Comparison

ctrl vs Lockmode

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

Head to head
About

ctrl

Features
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You're losing 4+ hours a day to your phone. That's 60 full days every yearβ€”gone forever. ctrl-time helps you take them back. WHAT MAKES CTRL-TIME DIFFERENT Most screen time apps shame you with numbers. ctrl-time does something different: it shows you what those numbers actually mean for your life. Every minute wasted is a minute you'll never get back. Every minute saved is a minute you can spend on what truly matters. YOUR LIFE IN WEEKS Inspired by Stoic philosophy, the Life in Weeks grid shows your entire existence at a glanceβ€”4,160 weeks, each represented by a single dot. The filled dots are weeks you've already lived. The empty ones are all you have left. It's not meant to scare you. It's meant to wake you up. - See exactly what percentage of your life you've lived - Tap any week to explore what you did (or didn't do) - Export the grid as your iPhone wallpaper - A daily reminder that your time is not infinite FOCUS MODE β€” BLOCK DISTRACTIONS One tap. Zero willpower needed. ctrl-time uses Apple's native Screen Time integration to block the apps that steal your attention. Choose sessions from 15 to 120 minutes and watch the distractions disappear. - Block Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and any time-wasting app - Native iOS integrationβ€”no workarounds or hacks - Live Activities show your timer on Dynamic Island MINUTES RECLAIMED β€” YOUR NEW KPI Every focus session gives you back precious minutes. ctrl-time tracks them all, showing you exactly how much life you've reclaimed. Watch the counter grow. Those aren't just numbersβ€”that's time you've taken back from the algorithm. REPLACEMENT ACTIONS What will you do with your reclaimed time? - Read a book - Exercise - Learn a new skill - Spend time with loved ones Log your activities and give meaning to every minute you save. Turn screen time into life time. DAILY JOURNALING A minimalist journal to reflect on your day. Each entry is linked to its corresponding week in your Life in Weeks gridβ€”building the story of your life, one week at a time. THREE MOTIVATION STYLES Choose how you want to be guided: STOIC β€” Direct messages inspired by ancient philosophy. "Memento mori. Your time is not unlimited." EMPATHETIC β€” Gentle, compassionate reminders. "It's okay to slow down. This is living too." PRAGMATIC β€” Data and concrete numbers. "18 minutes on Instagram = 18 minutes of life." ALWAYS WITH YOU - Home Screen widgets: Life in Weeks, minutes reclaimed, quick journal - Live Activities: timer visible on Dynamic Island and lock screen - Smart notifications: only when they truly matter PREMIUM Unlock everything: - Unlimited focus sessions - Advanced stats and trends - Goals Progression - Journaling Monthly: $9.99 | Yearly: $25 (save 79%) Spend life, not screen. Your next week starts now. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Lockmode

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Your apps open when the day's work is done. Not before. Lockmode gives you the two things willpower does not: a list of what today is actually for, and a phone that stays shut until it is finished. THE LOCK Pick the apps, games and websites that take your day β€” one by one, or a whole category at once. They stay shut while anything on today's list is still due, and they open the moment you tick the last thing off. There is no countdown to wait out and no timer to game. The only two ways past it are to finish, or to turn the lock off yourself β€” one tap, in plain sight. It runs on Apple's Screen Time, so it holds when the app is closed, force-quit, or after a restart. Calls, messages and everything else keep working normally. THREE MORE WAYS TO SHUT AN APP Quick block: a saved set of apps, shut by a tap and opened by the same tap. Daily limit: thirty minutes of social media a day. Spend them whenever you like; when they are gone, those apps stay shut until midnight. Schedules: work hours, study blocks, mornings, nights. Set it once and it blocks and unblocks on its own, without you ever opening the app. Run all four at once if you want. They never fight each other β€” an app stays shut while any one of them says it should be. HABITS THAT ASK SOMETHING OF YOU Choose which weekdays each habit is due, give it a number to hit β€” four litres, ten pages, two sessions β€” and a reminder at the hour you mean to do it. CHALLENGES When one habit at a time is not enough, take on a programme: 30, 75 or 90 days of a fixed standard. Its habits land on your list for the whole run, and a day only counts if you did every one of them β€” the run is a tally of days you earned, never a number that flatters you. A STREAK YOU CANNOT FAKE A day closes when everything due that day is done β€” your own habits and any challenge you are carrying. A day with nothing due is stepped over. Anything less than a finished day sets the streak back to zero. SEE THE SHAPE OF YOUR LIFE Every habit belongs to one of six pillars β€” Physical, Health, Mental, Social, Career and Discipline β€” and each is scored from what you have actually done, not what you intended. The chart shows the thin side of your life at a glance, and it is usually the one you have been avoiding. Below it, every day you have used the app, as a calendar you can scroll back through. ON YOUR HOME SCREEN Seven widgets β€” your streak, today's list, the state of the lock, a single habit you keep losing, the whole run as a grid, your six pillars, and a line worth reading first thing. While the lock is up it also sits on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island. PRIVATE BY DESIGN There is no account to create and no server of ours holding your habits. The blocking runs on Apple's Screen Time, Device Activity and Managed Settings frameworks β€” which is why it holds when the app is closed, and also why we never learn which apps you chose. Apple hands the app sealed tokens, not names. WHAT PEOPLE USE LOCKMODE FOR Making the morning's real work the price of unlocking the phone. Getting through a 75-day challenge without quietly dropping a day. Studying and deep work that stay deep. Building a routine that survives the third week. Lockmode does not ask you to have more willpower. It makes the shortcut unavailable. β€”β€” Lockmode is an auto-renewing subscription. Yearly β€” $19.99 Weekly β€” $4.99 Prices are in USD and may vary by region. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically for the same period unless it is cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in Settings > Apple Account > Subscriptions. Terms of Use: https://apps-website-nu.vercel.app/overwill/terms Privacy Policy: https://apps-website-nu.vercel.app/overwill/privacy

Screenshots

ctrl4 screens
Lockmode4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Lockmode at none against ctrl's shown. On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. ctrl sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Lockmode sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ctrl ships an update every 5 days, Lockmode every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference Β· 5 level
ctrl versus Lockmode: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterctrlLockmode
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysEvery 3 days β€” better
AdsYesNo β€” better
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad β€” betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.0 β€” better18.6
Further details β€” not scored
Size16 MB25 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGiuseppe RennaCARLOS MANUEL ABELLA TORRES

In-app purchases

2 purchases

ctrl

Subscriptions2
  • ctrl-time Premium Monthly3 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • ctrl-time Premium Yearly7 Days trial$24.991 Year
3 purchases

Lockmode

Subscriptions3
  • Lockmode Weekly$4.997 Days
  • Lockmode Yearly$19.991 Year
  • DMNT Pro3 Days trial$29.991 Year

Questions

Is ctrl free?
ctrl is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Lockmode free?
Lockmode is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do ctrl or Lockmode have ads?
ctrl shows ads; Lockmode does not.
Which is updated more often, ctrl or Lockmode?
ctrl ships an update every 5 days, and Lockmode every 3 days. Most recently, ctrl was updated on October 9, 2026 and Lockmode on October 6, 2026.

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