Comparison

Screen Time Control vs FocusWell

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

Head to head
About

Screen Time Control

This app helps you master your attention and reclaim your digital independence by setting strict screen time limits and blocking distracting applications. It combines Stoic philosophy with powerful tools to foster discipline, focus on goals, and improve digital well-being for individuals and families.

Highlights
  • Rigorous screen time control
  • App locker and hider
  • Deep work and time blocking
  • Family safety features
  • Discipline building
  • Digital well-being tools
Features
Read full description

Pip is a little cloud who helps you put your phone down. Pick the apps that pull at you and start a focus session. Pip locks them until you're done and quietly gets on with its day. Finish, and you both get something for it. BLOCK DISTRACTING APPS • Lock social media, games and any app you choose while you focus • Built on Apple's Screen Time, so blocks hold even if you close the app • Need a break? Earn it with a few slow breaths or a quick memory game LIMIT YOUR SCREEN TIME • Set a daily screen time goal and see how close you are • Track pickups and screen time trends across days and weeks • Gentle morning and evening nudges, never nagging A FOCUS PET THAT GROWS WITH YOU • Every focused minute earns coins • Dress Pip up with hats, glasses and more from the shop • Keep your streak alive to unlock rewards, and mend it if a day slips MADE FOR REAL LIFE • A focus timer for study, deep work, sleep and time with people • Nightstand mode and a Live Activity keep the timer in view • A hold-to-commit pledge that makes your goal feel official PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your Screen Time data is processed by Apple on your iPhone. Pip never sees which apps you open and never uploads your usage. A subscription unlocks focus sessions and the full experience. Payment is charged to your Apple ID and renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel it any time in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.freeprivacypolicy.com/live/e3c354c7-9a8f-4202-8159-6549f1a5ce00

About

FocusWell

This app helps you regain control of your daily screen time and combat excessive scrolling. It introduces a mindful pause before opening distracting applications and allows you to set custom limits and focus sessions to build lasting concentration.

Highlights
  • Mindful pause before distracting apps
  • Custom app limits
  • Focus sessions
  • Daily screen time insights
  • Distraction-free design
  • Private data handling
Read full description

Most people don't decide to scroll for forty five minutes. It just happens, somewhere between checking one notification and looking up an hour later. FocusWell is an app blocker and focus tool built for exactly that moment, the split second before autopilot takes over. Your phone is built to keep you tapping. FocusWell is built to give you a way out, not through willpower alone, but through a calm pause, honest app limits, and focus sessions that actually hold. WHY FOCUSWELL A calm pause, not a lecture. Before a distracting app opens, FocusWell gives you one honest moment to decide. No shame, no lockouts you didn't ask for, just a real choice where autopilot used to win. Block one app or everything at once. Choose exactly what to limit, one app, a category, or all of it, for a focus session or on a schedule that runs automatically in the background. See where your time actually goes. Daily and weekly screen time insights show your real habits, not a guess, so you can see the hours you win back add up week over week. Build focus that lasts. Turn one good day into a streak. FocusWell helps you trade the scroll reflex for deep work, study time, or simply being where you already are. WHAT YOU GET - A calm pause before distracting apps open - App limits and focus sessions, for one app or all of them - Schedules that run automatically, not just when you remember - Daily and weekly screen time insights - Private by design: your usage data stays on your device WHO IT'S FOR Students protecting a study block. Anyone building a career who needs one uninterrupted hour before the inbox opens. People who pick up their phone for one notification and put it down forty minutes later, more tired than when they started. FocusWell meets you at the moment you already recognize, right before the scroll starts. Every skipped scroll adds up to a real hour somewhere else, a workout, a book, a conversation, or just quiet. FocusWell doesn't ask you to try harder. It just removes the moment where autopilot used to win. FocusWell runs on Apple's own Screen Time framework, so your usage data stays on your device, not a server. No streak shaming, no guilt trips, just a clear tool for people who want their attention back. Download FocusWell and start your first focus session today. Terms, Privacy and Conditions https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ https://https://www.getfocuswell.com/terms-of-service

Screenshots

Screen Time Control4 screens
FocusWell4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: FocusWell at free against Screen Time Control's subscription. Screen Time Control's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 3 days vs every 8 days). On price, rating, ratings volume and in-app purchases 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. Screen Time Control sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days and FocusWell sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. 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 Screen Time Control against 5.0 for FocusWell. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 3 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Screen Time Control ships an update every 3 days, FocusWell every 8 days. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Screen Time Control versus FocusWell: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterScreen Time ControlFocusWell
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings23 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 8 days
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size28 MB71 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDANIEL PETRISOR ATITIENEIStanislav Varetskyi

Customer experience

Screen Time Control

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

FocusWell

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

8 purchases

Screen Time Control

Subscriptions4
  • Weekly Plan$4.997 Days
  • Monthly Plan$7.991 Month
  • Yearly Plan Discount$29.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Yearly Plan7 Days trial$49.991 Year
One-time4
  • 400 Coins$0.99
  • 1,350 Coins$2.99
  • 2,500 Coins$4.99
Show 1 more
  • 5,500 Coins$9.99
10 purchases

FocusWell

Subscriptions10
  • FocusWell Weekly3 Days trial$1.997 Days
  • FocusWell Monthly$2.991 Month
  • FocusWell Weekly3 Days trial$3.997 Days
Show 7 more
  • FocusWell Monthly7 Days trial$7.991 Month
  • FocusWell Weekly3 Days trial$7.997 Days
  • FocusWell Annual$9.991 Year
  • FocusWell Annual$14.991 Year
  • FocusWell Annual$24.991 Year
  • FocusWell Annual$34.991 Year
  • FocusWell Annual$49.991 Year

Questions

Is Screen Time Control free?
Screen Time Control is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is FocusWell free?
FocusWell is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Screen Time Control or FocusWell?
Screen Time Control and FocusWell are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2 and 3 ratings respectively.
Do Screen Time Control or FocusWell have ads?
FocusWell shows ads; Screen Time Control does not.
Which is updated more often, Screen Time Control or FocusWell?
Screen Time Control ships an update every 3 days, and FocusWell every 8 days. Most recently, Screen Time Control was updated on October 31, 2026 and FocusWell on October 31, 2026.

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