Spool vs MaxDex
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Spool
This app helps you break free from excessive screen time by making you pause and justify your phone usage. It uses research-backed techniques to disrupt habit loops and offers instant blocking for apps and websites to help you reclaim focus and improve mental clarity.
- Justify phone usage before scrolling
- AI-powered trigger insights
- Identify peak phone usage times
- Instant app and website blocking
- Reclaim focus and mental clarity
Read full descriptionHide full description
Less scrolling, more living. Spool blocks doomscrolling, brainrot, and screen addiction at the source — by making you justify yourself before you scroll. Most screen time blockers don't work because they treat phone addiction like a discipline problem. It's not. It's a habit loop your brain is stuck in — a dopamine cycle reinforced every time you reach for your phone without thinking. Spool interrupts the cycle. Before any blocked app opens, you have to state your case to our AI. Use the same excuse too many times and Spool locks you out automatically. Built on cognitive behavioral techniques and behavioral research on attention and habit formation. WHY YOU'LL LOVE SPOOL - Understand your hidden triggers with daily AI insights - Track your phone addiction patterns over time - Discover when you reach for apps most (and why) - Instant app and website blocking that actually works - Schedule blocking windows for your weak hours - Lock in during deep work with custom focus sessions - Reflect on every excuse you've made and spot the loops - CBT-inspired techniques to break the dopamine cycle - Detox from doomscrolling, brainrot, and mindless scroll WHO IT'S FOR Spool is for anyone struggling with phone addiction, doomscrolling, or losing hours to TikTok, Instagram, Reels, YouTube Shorts, or X. Built for people who've tried Screen Time, willpower, and other app blockers — and want something that actually changes the habit, not just the limit. WHAT MAKES SPOOL DIFFERENT Other apps just block. Spool teaches you about yourself. Every excuse you make becomes data. Every reflection makes you more aware. Every blocked attempt strengthens the new habit. Reclaim your focus. Build a more intentional relationship with your phone. ————————————— Spool Full Access — Weekly Length: 1 week, auto-renewing Price: $4.99 USD / week Spool Full Access — Yearly Length: 1 year, auto-renewing Price: $44.99 USD / year Payment will be charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://thespoolapp.com/#/privacy
MaxDex
Read full descriptionHide full description
MaxDex is an AI accountability coach that calls your phone. Max plans your day around your energy, rings you in the morning to set it up, and calls again in the evening to check whether you actually did it. A to-do list is easy to ignore. A call is not. AN ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER THAT PHONES YOU • Morning wake up call: Max walks you through today's plan before the day gets away from you • Evening check-in: a short review of what got done and what moves to tomorrow • Reminder calls when it matters, instead of another notification you swipe away • Two-way voice conversation. Talk it through and Max updates your plan AI DAY PLANNER BUILT AROUND YOUR ENERGY You are not the same person at 9am and 3pm. MaxDex builds a 48-hour energy forecast from your sleep and steps and lays it over your planner, so demanding work lands in your peaks and easier tasks in your dips. When the day changes, Max reshuffles it. FOR ADHD, PROCRASTINATION AND TASK PARALYSIS If you know what to do but can't start, MaxDex gives you the outside structure a list never does: a voice that checks in, one next step at a time, and follow-up that notices when something slipped. It works a lot like body doubling, without a video call. GOAL TRACKER AND HABIT TRACKER Turn a big goal into a roadmap, and the roadmap into today's tasks. Track habits, steps and workouts in plain language. ENERGY TRACKER, NO WATCH NEEDED See your body and mind energy level hour by hour, what is driving it right now, and when your next peak is. SLEEP TRACKER AND AI CALORIE COUNTER • Sleep score and sleep history synced from Apple Health, or logged in a tap • Snap a photo of a meal to log calories and macros AN AI LIFE COACH YOU CAN TEXT OR CALL Chat with Max anytime. Max already knows your plan, your sleep and your energy, so the answers are about your day, not generic advice. WHO IT IS FOR People who know what to do and still don't do it. Freelancers and remote workers with no one checking in. Anyone with ADHD, a habit of procrastinating, or a to-do list that quietly became a museum. MaxDex is a productivity app, not a medical treatment. YOUR DATA MaxDex reads step count and sleep from Apple Health only with your permission, plus whatever you log yourself. It does not read heart rate or medical data. Your data is never sold or used for advertising. SUBSCRIPTION MaxDex is free to download. Scheduled AI calls and unlimited AI features need a MaxDex subscription, billed through your Apple ID. Plans, prices and what each includes are shown in the app before you buy. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation; the subscription renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the period. Cancel anytime in Settings > Apple ID > Subscriptions. Privacy Policy: https://maxdexai.com/privacy Terms of Use: https://maxdexai.com/terms
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: MaxDex at none against Spool's shown. MaxDex also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.6). Spool's advantage is update cadence (every 10 days vs monthly). On price, in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Spool sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days and MaxDex sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Spool ships an update every 10 days, MaxDex monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Spool | MaxDex |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (174 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 70.3% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 174 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days — better | Monthly |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Subscription | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 441 MB | 31 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Spooli Inc | manharsh gill |
In-app purchases
Spool
- Spool Features Weekly Subscription$4.997 Days
- Spool Weekly Subscription$7.997 Days
- Full Access: Monthly$7.991 Month
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Spool Premium Annual$25.001 Year
- Full Access: Limited Time Offer7 Days trial$34.991 Year
- Full Access: Yearly$34.991 Year
- Full Access: Yearly7 Days trial$44.991 Year
- Full Access: Yearly$44.991 Year
MaxDex
- Maxdex base plan monthly$9.991 Month
- maxdex pro plan monthly$19.991 Month
- Maxdex base plan yearly$99.991 Year
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Maxdex pro plan yearly$199.991 Year









