Comparison

StayGray vs TheGrey.app

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

Head to head
About

StayGray

This app helps reduce screen time by automatically switching your device to grayscale. You can customize when color is allowed, set schedules, and track your progress in reducing usage.

Highlights
  • Automatic grayscale switching
  • Customizable color exceptions
  • Scheduled monochrome periods
  • Location-based color activation
  • Progress tracking for screen time
  • Color breaks for temporary color access
Read full description

StayGray automatically switches your iPhone to grayscale, so apps feel less magnetic and you scroll less. Your screen stays black and white by default, and you decide when color is allowed. WHY GRAYSCALE Colorful interfaces are built to grab your attention. Take the color away and the little “reward hit” gets weaker, which makes it easier to stop the endless checking without blocking any apps. CONTROL WHEN COLOR IS ALLOWED • Schedules: set work hours, evenings, or bedtime for monochrome • App exceptions: keep Maps, Camera, Photos, or any app in color • Locations: turn color on automatically at home, at work, or at the gym • Color breaks: switch to full color for a bit, then go back to gray automatically TRACK YOUR PROGRESS See how your habits change over time and estimate how much screen time you save by staying in black and white. PRIVACY FIRST No accounts. No ads. No tracking. StayGray does not collect, store, or transmit personal data. Privacy policy: https://www.staygray.app/privacy/en.html Terms: https://www.staygray.app/terms/en.html

About

TheGrey.app

Features
Read full description

When the Same Thought Keeps Circling Not a crisis. Not a problem that needs solving. Just the same thought, going around once more, still hovering there. THEGREY exists for this state. When a thought keeps circling with no way out — and you don't need a way out yet. Not meditation. Not therapy. Not a mood tracker. No questions about how you feel. No suggestions. No record. 【 Why do you need THEGREY? 】Not a feature list. The reality you're living right now: • The same thought won't stop before sleep: your body is exhausted but your brain refuses to land, the thought grinding in the dark on repeat. • Walking into a place brings something back: the space itself is the trigger, old memories spiraling again without warning. • A date or anniversary arrives and the thought returns: time's inertia brings regret back automatically, no reason needed. • Shallow breathing, physical tension, thought follows: physiological anxiety feeds mental drain, the thought accelerating with your heartbeat. 【 Three entry points, three sources of circling 】 • THIS DAY | Time-triggered: circular thoughts triggered by time or date. Time seems to stand still. • THE SPACE | Space-triggered: circular thoughts triggered by location or setting. This space won't let the feeling go. • THE BREATH | Rhythm-triggered: circular thoughts triggered by rhythm or stress. The circling that happens between breaths. 【 Seven content invariants, strictly observed 】No second person · No action directive · No future tense · No causal framing · No self-comfort · No shareability design · No implied next step. No journal. No history. No progress report. Enter. Stay. Leave. Built on THE GAP Framework. Compliant with GAP-NLP-1.0.

Screenshots

StayGray4 screens
TheGrey.app3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: TheGrey.app at every 3 days against StayGray's fortnightly. TheGrey.app also leads on iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. StayGray sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and TheGrey.app sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

StayGray ships an update fortnightly, TheGrey.app every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 13, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
StayGray versus TheGrey.app: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStayGrayTheGrey.app
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (4 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings4 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size21 MB1 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperMATTHIAS NEUWIRTHHsieh ChiaMing

In-app purchases

3 purchases

StayGray

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Subscription$1.991 Month
  • StayGray Plus$8.991 Year
One-time1
  • StayGray Plus: Lifetime$24.99
1 purchases

TheGrey.app

One-time1
  • The Grey Platinum$2.99

Questions

Is StayGray free?
StayGray is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is TheGrey.app free?
TheGrey.app is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do StayGray or TheGrey.app have ads?
Neither StayGray nor TheGrey.app shows ads.
Which is updated more often, StayGray or TheGrey.app?
StayGray ships an update fortnightly, and TheGrey.app every 3 days. Most recently, StayGray was updated on November 13, 2026 and TheGrey.app on November 9, 2026.

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