Comparison

ScreenBuddy vs Perimeter

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

Head to head
About

ScreenBuddy

This app helps reduce screen time by introducing friction before accessing selected apps. It offers personalized daily limits and a pause before unlocking to break unconscious phone usage habits and combat digital addiction.

Highlights
  • Block selected apps 24/7
  • Pause before unlocking apps
  • Personalized daily screen time limits
  • Breaks unconscious phone use habits
  • Reduces digital addiction
  • Focus enhancement for work and study
Features
Read full description

ScreenBuddy makes distracting apps harder to open, on purpose. Pick the apps that distract you most, and ScreenBuddy makes you wait 25 seconds before you can open them. Set a daily usage limit, and when it's gone, it's gone. HOW IT WORKS: - Select apps you want to limit. They are blocked 24/7 - Pause before you scroll. Wait before each unlock to break unconscious phone use - Personalized limits. Set a daily screen time limit you can commit to. Use it all at once or spread it out. Once it's gone, it's gone. WHY IT WORKS: Most app blockers are easy to bypass. You hit a limit, tap "ignore," and keep scrolling. ScreenBuddy works differently. Your apps are locked from the start, and the 25-second pause gives you time to reconsider before you open them. Over time, the phone habit fades because you keep interrupting it. ScreenBuddy helps you stop phone addiction without a full digital detox or dopamine detox. Just enough friction to stop doomscrolling and start living phone free. PERFECT FOR: - People who pick up their phone and don't remember why - Anyone trying to cut back on social media and brain rot content - Professionals who need distraction-free focus during work hours - Students struggling to stay on task - Parents who want to model better phone habits SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS: ScreenBuddy requires a premium subscription for full functionality. Choose monthly ($3.99), annual ($39.99 - 2 months free), or lifetime ($99.99) billing through your Apple ID. Your subscription automatically renews unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the current period ends. Manage your subscription anytime in your Apple ID account settings. PRIVACY: https://www.screenbuddyapp.com/privacy-policy TERMS: https://www.screenbuddyapp.com/terms-of-service

About

Perimeter

This app automatically pauses distracting applications when you enter designated locations like home or work. It allows your phone to function normally when you're on the go, offering a context-aware approach to screen time management.

Highlights
  • Location-based app pausing
  • Customizable app blocking per location
  • Automatic app re-enablement
  • Strong locking mechanisms
  • Fail-safe design for location changes
  • Optional short breaks
Features
Read full description

Perimeter is the first comprehensive location-based screen time app. Set a rule once and forget about it: Perimeter turns distracting apps off where you want to be present and focused, and leaves them on when you're on the go and need your phone to work in our fast-paced world. A NOTE FROM THE FOUNDER I'm Jack, founder of Perimeter, and I have been dreaming of building this app for over 10 years. I'm passionate about finding and developing solutions to help people regain balance with their devices. Perimeter is made by a small team that shares that mission. THE PROBLEM: CONSTANT CONNECTION We used to have TVs with a few channels that were on for an hour or two per day, and they stayed in the living room. We had a landline phone at home connected to the wall and a desktop computer in our office. Now we have all three combined into one device, with an infinite catalog of entertainment, news, and communication that follows us everywhere: into our kitchens, our bedrooms, our offices, and our friends' and family's homes. Our brains naturally respond to the environments we are in, good or bad. We think differently at the office vs. at home vs. out on the street. Until now, our smartphone has been configured the exact same way in all of those places. A DIFFERENT PHONE FOR EVERY PLACE Perimeter blocks distractions inside or outside the places where you want to be focused or present. It turns your phone into a different device at home vs. the office vs. in public, returning each place to what it's meant to be: home for rest and family time, the office for work. - Draw a perimeter around a place: home, the office, the bedroom - Choose the apps that don't belong there - Walk in and they pause. Walk out and they're back No more scrolling Instagram at work or at home. No more checking work email at home. SET IT ONCE. IT JUST WORKS. Unlike other screen time apps or Apple's built-in Screen Time, Perimeter doesn't block apps all the time or on a set schedule. Those lead to problems: needing apps when traveling or at work, rules that are easy to bypass, and the same blocking everywhere you go. Perimeter is context-aware. No more setting limits and then not being able to check in for a flight, authenticate a login, or find a taxi. Your full phone works on the go, and keeps things in check where it matters most. MORE THAN WILLPOWER For people who want more than willpower to regain control of their screen time, Perimeter has strong locking mechanisms: - A settings passcode, or hand your phone to someone you trust and let them set one you don't know - Turning Perimeter on never needs the passcode. Turning it off always does - Fail-safe by design: if location is switched off or permission is changed, apps stay blocked - Optional short breaks that can't be extended by quitting the app or changing the clock ONE STEP ON THE JOURNEY TO FREEDOM Perimeter is a first step. The goal is to keep taking steps toward more freedom from screens, going far beyond Perimeter: leaving your phone outside of your bedroom, setting Downtime for better sleep, having an accountability partner, rediscovering other hobbies, and starting to prefer time off the device to time on it. Pair it with a less distracting screen (a black and white filter) and a Downtime that reduces your phone to the basics while you sleep. Combine it with iOS Screen Time limits for the most comprehensive system, with Perimeter providing the context for what should be blocked when. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account. No servers. No analytics. Your location never leaves your iPhone. Apple's Screen Time pauses the apps, and Perimeter never sees what you do inside them. FREE FOR A LIMITED TIME We're providing Perimeter free of charge for a limited time, in the hope of introducing the world to a new paradigm of context-aware screen time: like having different devices tuned for the different places you go.

Screenshots

ScreenBuddy4 screens
Perimeter4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Perimeter at none against ScreenBuddy's 3. Perimeter also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6). ScreenBuddy's advantage is ratings volume (10 vs 2) and iOS requirement (17.6 vs 26.0). On price, ads 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. ScreenBuddy sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Perimeter asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Perimeter holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ScreenBuddy has 10 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
ScreenBuddy versus Perimeter: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterScreenBuddyPerimeter
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (10 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings10 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationSubscriptionFree — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS17.6 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size42 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJohn GaffneyFor Purpose Labs

In-app purchases

3 purchases

ScreenBuddy

Subscriptions2
  • ScreenBuddy Pro Monthly3 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • ScreenBuddy Pro Annual3 Days trial$39.991 Year
One-time1
  • ScreenBuddy Pro Lifetime$99.99
None

Perimeter

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ScreenBuddy free?
ScreenBuddy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Perimeter free?
Perimeter is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, ScreenBuddy or Perimeter?
Perimeter is rated higher. ScreenBuddy averages 4.6 out of 5 from 10 ratings, while Perimeter averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do ScreenBuddy or Perimeter have ads?
Neither ScreenBuddy nor Perimeter shows ads.

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