Comparison

BreakOff vs Screen Time Limit

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

Head to head
About

BreakOff

This app enforces app blocking and scheduled focus sessions using Apple's Screen Time API. It helps users build better digital habits through customizable schedules, locked breaks, and progress tracking. An optional Pro version offers advanced scheduling and more emergency breaks.

Highlights
  • Enforced app blocking via Screen Time API
  • Customizable daily/weekly schedules
  • Locked breaks to prevent early termination
  • Emergency breaks for urgent needs
  • Streak tracking and progress visualization
  • Customizable app groups and shield screens
Features
Read full description

Phones down, together. Start a break with your friends, roommates or family, and distracting apps go quiet on every phone that joins, all on the same clock. The time you get back is time with each other. It is easier to put your phone down when the people around you do too. BreakOff makes that one tap. Real blocking powered by Apple's Screen Time API, not reminders you can swipe away. Everything you need to block apps is free, and no account is required to start. BREAK TOGETHER Start a break and share it. Your people join on their own phones, and everyone's chosen apps stay blocked until the break ends. Date night, dinner with friends, a quiet evening at the apartment, homework hour at home: one shared break, one shared clock. BREAK ROOMS Every shared break has a live room. See who is in, who paused and who left, get an alert when someone leaves, and finish on a recap of how everyone did. Rooms are free for you and 3 guests. Pro fits up to 20 and keeps every past room. HOST A BREAK Put up one QR poster and everyone who scans it starts the same break on their own phone. Hosting is part of BreakOff Pro and fits up to 20 people. PUT THE OFF SWITCH IN ANOTHER ROOM Leave a QR code or an NFC tag in the kitchen, by the front door or on the fridge. Start a QR or NFC break and it only ends when you walk over and scan it. The phone stays put, and so do you. FOUR WAYS A BREAK CAN END • Flexible: a timer you can end early. A gentle way to start. • Locked: the break runs its full length, with an emergency escape if you truly need it. • QR Code: the break ends only when you scan your QR code. • NFC Tag: the break ends only when you tap your NFC tag. HARDCORE For when you mean it. Turn on Hardcore (Pro) and a Locked break has no emergency breaks and no way out until the timer ends. Add the free uninstall guard so BreakOff can't be deleted in the middle of a break. RULES AND ROUTINES Let breaks start on their own. Pick a Routine like Family Time, Better Sleep, Slow Morning, School Focus, Work Focus or Weekend Reset, or set your own Rules for any days and times. ALSO IN THE APP • App groups: choose the apps and categories to block, and save different sets for different moments. • Always Allowed: pick the apps that stay open in every break, or block all apps at once. • Circle: keep your people in one place so starting a break together takes seconds. • Time you got back: see how much time you have taken back. • Learn: 31 short stories on focus, attention and phone habits. • Invite a friend: finish a break together and you both get a free week of Pro. WHO IT'S FOR • Couples who want dinner, date night or the last hour before bed back. • Friends and roommates who would rather be at the table than in their feeds. • Families who want everyone at home to put their phones down at the same time, parents included. • Classrooms, teams, and you on your own: set a Routine or protect a focus block. FREE AND PRO Free: all four break modes, app blocking, joining any break, live rooms with alerts and a recap, rooms for you and 3 guests, the uninstall guard, 3 emergency breaks a month, 2 app groups, 2 recurring Rules of your own, up to 3 people in your Circle and 1 active Break Together invite. Pro: Hardcore, break rooms and Host a Break for up to 20 people, every past room, full stats and group streaks, and unlimited app groups, Rules, Circle and Break Together invites. PRIVACY BreakOff blocks apps with Apple's Screen Time framework. See how we handle your data at breakoff.io/privacy. SUBSCRIPTION BreakOff Pro is $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year, with a 7-day free trial. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use: breakoff.io/terms Privacy Policy: breakoff.io/privacy Put your phone down. Pick your people. Take a break together.

About

Screen Time Limit

Features
Read full description

Block distracting apps and get your hours back — with a pause that actually changes the habit. Most app blockers put up a wall, so you find a way around it. Focus gives you a breath and an honest question instead. Most people put the phone down right there. THREE WAYS TO BLOCK, ONE QUESTION EACH: WHEN DO MY APPS COME BACK? SPRINT — NO EARLY EXIT Pick a length, start the countdown and your chosen apps are blocked until the timer runs out. Once a Sprint starts it cannot be ended early, not even from inside Focus. That's the point. Use a preset or set your own length. RHYTHM — RECURRING FOCUS WINDOWS Block apps on a schedule: weekday mornings, every evening, weekends, whatever your week looks like. Add multiple windows, switch them on and off, and run windows overnight for better sleep. ALLOWANCE — A DAILY TIME LIMIT Give yourself a daily budget of minutes. Spend it however you like; when it's gone the apps close until tomorrow, when the budget resets. See how many minutes are left today at a glance. MINDFUL UNLOCK — A BREATH, NOT A WALL Reach for a blocked app and Focus offers ten seconds of breathing first. Then it asks what you need the app for: someone needs you, it's for work, looking something up, boredom, or just habit. Boredom and habit get a gentle second look before you go in. If you still open it, it's only for a few minutes, then the app goes back behind the shield on its own. FOCUS STREAKS Every day you hold your limits counts. Keep apps blocked for an hour, or finish the day inside your Allowance, and your streak grows. Follow your run on a 12-week heatmap and unlock milestones: 3 Day Spark, One Week Strong, Fortnight Focus, Month of Clarity and Hundred Days. INSIGHTS See your real screen time, your daily breakdown and the apps you use most, alongside the time you held, focused days and blocked attempts. Mindful Unlock shows how often you put the phone back down, and what you reach for it out of. BLOCK ANY APP OR CATEGORY Choose individual apps or whole categories: social media, video, games, shopping, news and more. Block Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X or anything else that pulls you away. Each mode keeps its own list. LOCKED DOWN, ON YOUR SIDE Protect your blocks with a passcode, Face ID or Touch ID, so changing a limit takes a real decision, not a reflex. Auto-Lock keeps Focus itself locked when you step away. GENTLE REMINDERS Get a notification when a session ends and when your streak is at risk. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Focus is built on Apple's Screen Time framework. Your screen time is calculated on your device and never handed to us. Light and dark appearance, built for iPhone and iPad. A Plus subscription unlocks every mode, unlimited apps and Sprints of any length. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and can be managed in your App Store account settings. Privacy Policy: https://stechza.org/privacy Terms of Use: https://stechza.org/terms

Screenshots

BreakOff4 screens
Screen Time Limit4 screens

Verdict

The call

BreakOff and Screen Time Limit are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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. BreakOff sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Screen Time Limit sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BreakOff ships an update every 11 days, Screen Time Limit fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
BreakOff versus Screen Time Limit: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBreakOffScreen Time Limit
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (15 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews90.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings15 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 11 days — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.4 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size74 MB7 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperBreakOff LLCMuhammad Zikaria

In-app purchases

3 purchases

BreakOff

Subscriptions3
  • BreakOff Pro7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • BreakOff Pro Annual Deal$39.991 Year
  • BreakOff Pro Annual7 Days trial$49.991 Year
4 purchases

Screen Time Limit

Subscriptions3
  • Subscriptions$3.997 Days
  • Subscriptions$9.991 Month
  • Subscriptions$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Subscriptions$49.99

Questions

Is BreakOff free?
BreakOff is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Screen Time Limit free?
Screen Time Limit is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do BreakOff or Screen Time Limit have ads?
Neither BreakOff nor Screen Time Limit shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BreakOff or Screen Time Limit?
BreakOff ships an update every 11 days, and Screen Time Limit fortnightly. Most recently, BreakOff was updated on October 30, 2026 and Screen Time Limit on November 6, 2026.

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