Comparison

Journey vs ThankLock

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

Head to head
About

Journey

Transform real-world habits into an engaging game to reduce screen time. Complete daily quests, verify with photos, and earn rewards while distracting apps remain locked. This app uses game mechanics to motivate you to build positive habits and stay off your phone.

Highlights
  • Daily real-world quests
  • Photo verification for completion
  • App blocking until quests are done
  • Earn crowns for progress
  • Focus mascot for motivation
  • Streak tracking and journal
Features
Read full description

Almost every app on your phone is engineered to keep you scrolling. Journey is engineered to get you off it by turning real-world habits into a game you actually want to play. Each morning, you unlock a set of real-world quests like going to the gym, reading, running, or getting outside. Complete them and earn Knight's gold. The apps that waste your time stay locked until you buy more screentime, so you stop instinctively scrolling everytime you pick up your phone. It's the same reward loop that makes games addictive, except now it's working for you instead of against you. - Daily Habits Every morning at 6 AM, your main quest resets. Each one is a real-world habit: exercise, reading, going outside. Earn time on social media by completing it or else you'll stay locked out. - App Blocking Pick the apps that drain your focus and lock them down. Your apps unlock only after you buy more screentime with the gold you earn. - Focus Buddy Your mascot reflects how you're doing. Stay off your phone and it thrives. Pick it up too much and it lets you know. It's a visual reminder that keeps you motivated to do better. *Access to Journey requires a paid subscription* Terms of Service: https://www.brainnourishment.io/_files/ugd/2e1950_ad149e0f2a11466682626871fd073315.pdf

About

ThankLock

This app helps break phone addiction by requiring users to write a gratitude entry before accessing blocked apps. It provides a private journal of reflections and offers 30-minute access windows, fostering a positive habit instead of strict limitations.

Highlights
  • App blocking via Screen Time
  • Gratitude entry requirement
  • 30-minute access windows
  • Private digital journal
  • Streak tracking
  • No account or cloud sync
Features
Read full description

You already know you scroll too much. You pick up your phone to check one thing and resurface 45 minutes later. You've tried deleting apps. You've tried turning off notifications. It hasn't stuck. ThankLock takes a different approach: your phone is still yours, but to open a blocked app, you have to write something you're genuinely grateful for first. Not a timer. Not a cold-turkey block. A short moment of reflection — 40 characters minimum — and then you get 30 minutes of access. That's it. The unlock IS the intervention. There's no trick, no guilt, no punishment. Just a small pause that breaks the autopilot loop between boredom and your phone. — — — HOW IT WORKS Select which apps to block using Apple's Screen Time. When you try to open one, ThankLock intercepts it. Write a gratitude entry of 40+ characters. Access unlocks for 30 minutes. Your entries build into a real, private journal over time. No account. No cloud sync. No one reads it but you. — — — WHY IT WORKS The doom-scroll cycle is a dopamine loop — boredom triggers reach, reach triggers scroll, scroll resets the boredom clock. Interrupting that loop with a moment of genuine reflection rewires the reflex at the point it fires. Most screen-time tools try to limit access through friction or willpower. ThankLock replaces the reflex with a habit worth keeping. After a few weeks, users report that the journal itself becomes something they look forward to — not a gate to get through. — — — WHAT YOU GET - App blocking powered by Apple's native Screen Time (no VPN, no root access needed) - 30-minute access windows that reset naturally - Streak tracking and a running count of total thanks written - A growing private journal that lives only on your device - No account required. No subscription. No data collection. — — — ThankLock is for people who are honest with themselves about their phone habits and want one thing that actually changes behavior — not just measures it. If you're ready to trade mindless scrolling for something that compounds in a good direction, download ThankLock and block your first app today.

Screenshots

Journey4 screens
ThankLock4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ThankLock at none against Journey's 8. ThankLock also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 74%) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). Journey's advantage is ratings volume (2.5K vs 1). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Journey sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per 7 days. ThankLock asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ThankLock holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Journey has 2.5K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 74% of Journey's written reviews are positive against 100% of ThankLock's.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Journey versus ThankLock: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterJourneyThankLock
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (2.5K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews73.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.5K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size174 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBrain Nourishment, LLCMPR Ventures LLC

Customer experience

Journey

All ratings2,100 ratings
Positive96.1%
Neutral2.5%
Negative1.4%
Written reviews76 reviews
Positive73.7%
Neutral6.6%
Negative19.7%

ThankLock

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

8 purchases

Journey

Subscriptions7
  • Full Access To Journey$7.997 Days
  • JourneyKeep$9.997 Days
  • JourneyKeep Pro$14.991 Month
Show 4 more
  • Full Access To Journey$24.991 Year
  • Full Access$34.991 Year
  • Full Access To Journey$49.991 Year
  • Full Access To Journey$59.991 Year
One-time1
  • Knight Lifetime$99.99
None

ThankLock

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Journey free?
Journey is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ThankLock free?
ThankLock is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Journey or ThankLock?
ThankLock is rated higher. Journey averages 4.8 out of 5 from 2.5K ratings, while ThankLock averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Journey or ThankLock have ads?
Neither Journey nor ThankLock shows ads.

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