Comparison

Step Guard vs Esse

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

Head to head
About

Step Guard

This app transforms your steps into screen time, locking distracting apps and websites until you reach your daily step goal. It encourages physical activity by making movement the key to accessing your phone.

Highlights
  • Set daily step or walk goals
  • Lock selected apps and websites
  • Automatic unlock upon goal achievement
  • Syncs with Apple Watch and Apple Health
  • Group challenges for accountability
  • Detailed movement insights (Premium)
Features
Read full description

Turn your steps into screen time. Step Guard locks the apps and websites that distract you and unlocks them only when you've hit your daily step goal — turning a walk into the key to your phone. Whether you want to cut mindless scrolling, build a walking habit, or just move more without thinking about it, Step Guard makes distance the price of admission. How It Works Set a daily step or walk goal that fits your routine Choose which apps and websites to lock Walk to unlock them automatically as you hit your goal Track your progress with simple, clear insights Syncs automatically with Apple Watch and Apple Health Compete With Friends Create a group, share your progress, and stay accountable with people working toward the same goal. Free vs Premium Free: Set a daily step or walk goal Lock up to 2 apps, with a custom goal for each Basic progress tracking Automatic unlock when you hit your goal Premium: Lock unlimited apps and websites Detailed movement insights Compete with friends in shared groups Priority customer support Early access to new features Premium is available as a 3-Month, Annual or Lifetime plan — pick whichever fits you, all unlock the same full experience. Step Guard uses Apple's Screen Time API to monitor and block the apps and sites you choose. Setup takes under a minute, and it all runs on your device — your browsing data never leaves your phone. Take control of your screen time, one step at a time. Privacy Policy: https://stepguard.fit/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Esse

Instantly transform lengthy YouTube videos into concise, easy-to-understand summaries. This tool offers bullet-point takeaways, deep dives, and supports over 60 languages, creating a personal knowledge library. Save time and effortlessly share key information.

Highlights
  • AI video summarization
  • Bullet-point takeaways
  • Deep dive summaries
  • 60+ languages supported
  • Searchable library
  • Automatic clipboard detection
  • Time saved tracking
Read full description

Turn any long YouTube video into clean, digestible takeaways in seconds. How it works: — Copy or share any YouTube link → instant AI summary — Automatic clipboard detection (zero extra steps) — Minimal, distraction-free design — Summaries saved in a searchable library What you get: — Takeaways as clear bullet points — Concise overviews in under 30 seconds — Structured Deep Dives for longer, content-rich videos — 60+ languages supported — A personal knowledge vault that grows with you — Time saved, tracked automatically — Easy sharing: plain text or styled templates Also included: Bait Buster Not sure if a video is worth your time? Share it and tap Bust the Bait — Esse scans the thumbnail, title, and transcript, then tells you exactly what's inside and whether it delivers what it promised.

Screenshots

Step Guard4 screens
Esse4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Step Guard at 5.0 against Esse's 4.8. Esse's advantage is ratings volume (24 vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Step Guard sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days and Esse sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Step Guard holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Esse has 24 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Step Guard ships an update every 5 days, Esse weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Step Guard versus Esse: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStep GuardEsse
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better4.8 (24 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings124 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS18.017.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size17 MB35 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEugene Ondora100K31D D.O.O.

Customer experience

Step Guard

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Esse

All ratings18 ratings
Positive94.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative5.6%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Step Guard

Subscriptions3
  • StepGuard Weekly$4.997 Days
  • StepGuard Monthly$8.991 Month
  • StepGuard Yearly7 Days trial$49.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Access2 variants$19.99
4 purchases

Esse

Subscriptions3
  • Weekly Premium$1.997 Days
  • Monthly Premium$4.991 Month
  • Yearly Premium$39.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Premium$59.99

Questions

Is Step Guard free?
Step Guard is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Esse free?
Esse is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Step Guard or Esse?
Step Guard is rated higher. Step Guard averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Esse averages 4.8 from 24 ratings.
Do Step Guard or Esse have ads?
Neither Step Guard nor Esse shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Step Guard or Esse?
Step Guard ships an update every 5 days, and Esse weekly. Most recently, Step Guard was updated on October 30, 2026 and Esse on October 24, 2026.

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