Comparison

Underlairs vs Zarko

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

Head to head
About

Underlairs

Enhance concentration and memory with curated ambient soundscapes and a focus timer. Choose from unique 'Lairs' and track your progress to achieve deep work and productivity goals.

Highlights
  • Focus Timer with customizable durations
  • Beast Mode for continuous music
  • Ambient soundscape playlists
  • Background playback
  • Lock screen controls
  • Stats tracking for focus minutes and streaks
  • Minimalist design
Features
Read full description

Timer and session-based focus workflow: 1. Press play 2. Start the timer & play music 3. Finish a study session Underlairs is focus music for people with ambitious plans. Cinematic, high-intensity soundscapes engineered for deep work — press play, start the timer, and get more done in one session than most people do all day. No lo-fi beach vibes here. This is music for masterminds. FIVE SOUNDSCAPES, ONE MISSION • THE LAIR — Your domain, your default soundscape • BIG DESK ENERGY — Repeal societal expectations and break free • SPACE PIRACY — Fly that spaceship into deep space like you stole it • FLUENT IN FINANCE — Serious people doing serious things • TOXIC INTENSITY — The details of your incompetence is not interesting 60+ original tracks. Zero interruptions. Music designed to keep your brain locked in, whether you're studying, coding, writing, or plotting something bigger. BEAST MODE A focus timer built for real sessions — not just 25-minute sprints. Track deep work sessions up to 24 hours. Start it, disappear into the work, and come back victorious. STATS THAT KEEP SCORE See your focus streaks and total time in the zone. Watch the hours stack up. Evidence of your inevitable rise. WHY UNDERLAIRS • Completely free — every playlist, every feature • No subscription, no ads, no account required • Works offline — all music is on your device • Background playback while you use other apps • Designed for studying, work, coding, reading, and ADHD-friendly concentration Underlairs is free because world domination shouldn't have a paywall. If it helps you get things done, there's a tip jar inside — entirely optional, eternally appreciated. Your lair awaits. Press play and get to work.

About

Zarko

Read full description

You can't trust yourself to put the phone down. So don't rely on willpower alone — rely on a real challenge. Zarko is a screen-time blocker with a twist: once you lock in a focus session, the way out is to prove it — not to quit. HOW IT WORKS • Choose the apps, categories, or websites you want blocked — powered by Apple's official Screen Time (FamilyControls) framework. • Start a focus session and get to work. Your chosen apps and sites stay locked for the full duration. • Tempted to check your phone early? Complete a quick physical or mental challenge — shake, walk, type, solve, remember — to break the block before time's up. No luck involved: finish the challenge and you're unlocked. • Want zero exits? Turn on Strict Mode in Settings and the give-up option stays locked until you're halfway through the session — the challenge becomes the only way out. BUILD A STREAK, NOT JUST A HABIT Every completed session adds to your daily streak. Miss a day and it resets — but your history stays. Track your weekly focus time, session count, and streak in one clean stats screen, and share your progress as a ready-to-post card. UNLOCK THEME COLORS Every successful challenge gives you a new color theme for the app — pure cosmetic, zero pay-to-win. Collect them all. WHY IT WORKS Traditional blockers fail because quitting is always one tap away. Zarko puts real effort between you and that tap, so staying focused becomes the easy choice — and if you want the door closed for real, Strict Mode removes the easy exit entirely. PRIVACY FIRST Zarko blocks apps and websites entirely on your device using Apple's Screen Time APIs. We never see which apps you use, what you type, or your browsing history — that data never leaves your phone. UNLOCK EVERYTHING (OPTIONAL ONE-TIME PURCHASE) Blocking, focus sessions, unlock challenges, streaks, and theme collecting are free — no ads, no subscriptions. If you want more, a single one-time purchase adds: • Your equipped theme color across the whole app and the block screen • Custom session lengths, from 5 minutes to 3 hours • Detailed stats: week-over-week trends and your top blocked apps by Screen Time Pay once, keep it forever. And no purchase ever lets you skip the challenge — the only way out early is still to earn it.

Screenshots

Underlairs4 screens
Zarko4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Zarko at none against Underlairs's 3. Underlairs's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.6). On price, update cadence and ads 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. Underlairs sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Zarko asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Underlairs ships an update every 3 weeks, Zarko every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Underlairs versus Zarko: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterUnderlairsZarko
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (7 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings7 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size230 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJohn JangJaehoon Lee

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Underlairs

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Premium$0.991 Month
  • Yearly Premium3 Days trial$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • Premium Lifetime Access$17.99
None

Zarko

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Underlairs free?
Underlairs is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Zarko free?
Zarko is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Underlairs or Zarko have ads?
Neither Underlairs nor Zarko shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Underlairs or Zarko?
Underlairs ships an update every 3 weeks, and Zarko every 2 weeks. Most recently, Underlairs was updated on October 9, 2026 and Zarko on October 10, 2026.

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