Comparison

iWorkUntil vs CardGate

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

Head to head
About

iWorkUntil

This app transforms remaining time into a visual representation, using a grid that fills as time passes. It's designed for individuals who benefit from seeing time progress, particularly for focus sessions, study periods, or managing workdays.

Highlights
  • Visual countdown timer
  • Time represented as a filling grid
  • Customizable duration or time range
  • Multiple themes available
  • Minimalist overlay design
  • No notifications or ads
Features
Read full description

iWorkUntil turns the time you have left into something you can actually see — every minute is a visible block, the grid fills as time passes, and one glance tells you where you stand in the day, the session, or the workday. Built for anyone who'd rather see time than read it. Especially good for ADHD focus sessions, deep-work blocks, study time, and any moment where "how long left?" is the question that matters. No accounts. No ads. No notifications. No streaks to break. No AI nagging. Just time, made visible. WHAT IT DOES • Visual countdown — your time as a grid of blocks that fills as it passes • Pick a duration (e.g. 25 minutes) or a range (e.g. 9 to 5) • Each block represents a slice of your time — at a glance, you know where you are • Choose a theme that fits your screen • Lives in the corner — never in the way WHO IT'S FOR • Anyone who loses track of time when they're focused • Visual thinkers who do better with shapes than with numbers • Pomodoro and deep-work sessions that need a clear stop signal • Workdays, homework, study breaks, screen-time wind-down • Cooking, exercise, meetings, presentations — anything time-boxed WHAT IT DOESN'T DO • No notifications. No dings. No dopamine traps. • No accounts, no logins, no data collection. • No ads, no subscriptions, no upsells. • No AI, no streaks, no guilt. A visual countdown that shows you time, instead of telling you about it. Available in 11 languages: English, German, French, Spanish, Dutch, Polish, Hungarian, Russian, Danish, Swedish, Slovenian.

About

CardGate

Transform phone distractions into study motivation by blocking distracting apps until you pass a quiz. Import or generate flashcards, track your progress, and regain control of your screen time.

Highlights
  • Block distracting apps
  • Flashcard import (Anki, CSV)
  • AI flashcard generation
  • Customizable quiz modes
  • Earn Time mode
  • Progress tracking
  • Per-app control
Features
Read full description

CardGate turns your phone's distractions into study motivation. Pick the apps that waste your time, bring your flashcards (or let AI generate them), and your phone won't open those apps until you pass a quiz. BUILT FOR • Students grinding Anki for exams (USMLE, MCAT, A-levels, Abitur, bar prep) • Language learners building vocab in Spanish, Japanese, German, and more • Anyone trying to cut screen time — but tired of apps that just nag HOW IT WORKS 1. Pick the apps that distract you — Instagram, TikTok, games, anything 2. Add flashcards: import an Anki .apkg, paste a CSV, generate with AI, or use the built-in starter deck 3. Open a blocked app — tap "Take Quiz" on the shield. Pass to unlock the app 4. Track your streak and watch your screen time drop FLASHCARDS YOUR WAY • Import Anki decks (.apkg) with full media — images, audio, cloze deletions, image occlusion, LaTeX/MathJax • Paste CSV or TSV from Quizlet, Excel, or any spreadsheet • Create cards directly in the app • AI flashcard generator — paste your notes (or upload a .txt or .pdf) and get a deck back. Free with your own ChatGPT/Claude account using paste-back, or one-tap Direct AI with affordable credit packs (no subscription required) • Built-in starter deck on first launch QUIZ MODES • Flip — read the answer, self-grade • Multiple Choice — AI-generated distractors or smart on-device fallbacks SMART STUDYING • Card selection prioritizes cards you struggle with and haven't seen recently • Wrong answers re-queue until you get them right EARN TIME MODE Don't want hard blocks? Switch on Earn Time — answer cards to bank screen-time minutes, then spend them on the apps you've blocked. PER-APP CONTROL • Cooldowns so passing a quiz buys you 0–60 minutes of access before the shield returns • Halfway and 1-minute-warning notifications before the shield comes back • Set the card count required per app TRACK YOUR PROGRESS • Daily streak • Weekly and monthly study stats • Recent quiz history FREE VS PREMIUM • Free: 1 blocked app + 1 deck (up to 500 cards), Flip and Multiple Choice modes, paste-back AI generation, cooldowns, Earn Time mode, all stats • Premium: unlimited blocked apps, unlimited decks, unlimited cards per deck, recurring AI credits each period • Plus: pay-as-you-go AI credit packs for one-tap Direct AI generation — no subscription required PRIVACY FIRST All your data stays on your device. No accounts, no analytics, no ads, no tracking. AI generation only sends the text you choose to generate from — never your decks, browsing data, or anything else. ABOUT FAMILY CONTROLS (SCREEN TIME) CardGate uses Apple's official Family Controls / Screen Time APIs to block apps. You'll be asked to grant permission once during setup. Apps you select are tokenized by Apple — CardGate never sees the actual list of apps you've installed and never reads your screen. SUBSCRIPTION TERMS Premium is offered as Weekly, Monthly, Yearly auto-renewable subscriptions and a one-time Lifetime purchase. Subscriptions auto-renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the period ends. Manage or cancel any time in Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions. Privacy policy and terms linked below. EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

iWorkUntil4 screens
CardGate4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: iWorkUntil at none against CardGate's 8. On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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. CardGate sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. iWorkUntil asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for iWorkUntil against 5.0 for CardGate. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

iWorkUntil ships an update every 8 days, CardGate every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
iWorkUntil versus CardGate: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteriWorkUntilCardGate
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Number of ratings11
Update frequencyEvery 8 days — betterEvery 10 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.416.4
Further details — not scored
Size50 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDavid KlauszAdrian Scheibelhut

In-app purchases

None

iWorkUntil

No in-app purchases

8 purchases

CardGate

Subscriptions3
  • Weekly Premium$1.997 Days
  • Monthly Premium$3.991 Month
  • Yearly Premium$24.991 Year
One-time5
  • Extra App Slot$0.69
  • Extra Deck Slot$0.69
  • 10 AI Credits$0.99
Show 2 more
  • 100 AI Credits$4.99
  • Lifetime Premium$34.99

Questions

Is iWorkUntil free?
iWorkUntil is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is CardGate free?
CardGate is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, iWorkUntil or CardGate?
iWorkUntil and CardGate are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do iWorkUntil or CardGate have ads?
Neither iWorkUntil nor CardGate shows ads.
Which is updated more often, iWorkUntil or CardGate?
iWorkUntil ships an update every 8 days, and CardGate every 10 days. Most recently, iWorkUntil was updated on October 31, 2026 and CardGate on October 25, 2026.

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