Comparison

Core Time vs OpenDeck

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

Head to head
About

Core Time

This app provides a strict approach to blocking distracting applications and websites, helping users regain focus and manage screen time. It offers customizable lock durations and schedules, ensuring boundaries are enforced without negotiation.

Highlights
  • Strict app blocking
  • Customizable lock durations
  • Automatic scheduling
  • Cold turkey focus mode
  • Dopamine detox support
  • ADHD-friendly focus aid
  • One-tap recovery
Features
Read full description

Core Time is a strict app blocker and screen time app lock for people who need more than a gentle reminder. Block apps cold turkey, protect your focus, and stop losing hours to social media, dopamine loops, and phone addiction. If Screen Time limits are too easy to ignore, Core Time gives you a harder reset. Choose the apps and websites that pull you away from what matters, set your lock duration or schedule, and let Core Time enforce the boundary until time is up. ▶ STRICT APP BLOCKER Select distracting apps, set a timer, and tap Lock Now. Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X, Reddit, games, and other dopamine traps stay blocked while your lock is active. ▶ SCREEN TIME APP LOCK Use Core Time as a stronger screen time blocker when default limits are not enough. Create hard app limits for study, deep work, bedtime, weekends, or any moment when one more scroll can ruin your day. ▶ COLD TURKEY FOCUS No snooze. No soft warning. No willpower negotiation. Core Time is built for people who want a cold turkey app blocker that removes temptation instead of asking you to resist it. ▶ STUDY, EXAMS, AND DEEP WORK Start a lock before homework, exam prep, reading, writing, coding, or meetings. Keep your phone nearby without letting social media or games steal your focus. ▶ DOPAMINE DETOX AND DIGITAL DETOX Trying to break a scrolling habit? Use Core Time to block the apps that trigger quick dopamine hits and build a calmer digital routine. It is useful for a daily digital detox, a weekend reset, or a longer phone addiction recovery plan. ▶ AUTOMATIC SCHEDULES Set recurring locks for school hours, work blocks, family time, or sleep. Core Time can activate on your schedule so you do not need to decide again every day. ▶ ADHD-FRIENDLY FOCUS SUPPORT When impulse control is hard, a reminder is not enough. Core Time helps by removing the option to open the apps you already decided to avoid. ▶ NO WAY OUT DURING A LOCK During an active lock, selected apps and websites show a shield screen. Core Time uses Apple's Screen Time API and Family Controls framework so blocking runs on your device and stays private. ▶ ONE-TAP RECOVERY If something goes wrong, use Fix Now in Settings to reset Core Time to a clean state quickly. ▶ RECOMMENDED FOR • Students preparing for exams or homework • Professionals protecting deep work blocks • People with ADHD who need stronger focus boundaries • Anyone reducing phone addiction, doomscrolling, or social media overuse • Night owls who want to stop scrolling before bed • Parents who want a clear app blocking routine on their own device Core Time is not another reminder app. It is a strict app blocker, screen time blocker, app lock, focus timer, and digital detox tool for people who want their time back. Take back control of your phone. Download Core Time and start your next focus block today. ▶ USE CASES THAT MATCH REAL LIFE Use Core Time before a study session, during exam prep, while writing, when coding, during meetings, at the gym, or before sleep. If you keep opening the same apps without thinking, create a lock before the habit starts. ▶ WHY IT HELPS Core Time turns a vague intention into a real boundary. Instead of checking your phone, feeling guilty, and trying again tomorrow, you make one decision up front and let the app enforce it. ▶ BUILT FOR REPEAT ROUTINES The best results come from repeated locks: weekday work blocks, daily study sessions, lunch breaks without scrolling, and bedtime screen time limits. Start small, then make your focus routine automatic. ▶ SCREEN TIME CONTROL AND APP DETOX Use Core Time as screen time control when you need cold turkey blocking, app detox, a dopamine detox app, or a phone detox app. It works as a blocker for apps that interrupt study, deep work, sleep, and real life. Terms of Use (EULA): https://core-ground.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://core-ground.com/privacy

About

OpenDeck

Features
Read full description

OpenDeck is a viewer for self-contained HTML *documents* ("decks"), analogous to a PDF reader or a web browser opening a local page. Decks are content the user explicitly imports (via Files, AirDrop, or the share sheet) — they are not code downloaded to change the app's own features, and the app ships no in-app store or remote-content fetch. Each deck renders inside a sandboxed, cross-origin iframe served from an isolated origin (a custom deck:// scheme on iOS/macOS). The sandbox withholds top-level navigation, so a deck can never replace or reach the app shell or the native bridge. The app's functionality is fixed; decks cannot alter it. (Ref: Guideline 2.5.2.) To test presenting: on first launch the app preloads a short "Welcome" deck plus three example decks (illustrative HTML presentations) — open any of them from the library and move through the slides by tapping the screen (iPhone/iPad), using the on-screen arrow controls or the thumbnail rail, or pressing the left/right arrow keys. To test import: ready-made .deck files are downloadable from the "Examples" section of the home page at https://open-deck.org (smallest is "What Compounding Actually Does", 0.3 MB — direct link: https://open-deck.org/downloads/compounding.deck). Download one on the device, then open it via the system Share sheet → OpenDeck, or from the Files app — it is added to the library. Note: those three decks are also preloaded, and decks are content-addressed, so re-importing one simply refreshes it rather than duplicating; to watch a brand-new deck appear, first delete it from the library (••• → Delete) and then import the downloaded file. (AirDrop'ing any .deck to the device and choosing OpenDeck works too.) The bundled example decks are first-party sample content; any photographs in them are licensed stock imagery (Pexels License, which permits commercial and in-app use). The app collects no data and makes no network requests; everything is stored on-device.

Screenshots

Core Time4 screens
OpenDeck4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: OpenDeck at none against Core Time's 3. OpenDeck also leads on device support (4 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price 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. Core Time sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. OpenDeck asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Core Time versus OpenDeck: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCore TimeOpenDeck
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (4 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings4 — better—
Update frequencyWeekly—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size37 MB10 MB
Age rating4+4+
DevelopercoregroundSinisha Djukic

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Core Time

Subscriptions3
  • Core Time Pro (Monthly)$6.991 Month
  • Core Time Pro (Annual)$24.991 Year
  • Core Time Pro (Annual)$49.991 Year
None

OpenDeck

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Core Time free?
Core Time is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is OpenDeck free?
OpenDeck is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Core Time or OpenDeck have ads?
Neither Core Time nor OpenDeck shows ads.

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