Shelly vs Countdown
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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
Countdown
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Countdown is the warmest, simplest way to count down to the moments that matter in your life. Waiting for a trip? Studying for an exam? Trying not to forget a birthday? Countdown lets you organize your goals into categories and see, at a glance, exactly how much time is left for each one. FEATURES • Unlimited categories (Travel, Health, Career, Family, and more) • Countdown to each goal in days, hours, and minutes • Reminders — get notified as your goal approaches • Progress summary — see how far you've come • Personal notes — remember why you chose this goal • A warm, calm, distraction-free design WHY COUNTDOWN? Skip the cluttered planners and busy calendars. Countdown helps you focus on what actually matters, all counted down in one simple place. Countdown is free to start. Track up to 5 active countdowns at no cost. For unlimited countdowns and data export, we offer a one-time, affordable Pro upgrade — no subscription, no surprise charges. Add your first goal today, and take one step closer.
Screenshots
Verdict
Shelly and Countdown are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Shelly sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Countdown sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Shelly ships an update every 3 weeks, Countdown every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Shelly | Countdown |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 3 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Subscription | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 18.1 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 46 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Spindle Hyperlocal Solutions Private Limited | Selcuk ALBUT |
In-app purchases
Shelly
- Premium Plan$5.991 Month
- One time offer$24.991 Year
- Premium Plan$49.991 Year
Countdown
- Countdown Pro$3.99









