKS 1. Seal your apps. Pick the ones that eat you. 2. Reach for one, and a puzzle appears instead. 3. Solve it. The app opens and your clock starts running. 4. Minutes run out mid-scroll? In chess we call that flagging. Solve another. WHY IT WORKS You already reach for your phone dozens of times a day. ChessScroll doesn't fight that urge — it reroutes it. Every reach becomes one tactic at your level: twenty to forty seconds, and a real fight. It's the training every coach prescribes and nobody actually does, attached to a habit you already have. TWO NUMBERS, FACING EACH OTHER — Your puzzle rating, climbing. — Your daily screen time, falling. Everything else is supporting cast. REAL PUZZLES, AT YOUR LEVEL Nearly fourteen thousand positions from real games, each one rated by the players who tried it before you, and served at your rating rather than under it, so the rating you build is earned. Works fully offline. From 400 to 2700, the puzzle fits. THE CLIMB Fourteen chapters, one for each master: Morphy, Anderssen, Steinitz, Lasker, Capablanca, Alekhine, Botvinnik, Nezhmetdinov, Tal, Petrosian, Spassky, Fischer, Karpov, Kasparov. Every six puzzles you solve lays a stone on their road, and the one you solved at midnight to get into Instagram counts the same as the one you chose to play. The road stops at twenty-eight of their own games, and every one you solve goes into your album as a card. You never have to open the tab for it to move. NO NEW ADDICTION Training sessions end by design. No infinite puzzle feed, no guilt notifications, no nagging. Paul Morphy said in 1859 that chess should never engross the mind. We're inclined to agree. PRIVACY Your app choices and screen-time data never leave your device — Apple's Screen Time framework enforces that by design. No account needed. MEMBERSHIP ChessScroll requires a membership: yearly with a 7-day free trial, or monthly. Subscriptions auto-renew until cancelled in Settings. Terms: https://chessscroll.com/terms — Privacy: https://chessscroll.com/privacy Earn your scroll.

Screenshots

ChessLock4 screens
ChessScroll4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: ChessLock at 67% against ChessScroll's 0%. ChessLock also leads on rating (4.8 vs 3.0) and monetization model (freemium vs subscription). On price, ratings volume, update cadence 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. ChessLock sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and ChessScroll sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ChessLock holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 2 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of ChessLock's written reviews are positive against 0% of ChessScroll's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ChessLock ships an update fortnightly, ChessScroll weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
ChessLock versus ChessScroll: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChessLockChessScroll
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (4 ratings) — better3.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings4 — better2
Update frequencyFortnightlyWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size50 MB100 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPatricio GuzmanMICHAŁ ROSTKOWSKI

Customer experience

ChessLock

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

ChessScroll

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

In-app purchases

5 purchases

ChessLock

Subscriptions3
  • Chesslock Pro2 variants$2.991 Month
  • Chesslock Pro$19.991 Year
  • Chesslock Pro$29.991 Year
One-time2
  • Chesslock Pro$17.49
  • Chesslock Pro$34.99
2 purchases

ChessScroll

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Membership$7.991 Month
  • Annual Membership3 Days trial$39.991 Year

Questions

Is ChessLock free?
ChessLock is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ChessScroll free?
ChessScroll is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, ChessLock or ChessScroll?
ChessLock is rated higher. ChessLock averages 4.8 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while ChessScroll averages 3.0 from 2 ratings.
Do ChessLock or ChessScroll have ads?
Neither ChessLock nor ChessScroll shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ChessLock or ChessScroll?
ChessLock ships an update fortnightly, and ChessScroll weekly. Most recently, ChessLock was updated on September 26, 2026 and ChessScroll on October 3, 2026.

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