Comparison

Shelly vs Fried

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

Head to head
About

Shelly

This app helps you build healthier phone habits with a visual motivator. It blocks distracting apps, offers focus schedules, and provides gentle breathing reminders to prevent mindless scrolling. Track your progress and improve your digital well-being.

Highlights
  • Visual motivation with a growing snail
  • App blocking and smart schedules
  • Breathing interventions
  • Shell Mode for total focus
  • Daily time allowances
  • Streak tracking
  • History and insights
Features
Read full description

Take back your day with Shelly — your friendly screen time coach to help you build healthy phone habits. Shelly is a cute snail who lives on your phone. The less you doom-scroll, the healthier Shelly gets. The more you mindlessly scroll, the more Shelly retreats into her shell. It's a simple visual nudge that works — no guilt trips, no lectures, just a little friend keeping you honest. Most of us spend 5+ hours glued to our screens without realizing it. Shelly flips the script: block the apps that drain your time, set focus schedules, and get gentle breathing reminders when you're about to spiral into another scroll session. WHY SHELLY WORKS - Visual motivation: Watch Shelly's health improve as your screen time drops - Gentle nudges, not guilt: Breathing exercises instead of harsh lockouts - Smart schedules: Auto-block apps during bedtime, work hours, or study sessions - Shell Mode: Total focus mode that blocks everything except what you whitelist - Real insights: See exactly which apps eat your time and track your progress FEATURES - Instant App Blocking: Pick the apps and sites to block. Done in seconds. - Shell Mode: Block everything except what you whitelist. Total focus. - Breathing Interventions: A 10-second breathing pause before any tracked app opens. - Smart Schedules: Auto-block apps at bedtime, work hours, or custom windows. - Daily Time Allowances: Cap usage on any app. Hit the limit, Shelly blocks it. - Escape Hatch: Need a blocked app? Simple unblock. - Streak Tracking: Stay under your goal. Watch the streak grow. - Home Screen Widget: Today's health score, always visible. - History & Insights: Weekly charts to spot patterns and celebrate wins. DESIGNED FOR - Students who lose hours to scrolling before exams - Creators who need to focus on making, not consuming - Professionals who want deep work without distractions - Parents building healthier phone habits for the family - Anyone who's tired of picking up their phone 150+ times a day PRIVATE & SECURE Shelly uses Apple's Screen Time API. All monitoring and blocking happen entirely on your device. Your usage data never leaves your phone — ever. No tracking. No ads. Just you and Shelly. FOUNDERS NOTE: I built Shelly because I was scrolling for 6 hours a day on my phone and couldn't stop. None of the screen time apps felt right — they were either too strict, too preachy, too complicated, or too easy to bypass. Shelly is the app I wished existed: simple, kind, and effective. All features described above require a subscription. Terms of Service: https://getshelly.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://getshelly.app/privacy

About

Fried

This app helps you reduce phone usage by blocking distracting applications and setting daily limits. It offers focus sessions, smart scheduling, and insights into your screen time habits, all while keeping a playful companion happy.

Highlights
  • Block distracting apps
  • Set daily limits
  • Focus sessions
  • Smart schedules
  • Screen time insights
  • Focus companion
Features
Read full description

Stop losing hours to your phone. Fried is a playful screen time control app that helps you spend less time scrolling and more time living. Block distracting apps, set limits that actually stick, and keep Pebble happy while you stay focused. Less scrolling. More life. What you get: • Block distracting apps before they steal your attention • Daily limits that help you spend less time on your phone • Focus sessions for work, school, studying, and deep work • Smart schedules for bedtime, mornings, and daily routines • Gentle reminders before you go over your limits • Screen time insights to track your progress • Pebble, your tiny focus companion, who reacts to your habits PRIVATE & SECURE Fried uses Apple's Screen Time API to block apps and manage screen time directly on your device. Your data stays on your device and is never sold or shared. Some features require a subscription. Terms of Service: https://app.notion.com/p/Terms-of-Service-382e65a7343180e9a443da1aeb2abf9b?source=copy_link Privacy Policy: https://app.notion.com/p/Fried-Privacy-Policy-382e65a7343180a48fd7d604ca50fe82?source=copy_link

Screenshots

Shelly4 screens
Fried4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Fried at freemium against Shelly's subscription. Fried also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 3 weeks). Shelly's advantage is iOS requirement (18.1 vs 26.0). On price, rating, ratings volume 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. Shelly sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Fried sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Shelly against 5.0 for Fried. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 3 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shelly ships an update every 3 weeks, Fried every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Shelly versus Fried: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShellyFried
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings33
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFreemium — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.1 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size46 MB111 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSpindle Hyperlocal Solutions Private LimitedCarter Clark

Customer experience

Shelly

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Fried

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Shelly

Subscriptions3
  • Premium Plan$5.991 Month
  • One time offer$24.991 Year
  • Premium Plan$49.991 Year
2 purchases

Fried

Subscriptions2
  • Fried Premium Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Fried Premium Yearly7 Days trial$49.991 Year

Questions

Is Shelly free?
Shelly is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Fried free?
Fried is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Shelly or Fried?
Shelly and Fried are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 3 and 3 ratings respectively.
Do Shelly or Fried have ads?
Neither Shelly nor Fried shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Shelly or Fried?
Shelly ships an update every 3 weeks, and Fried every 3 days. Most recently, Shelly was updated on October 18, 2026 and Fried on October 4, 2026.

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