Comparison

Lucid vs Pull to Refresh

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

Head to head
About

Lucid

This tool helps you get work done by blocking distractions and using a focus timer. Track your progress and set goals to improve productivity and reduce interruptions. Optimized for iPad, it offers a privacy-first experience with no ads or tracking.

Highlights
  • Focus timer for set work sessions
  • Distraction blocking to minimize interruptions
  • Activity tracking for productive time
  • Progress visualization with a grid
  • Background audio for enhanced focus
  • Goal setting for daily, weekly, or monthly targets
Features
Read full description

Lucid is a focus timer and distraction blocker built to help you actually get work done. Struggling to stay focused? Start a DeepWork session, block distractions on your phone, and make real progress on the tasks that matter. Whether you're studying, writing, coding, or creating, Lucid helps you stay focused and finish what you start. Key Features: Focus Timer – Start 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, or 45-minute deep work sessions Distraction Blocking – Reduce interruptions and stay locked in Activity Tracking – Track your focus sessions and productive time Progress Visualization – See your consistency with a GitHub-style grid Background Audio – Lo-fi music and white noise for better focus Smart Notifications – Gentle alerts to keep your workflow on track Goal Setting – Set daily, weekly, or monthly focus goals iPad Optimized – Designed for larger screens and work setups Perfect for: • Students studying for exams or working on assignments • Creators, writers, and developers building projects • Professionals who need deep focus time • Anyone looking to improve productivity and reduce distractions Privacy First Your data stays on your device. No ads. No tracking. No distractions. Start a focus session and get something done today. Privacy Policy: https://deep-work.io/privacy Terms of Use: https://deep-work.io/terms

About

Pull to Refresh

This app locks your most time-consuming applications until you complete physical exercises. Earn back minutes for your apps by doing push-ups, sit-ups, or other movements, with the camera accurately counting your reps. Your exercise data can be saved to Health.

Highlights
  • App time allowance setting
  • Exercise-based rep counting
  • Pose detection for accurate reps
  • Health app integration
  • Optional public leaderboard
  • Strict mode for enhanced blocking
Features
Read full description

Pull to refresh. Actually pull. Pick the apps that eat your day, give them an allowance, and when it runs out they lock. To get back in, you do reps. The camera counts them on your phone. HOW IT WORKS 1. Choose the apps. Instagram, TikTok, X, games — whatever you actually lose hours to. 2. Set the allowance. So many minutes a day, a few minutes an hour, or nothing at all. 3. Run out, and they shut. 4. Do a set. Push-ups, sit-ups, squats, pull-ups or jumping jacks. 5. Spend what you earned, on whichever app you were reaching for. THE COUNTING IS HONEST Reps are scored from your body's joint positions, not from your phone shaking in a pocket. A rep only counts on a full movement — down to depth and back — so half-reps score nothing, and the app tells you why instead of leaving you guessing. Shaking the phone pays exactly zero. Time is measured in real use of those apps, not on a clock. Put the phone down mid-scroll and the minutes you paid for wait for you — for at least half an hour, and four times as long as the unlock for bigger ones, up to 22 hours. NO VIDEO LEAVES YOUR PHONE Pose detection runs on the device. No video is recorded, stored or uploaded, and there is no account to make. iOS hands the app opaque tokens rather than names, so it can tell that you picked an app — never what you do inside it. What does leave goes through Apple: rep counts and badge progress to Game Center once you say yes, your name and numbers to the iCloud board if you join it, and a copy of your history to your own iCloud. IT COUNTS TWICE Finished sets can be saved to Health as workouts, so reps done here go to your Move ring and show up in Fitness with everything else. RACE SOMEONE Signed in to Game Center, you get its leaderboards — this week and all time — and nine badges to earn, under your Game Center name. Nothing is sent until you say yes. On iOS 26 and later, start a Rep Race with a friend from Game Center: the biggest single set done during the race wins. Not on Game Center? Join the iCloud board under any name you like; leaving deletes your row. PRO Free covers a whole working loop: one group of apps on a daily allowance, every exercise, rep counting, Health and the leaderboards. Forever. Pro makes the lock harder — it never makes it softer: - Strict mode. A rule you cannot switch off the moment you want to. Changing it costs a cooling-off period first, which is exactly when you would have caved. - Minutes per hour. Short check-ins instead of one long sitting. - As many rules as you like, with different limits for different apps. - Your whole history, with streaks. Money never buys screen time here; reps do. Pro is a subscription, renewing until cancelled, or a one-off payment for good. Manage or cancel any time in Settings. WORTH KNOWING Blocking uses Apple's Screen Time. You will be asked to grant it on first launch, and the camera when you do your first set. Deleting the app removes every lock, whatever you have bought — this is a speed bump you chose, not a cage. Terms of Use (EULA): https://pull-to-refresh.pages.dev/terms Privacy Policy: https://pull-to-refresh.pages.dev/privacy

Screenshots

Lucid4 screens
Pull to Refresh4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Pull to Refresh at every 4 days against Lucid's fortnightly. On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. Lucid sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Pull to Refresh sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Lucid against 5.0 for Pull to Refresh. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7 and 8 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lucid ships an update fortnightly, Pull to Refresh every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Lucid versus Pull to Refresh: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLucidPull to Refresh
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (7 ratings)5.0 (8 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings78 — better
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size130 MB9 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRaman MamaIvan Chernoknizhnikov

Customer experience

Lucid

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Pull to Refresh

All ratings8 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Lucid

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Monthly Subscription$2.991 Month
  • Premium Annual Subscription$24.991 Year
One-time2
  • Premium Subscription$39.99
  • Lifetime$39.99
2 purchases

Pull to Refresh

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$12.991 Month
  • Yearly$44.991 Year

Questions

Is Lucid free?
Lucid is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pull to Refresh free?
Pull to Refresh is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Lucid or Pull to Refresh?
Lucid and Pull to Refresh are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 7 and 8 ratings respectively.
Do Lucid or Pull to Refresh have ads?
Neither Lucid nor Pull to Refresh shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Lucid or Pull to Refresh?
Lucid ships an update fortnightly, and Pull to Refresh every 4 days. Most recently, Lucid was updated on October 24, 2026 and Pull to Refresh on October 29, 2026.

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