Comparison

Cascade vs Scrollmate

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

Head to head
About

Cascade

This app helps you regain focus by blocking distracting applications and offering mindfulness exercises. It provides different session modes to suit your needs, from strict blocking to intentional unlock windows, and helps you understand app design to reduce their hold on your attention.

Highlights
  • App blocking for set durations
  • Multiple session modes (Zen, Monk, Vault)
  • Mindfulness and breathing exercises
  • Rewire course on app design
  • Pattern recognition for habits
  • Routine building for sessions
Read full description

Cascade blocks the apps you pick, for as long as you pick. The rest of the app is about the moment you want to open them anyway. THE MODES - Zen: block your apps for a time you choose. You can stop anytime. - Monk: locked until the timer ends. Longer sessions earn a few short unlock windows for real needs. If you want to stop early, Cascade first asks what you are feeling. - Vault: no stopping early. You get 3 passes a week, each opens your apps for 15 minutes. WHEN THE URGE COMES The feeling you name decides what you get: a short breathing exercise, a small thing to do away from the screen, or a question to think about. Each takes a minute or two. None of them lead back to the feed. ROUTINES Set the days and hours once. Sessions start and end on their own, even when the app is closed. ASK CASCADE Ask anything about the app, or just say what you want: it sets up your routine, starts a session or switches modes for you. Pro. ALWAYS ON Always locked keeps the apps you choose closed until you remove them. Check-ins add a short pause before an impulsive open. FRIENDS Add friends with a code. In the Progress tab you see each other's focus time, longest session and streak. You can invite friends into a focus session, or into a shared routine so everyone focuses at the same hours with their own apps. Every finished session also counts as a vote for the person you are becoming, and your friends can see your votes too. THE WEEKLY LETTER At the end of every week Cascade writes you a short letter: which days you focused, why you stopped, what you finished. Past letters stay in an archive. ALSO INSIDE Short meditations for focus, calm and sleep. Rewire, a course on why feeds are so hard to put down. A lock screen widget and Live Activities for your sessions. PRIVACY The list of apps you block stays on your phone. Blocking runs on Apple's Screen Time framework, on your device. We never see your apps. What you type in Ask Cascade goes to our server to be answered. PRICE Free: unlimited Zen sessions, one meditation, one Rewire lesson. Pro unlocks everything else, as a subscription or a one time purchase. The yearly plan starts with a 7 day free trial. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Scrollmate

Features
Read full description

Parental controls that need a parent's approval, not a tap. ScrollMate is a parental control app for families with teens. A parent or legal guardian sets up limits on their child's phone, and when the child hits a limit, the app gets blocked. If the child wants more time, they send a request. The parent decides. Free 3-Day Trial • Then Subscription Required Built for one relationship and one relationship only: a parent or legal guardian and the child whose device they manage. There is no social network here, no feed of strangers, and no way to be found by anyone you did not hand a code to. HOW IT WORKS 1. Set up ScrollMate on the child's phone and pick the apps to limit 2. Set the daily limits 3. A parent or guardian installs ScrollMate on their own phone and connects with an invite code 4. When the child hits a limit, ScrollMate blocks the app 5. The child can send a request for extra time, with a photo and a reason 6. The parent approves or denies it from their own phone WHY SCROLLMATE WORKS Most screen time apps leave the final decision to the child. That sounds fine until they are bored, tired, or already twenty minutes deep into a feed. A four-digit passcode gets watched over a shoulder and shared within a week. ScrollMate adds one step that cannot be tapped past: a parent has to say yes. Nothing unlocks until they do. FEATURES Parent Approval Extra time only happens when a parent or guardian approves it from their own device. App Blocking Set limits for distracting apps on the child's phone and make them harder to reopen. No Easy Snooze ScrollMate creates real friction, not another button to dismiss. Request With Context The child explains why they need more time before the parent decides. Daily Overview Parents see how the day is going on the phone they manage. Invite Codes Only Accounts connect by sharing a code in person. No username search, no contact uploads, no strangers. USE SCROLLMATE FOR Managing a teen's social media use Blocking distracting apps on a child's phone Keeping homework time free of interruptions Cutting back on doomscrolling Building healthier phone habits as a family Giving a parent a real say in screen time instead of relying on a passcode PRIVACY ScrollMate uses Apple's Screen Time tools so a parent or guardian can manage app access on their child's device, which is exactly what those tools are built for. Screen time details stay protected by Apple's system and are only ever shared with the parent or guardian connected to that device. Accounts connect by invite code, so nobody can find a child's account by searching. We do not upload contacts and we do not sell data. GET STARTED Install ScrollMate on the child's phone. Set the limits. Connect a parent or guardian with an invite code. From then on, extra time is a decision, not a tap. Privacy Policy: https://smallstack.dk/scrollmate/privacy By subscribing to Scrollmate, you agree to Apple's standard Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Cascade4 screens
Scrollmate4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Cascade at none against Scrollmate's shown. On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and device support 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. Cascade sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $11.99 per month and Scrollmate sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cascade ships an update every 3 weeks, Scrollmate every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Cascade versus Scrollmate: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCascadeScrollmate
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 10 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS17.6 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size303 MB110 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperIDIL CIVEZsmallstack ApS

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Cascade

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Pro$11.991 Month
  • Yearly Pro7 Days trial$59.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Pro$199.99
2 purchases

Scrollmate

Subscriptions2
  • Premium$9.997 Days
  • Premium (Yearly)3 Days trial$39.991 Year

Questions

Is Cascade free?
Cascade is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Scrollmate free?
Scrollmate is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Cascade or Scrollmate have ads?
Scrollmate shows ads; Cascade does not.
Which is updated more often, Cascade or Scrollmate?
Cascade ships an update every 3 weeks, and Scrollmate every 10 days. Most recently, Cascade was updated on October 4, 2026 and Scrollmate on October 11, 2026.

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