ScrollTax vs BlockRot
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ScrollTax
This app helps you manage your screen time by turning addictive app usage into a budget. Earn back access to locked apps by engaging in productive activities like reading, working out, or chores. It uses your phone's built-in screen time features for strict enforcement.
- Lock addictive apps
- Earn screen time through various activities
- Automatic app re-locking
- Debt carryover for overages
- Work and Sleep Focus integration
- Uses iOS Screen Time enforcement
- Home screen widget with mood indicator
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What if doomscrolling had a price? ScrollTax locks your most addictive apps. Earn them back by reading, focusing, doing chores, working, walking, working out, or going outside. The system enforces it. Every 5 minutes of screen time costs 1 tax point. Hit zero and your apps re-lock automatically. Go over budget and the overage becomes debt — it carries into tomorrow, so you start the next day already in the red until you work it off. Your phone, on a budget. HOW IT WORKS Pick your apps. Select any apps to put on a budget using the iOS Screen Time picker. Social media, games, news, browsers — they're locked by default. Earn tax points. · Reading — 10 min = 1 point · Focus — 10 min = 1 point · Chores — 15 min = 1 point · Work — 60 min = 1 point, tracked by your iPhone Work Focus · Steps — 2,000 steps = 1 point · Workout — 15 min = 1 point · Mindfulness — 10 min = 1 point · Standing — 3 hours = 1 point · Sunlight — 15 min outside = 1 point (Apple Watch) · Sleep — 7+ hours = 2 points, from Apple Health or your Sleep Focus Each source has a daily cap, so no single habit can buy the whole day. Spend your budget. 1 point = 5 minutes of screen time. Tracked automatically in the background. Hit zero and your apps re-lock on their own. You also get 30 free grace minutes every day. MEET ZUNŌ A little brain that lives on your Home screen. Its mood follows your balance: bright when you're earning, frazzled when you're scrolling. Poke it, pet it, keep it happy. Prefer a quieter look? Switch to Classic. WORK MODE AND SLEEP MODE Add ScrollTax to your iPhone Work or Sleep Focus. While the Focus is on, your taxed apps stay locked, and the time counts as work or sleep. When it turns off, they reopen. THE LOCK IS REAL ScrollTax uses Apple's own Screen Time enforcement. There's no dismiss button, no three-tap override. If you want Instagram, you have to earn it. Yes, that means walking 2,000 steps. YOUR DATA STAYS YOURS ScrollTax never sees which apps you open or what you view. No account. No ads. Your history syncs through your own iCloud. FREE · All ten earn sources · Work mode and Sleep mode · 30 grace minutes per day · 1 emergency unlock per day · Debt carryover — overage rolls to tomorrow · Live Activity and widgets · Hard mode — disable the emergency unlock · Your last 7 days of progress SCROLLTAX PRO · Custom earn rates and grace · Debt controls · Trends, patterns and your full history ScrollTax. Your phone, on a budget. Legal: EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://scrolltax.hipporasy.dev/privacy Terms: https://scrolltax.hipporasy.dev/terms
BlockRot
This app helps users break free from phone addiction and reclaim focus by rewarding healthy real-life habits with screen time. It uses a unique gem system and a virtual companion to motivate users to build discipline and reverse the effects of excessive digital consumption.
- Rot Gems system for earning screen time
- Penguin companion for motivation
- Photo-based task verification
- 30+ healthy habit tasks
- App blocking via Apple Screen Time
- Private and secure by default
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BlockRot - Beat Brainrot. Reclaim your focus. Feeling tired, always have brain fog or just addicted to your phone? You’re not the only one. You’re experiencing Brainrot; a new condition caused by constant overstimulation, effortless dopamine loops, and endless scrolling. BlockRot helps you break that cycle and take back control of your life. Why You’ll Love BlockRot BlockRot Fixes BrainRot at the Root BlockRot isn't just a screen time blocker, it helps you reverse the effects of brainrot by rebuilding healthy habits, restoring focus, building discipline and giving you a system that actually works. It's a digital detox that actually works. Earn Rot Gems by Living Your Life Complete healthy tasks like working out, making your bed, going outside, journaling, and breathing exercises. Each action earns you Rot Gems, your currency for screen time. Track Progress, Build Discipline Stay motivated with streaks, a growing gem balance, and Rottie, your penguin companion who keeps you on track every day. Key Features - Rot Gems System A reward framework that turns healthy real-life actions into screen time, and helps rewire your brain away from mindless scrolling. - Rottie, Your Penguin Companion A friendly mascot that keeps you motivated and on track with your daily habits. - Photo-Based Task Verification Prove you completed your tasks with a photo, AI checks your submission instantly so you can't cheat your way to screen time. - 30+ Healthy Tasks Workouts, mindfulness, journaling, breathing exercises, gratitude, hydration and more, all rewarding you with Rot Gems. - App Blocker Block your most distracting apps using Apple Screen Time. Your blocked apps stay locked until you earn the gems to unlock them. - Safe & Private by Default No account required. No cloud storage. Everything stays on your device. Reverse the Symptoms of Brainrot: - Mindlessly picking up your phone every few minutes - Shrinking attention span and inability to focus - Chronic fatigue from late night scrolling - Feeling foggy, lazy, and unmotivated - Relying on your phone to feel okay Rebuild Your Focus and Your Life: - Earn your screen time instead of wasting it - Build habits that actually stick - Create a healthy relationship with your phone - Feel sharp, energised, and in control again - Become someone you're genuinely proud of Break free from brainrot. Earn your screen time. Download BlockRot today. Privacy Policy: https://mahogany-dibble-0ef.notion.site/Privacy-Policy-35802f6c51b0805db658ee7d1455a1d3?pvs=74 Terms of Use: https://www.notion.so/Terms-and-Conditions-35802f6c51b080fe9c13f1b686c1c2ee Contact: blockrotapp@gmail.com BlockRot requires a paid subscription to access all features.
Screenshots
Verdict
ScrollTax and BlockRot both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of ScrollTax's written reviews are positive against 62% of BlockRot's. BlockRot's advantage is update cadence (daily vs weekly) and ratings volume (514 vs 4). On price, rating, ads 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
Both are free to download. ScrollTax sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and BlockRot sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for ScrollTax against 4.7 for BlockRot. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: BlockRot has 514 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 100% of ScrollTax's written reviews are positive against 62% of BlockRot's.
ScrollTax ships an update weekly, BlockRot daily. Both last shipped on November 5, 2026.
| Parameter | ScrollTax | BlockRot |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (4 ratings) — better | 4.7 (514 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 62.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 4 | 514 — better |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Daily — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 76 MB | 241 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Marasy Phi | Matthew Heester |
Customer experience
ScrollTax
BlockRot
In-app purchases
ScrollTax
- Pro Monthly$9.991 Month
- Pro - Annually$29.991 Year
BlockRot
- Premium Weekly$7.997 Days
- Premium Yearly3 Days trial$24.991 Year
- Premium Yearly$24.991 Year
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- Premium Yearly3 Days trial$29.991 Year
- Premium Yearly7 Days trial$29.991 Year
- Premium Yearly$29.991 Year
- Premium Yearly3 Days trial$49.991 Year
- Premium Yearly$49.991 Year
- Premium Yearly$79.991 Year
- Premium Yearly3 Days trial$79.991 Year







