Comparison

Gentle Screen Time vs playfullynow

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

Head to head
About

Gentle Screen Time

This app helps families establish healthier screen time habits by wrapping addictive apps in timed sessions. It introduces a rhythm of usage and rest without surveillance or negotiation, allowing intentional app engagement.

Highlights
  • Timed app sessions with beginnings and ends
  • Automatic app locking after sessions
  • Intentional app opening friction
  • Remote family management
  • Customizable session and rest lengths
  • No content monitoring or surveillance
Features
Read full description

Most screen time apps work by capping you. They set hard limits, block apps for the rest of the day, and leave you locked out the moment you hit a number. Gentle works differently. There are no usage limits and no permanent blocks. You move through a rhythm of sessions and rests, and your total screen time drops, often dramatically, without anything being capped or taken away for good. Here's how it works. You start a session and have full, unlimited access to everything on your phone. When the session ends, a short rest begins, a brief pause where your controlled apps become unavailable for a few minutes. When the rest ends, your apps return, ready for your next session. No daily cutoffs. No "you're out of time." Just a gentle in-and-out rhythm that adds up to far less screen time. Gentle is for people who've tried strict limits and bounced off them. If hitting a wall every day has never worked, a gentle rhythm of sessions and rests might. Use everything you love, in a calmer cadence. Lower your screen time. No limits, no daily cutoffs, just a gentler rhythm. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.gentlescreentime.app/privacy

About

playfullynow

Read full description

This app isn’t about using your phone less. It’s about seeing your time away from your phone add up. How to use it? Lock your phone from the app, then unlock back into it to see your time away add up. Or just stay on and watch every second add up. Tap or swipe anywhere for a minimal view. Earn a Trophy for any uninterrupted 2+ hours session away from your phone. Earn a Finisher Flag for 2+ hours away in a day, across any number of sessions. The app also shows your potential - how much life you could take back by the end of the year if your longest stretch today kept going. No setup No login No account No permissions No data collection No analytics No ads No notifications No streaks to lose No guilt No punishments No blocking No VPN No subscription No brick to buy

Screenshots

Gentle Screen Time4 screens
playfullynow4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: playfullynow at none against Gentle Screen Time's 4. 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. Gentle Screen Time sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. playfullynow asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
Gentle Screen Time versus playfullynow: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGentle Screen Timeplayfullynow
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJoseph CaseyVINIT KAUSHIK

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Gentle Screen Time

Subscriptions4
  • Monthly Subscription$3.991 Month
  • Monthly Family Plan7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Yearly Subscription$29.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Yearly Family Subscription7 Days trial$99.991 Year
None

playfullynow

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Gentle Screen Time free?
Gentle Screen Time is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is playfullynow free?
playfullynow is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Gentle Screen Time or playfullynow have ads?
Neither Gentle Screen Time nor playfullynow shows ads.

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