Comparison

SubExtractor vs Circuit

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

Head to head
About

SubExtractor

Effortlessly capture and use subtitles directly within Safari. Transform captions into clean, usable text for studying, research, or easy comprehension. Offers flexible formatting and privacy-focused, on-device processing.

Highlights
  • Instant caption detection in Safari
  • Clean reading view without distractions
  • Copy and export subtitles
  • Flexible formatting options
  • On-device processing for privacy
Features
Read full description

SubExtractor makes it effortless to capture and use subtitles directly in Safari. Whether you’re studying, researching, or just following along, SubExtractor turns captions into clean, usable text in seconds. Key Features • Instant Detection – Grab captions instantly from supported sites in Safari. • Clean Reading View – Read subtitles without clutter or distractions. • Copy & Export – Copy to clipboard or save for later study. • Flexible Formatting – Choose flowing paragraphs, a single block, or keep original timestamps. • Privacy First – All processing happens on your device. Nothing leaves Safari. Why SubExtractor? Captions improve focus, comprehension, and accessibility. SubExtractor helps you take better notes, study more effectively, and enjoy videos anywhere—whether in a noisy environment or a quiet one. Designed to be simple, fast, and intuitive, it works seamlessly across iOS and macOS.

About

Circuit

Features
Read full description

Your phone is built to keep you scrolling. Circuit is built to stop it. Trip the breaker and the apps you can't put down stop opening. No negotiation, no notification to swipe away — the app just doesn't come up until your time is done. THE BREAKER Hold the dial and your apps close: 15 minutes, 30, an hour and a half, or a whole quiet day. Start it in the app, from Control Center, or by asking Siri. A Live Activity keeps the timer on your Lock Screen the whole time. SCHEDULES Name a set of apps and give it hours. Study on weekday evenings. Sleep from 22:30 to 07:00. Work nine to five. Schedules run themselves, so being disciplined stops being something you have to remember. FRICTION, NOT WILLPOWER Reach for a blocked app and there's a breath to take, a countdown to sit through, or a sentence to type before anything opens. Usually the urge is gone before the timer is. STRICT MODE For the sessions that matter: no early exit, no five more minutes. You set it, and that's that. DAILY LIMITS Give one app a budget — thirty minutes of Instagram a day. When it's spent, it's spent until tomorrow. ALWAYS ALLOWED Some apps are never blocked, whatever else is running. Maps, your bank, whoever you'd need at 2am. SOUND TO WORK TO Rain, a fire, waves, brown noise, or a slow wordless pulse. One at a time, playing under whatever else you're listening to, and it keeps going with the screen off. HONEST NUMBERS Time blocked each day, your streak, this week against last, eight milestones to reach, and a report every Sunday. Your real Screen Time usage sits alongside it, drawn by Apple itself. PRIVATE BY CONSTRUCTION No account. Circuit blocks through Apple's Screen Time, which means it cannot see which apps you picked — only draw their icons. Your choices, schedules and stats stay on your phone. What leaves it is an anonymous count of which screens get opened — one switch in Settings stops it — and a crash report if Circuit falls over. Circuit Pro unlocks unlimited schedules, blocks up to 24 hours, Strict Mode, daily limits and a month of stats. Free includes one schedule, the breaker up to 30 minutes, and a week of stats. Circuit Pro is $59.99/year with a 7-day free trial, $12.99/month, or $4.99/week. One subscription covers your Family Sharing group. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless turned off at least 24 hours before the current period ends; manage or cancel it in App Store settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://circuitapp.app/legal#privacy

Screenshots

SubExtractor4 screens
Circuit4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: SubExtractor at none against Circuit's 2. Circuit's advantage is iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.0). On price, update cadence, 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. Circuit sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. SubExtractor asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SubExtractor ships an update weekly, Circuit every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
SubExtractor versus Circuit: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSubExtractorCircuit
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (5 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings5 — better—
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.018.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB41 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJunior EspinoVasily Lukin

In-app purchases

None

SubExtractor

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Circuit

Subscriptions2
  • CircuitAI Pro$7.991 Month
  • CircuitAI Advanced$15.991 Month

Questions

Is SubExtractor free?
SubExtractor is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Circuit free?
Circuit is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do SubExtractor or Circuit have ads?
Neither SubExtractor nor Circuit shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SubExtractor or Circuit?
SubExtractor ships an update weekly, and Circuit every 5 days. Most recently, SubExtractor was updated on October 8, 2026 and Circuit on September 29, 2026.

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