Comparison

Merite vs Couples Screen Time

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

Head to head
About

Merite

This app helps you manage screen time by turning responsibilities into rewards. Complete tasks to earn screen time, which you can then use for breaks. It aims to reduce guilt associated with phone usage and promote balance.

Highlights
  • Earn screen time by completing tasks
  • Block distracting apps until time is earned
  • On-device data for privacy
  • Guilt-free scrolling
  • Promotes phone-life balance
Features
Read full description

Make screen time a reward, not a habit. Merite helps you turn everyday responsibilities into intentional screen time. Create tasks for work, study, chores, or personal goals. Complete them to build your screen time budget, then use that time when you want a break. Instead of scrolling by default, Merite helps you pause, finish what matters, and enjoy your phone with less guilt. - Complete tasks to earn screen time - Keep distracting apps blocked until you have time available - Stay private with on-device data, no accounts, and no tracking - Enjoy guilt-free scrolling because your break is earned Turn your phone from a distraction into a tool for balance. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://artemtalko.github.io/merite.privacy-policy/

About

Couples Screen Time

This app helps couples manage screen time and tasks together. By sharing a screen time pool and to-do lists, users earn minutes back by completing tasks, keeping a shared flame alive. It encourages accountability and shared goals for digital well-being.

Highlights
  • Shared screen time pool
  • Shared to-do lists
  • Earn screen time by completing tasks
  • Visual flame indicator
  • App locking when time is up
  • Individual and couple modes
Features
Read full description

Screen time for couples. Cut it together. Burn is a screen time app for couples. Invite your partner, share one pool of screen time, and share whichever to-do lists you like. Finish tasks to earn logs and feed them to Burn, a little flame you keep lit together. Doomscroll the pool dry and both of your distracting apps lock. No willpower required. Just someone in your corner, and a flame worth keeping lit. BURN DUO: SHARE IT WITH YOUR PARTNER (FREE) • One shared screen time pool, with a daily goal either of you can change • Share any to-do list: groceries, chores, date night plans. Everything else stays private • Either of you ticks a shared task off, it's done for both • One log pile: tasks either of you finishes refuel you both • See your partner's day: how much they burned, and where it went by the app groups they name • Get a heads-up when your partner adds or finishes a shared task • One flame, one streak. It breaks the moment either of you burns the last minute • Own Burn+? Your partner gets it too while you're in a Duo • Syncs through your own iCloud. No Burn account, no sign-in HOW IT WORKS • Start each day with a screen time budget • Scrolling the apps you pick burns through it, minute by minute • Hit zero and those apps lock • Finish tasks to earn logs • Feed logs to Burn: every log buys 10 more minutes Rather go solo? Burn works just as well on your own. GET STUFF DONE • Give every task its own log reward, so big jobs pay more • Daily, weekday, or custom repeating tasks for your habits • Plan Today, Tomorrow, and the days ahead • Sort tasks into color-coded categories, private or shared • Shake to undo if you tap too soon A FLAME WORTH KEEPING LIT • Burn reacts to your day: happy when you're on track, worried when time runs low, out cold when it's gone • Tap, pet, and drag logs in to feed him • Dozes off at night with a sleepy face • Keep Burn lit all day to build your streak YOU'RE IN CONTROL • Choose exactly which apps and categories burn fuel • Everything else stays open • Set your own daily budget • No account, no sign-in, no ads. BURN+ (ONE-TIME PURCHASE) • 13 flame colors, each with a matching app icon • Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets, including a task list you can check off without opening the app • Live Activity: watch your fuel count down in the Dynamic Island • Low fuel warnings before your apps lock • Screen Time Insights: see which apps ate your time, by day, week, and month Burn uses Apple's Screen Time to track and limit only the apps you choose. What you do in them never leaves your device. In a Duo, your partner sees only your totals, the app groups you name and your shared lists, synced through your iCloud.

Screenshots

Merite4 screens
Couples Screen Time4 screens

Verdict

The call

Merite and Couples Screen Time both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of Couples Screen Time's written reviews are positive against 78% of Merite's. Merite's advantage is ratings volume (35 vs 7). On price, rating, 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. Merite sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Couples Screen Time sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. 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 — 4.6 for Merite against 4.7 for Couples Screen Time. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Merite has 35 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 78% of Merite's written reviews are positive against 100% of Couples Screen Time's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Merite ships an update every 11 days, Couples Screen Time every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on November 5, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Merite versus Couples Screen Time: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMeriteCouples Screen Time
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (35 ratings)4.7 (7 ratings) — better
Positive reviews77.8% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings35 — better7
Update frequencyEvery 11 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS18.018.0
Further details — not scored
Size20 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperArtem TalkoVincent Nguyen

Customer experience

Merite

All ratings35 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral11.4%
Negative2.9%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive77.8%
Neutral22.2%
Negative0.0%

Couples Screen Time

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Merite

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Premium$4.991 Month
  • Annual Premium7 Days trial$39.991 Year
One-time4
  • Buy me a coffee$0.99
  • Buy me a pizza$2.99
  • Big tip$5.99
Show 1 more
  • Merite Pro Lifetime$79.99
1 purchases

Couples Screen Time

One-time1
  • Burn+$9.99

Questions

Is Merite free?
Merite is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Couples Screen Time free?
Couples Screen Time is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Merite or Couples Screen Time?
Couples Screen Time is rated higher. Merite averages 4.6 out of 5 from 35 ratings, while Couples Screen Time averages 4.7 from 7 ratings.
Do Merite or Couples Screen Time have ads?
Neither Merite nor Couples Screen Time shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Merite or Couples Screen Time?
Merite ships an update every 11 days, and Couples Screen Time every 2 weeks. Most recently, Merite was updated on November 5, 2026 and Couples Screen Time on November 5, 2026.

Other comparisons