# Refreshly vs Exist

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Refreshly at none against Exist's 2. Exist's advantage is ratings volume (10 vs 2). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Exist sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Refreshly asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Refreshly against 5.0 for Exist. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Exist has 10 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Refreshly ships an update every 9 days, Exist every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Refreshly | Exist |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/refreshly-water-tracker/id6759031922/reviews) | [5.0 (10 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/exist-screen-time-control/id6761478726/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 2 | **10** |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 9 days** | Every 2 weeks |
| Monetization | **Free** | Freemium |
| Size | 38 MB | 260 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.1** | 16.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPod** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [CHAD DEAN WESSENDORF](https://appshunter.io/developer/1875324487) | [John Stringfield](https://appshunter.io/developer/1889863795) |

## What reviewers say

### Refreshly

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/refreshly-water-tracker/id6759031922)

This app helps you build a consistent hydration routine with gentle reminders and subtle progress tracking. It focuses on small daily wins to create momentum without pressure, making it easy to log water and visualize your progress.

**Highlights:** Personalized daily hydration goals, Fast one-tap logging, Flexible units (oz, mL, L), Gentle reminder options, 14-day history with progress visualization, Subtle milestone reinforcement

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### Exist

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/exist-screen-time-control/id6761478726)

This app helps you reduce smartphone usage by rewiring habit loops and providing escape hatches from endless scrolling. It blocks distracting apps during scheduled times and offers an 'Exist Mode' to temporarily disable smartphone functions.

**Highlights:** Blocks distracting apps, Rewires habit loops, Escape hatch from doomscrolling, Protects special time windows, Go analog with Exist Mode, Uses behavioral psychology

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Exist Monthly | $9.99 | per month |
| Exist Yearly | $59.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Refreshly free?

Refreshly is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Exist free?

Exist is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Refreshly or Exist?

Refreshly and Exist are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2 and 10 ratings respectively.

### Do Refreshly or Exist have ads?

Neither Refreshly nor Exist shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Refreshly or Exist?

Refreshly ships an update every 9 days, and Exist every 2 weeks. Most recently, Refreshly was updated on October 31, 2026 and Exist on November 9, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*