Comparison

Ritsu vs Pause

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

Head to head
About

Ritsu

Organize your reading with a visually appealing digital bookshelf. Track books you've read, are currently reading, or want to read, and save notes and impressions for each title. Enjoy a beautiful way to manage your reading history and TBR list.

Highlights
  • Visual bookshelf UI
  • Track read, reading, and TBR books
  • Save notes and quotes
  • Manage reading status
  • Organize various book types
  • Beautiful reading history view
Features
Read full description

Ritsu is a beautiful book tracker and reading log app that lets you collect the books you have read, are currently reading, and want to read on your own personal bookshelf. With a visual bookshelf UI inspired by real book covers and spines, Ritsu makes it more enjoyable to keep track of your reading. Every book you add becomes part of a growing collection, helping you turn everyday reading into something you can see, organize, and look back on. Whether you read novels, manga, business books, ebooks, or nonfiction, Ritsu helps you manage your reading history, notes, thoughts, and to-be-read list in one simple place. Every book you read adds something new to your shelf. Ritsu combines the joy of collecting books with the convenience of a reading tracker. What you can do with Ritsu: • Track books you have read, are reading, and want to read • Manage reading status for each book • Save thoughts, notes, memorable quotes, and impressions • View your reading history in a beautiful bookshelf-style interface • Organize novels, manga, business books, practical books, ebooks, and more • Keep your TBR list and completed books easy to see Recommended for people who want to: • Keep a clean and beautiful record of books they have read • Build a personal bookshelf on their phone • Save reading notes and impressions for each book • Manage books they want to read or have not finished yet • Enjoy reading as if they were collecting books on a real shelf With Ritsu, your reading record becomes more than just a log. It becomes a bookshelf that grows with every book you read. Make your daily reading more enjoyable, more organized, and more beautiful. Some features, such as unlimited bookshelves and detailed statistics, are available with the Premium Plan through in-app purchase. Terms of Use:https://scented-cross-231.notion.site/Terms-of-Use-35971e35e68d80f2a90cd3cc19d43b2f Privacy Policy:https://scented-cross-231.notion.site/Privacy-Policy-35971e35e68d80debcccc8d658ec9be5

About

Pause

This app helps you reclaim time spent on social media and videos by setting usage limits before you open them. It converts your social media time into an estimate of how many book pages you could have read, encouraging a shift towards reading.

Highlights
  • Set time limits for apps before opening
  • Automatically block apps when time expires
  • Convert social media time to book pages
  • Track reading progress with a virtual companion
  • Home screen widgets and live activities
  • Shareable progress cards
Features
Read full description

What if the time that melts away on social media went into a book instead? A quick break? Catching up on news? Just checking one notification… You meant to look for a minute, and two hours are gone. The break left you tired, not rested. And every day, a faint sense of "what am I doing" quietly eats at your confidence along with your time. You're not alone. That's why Pause exists. Pause asks you to decide how long BEFORE you open social or video apps. Then it shows what that time was worth in pages: how much of a book you could have read. When your time is up, the apps are blocked again automatically. No blame. Just a gentle place to stop, so a little of your scrolling turns into reading, day by day. That book you've been meaning to read, a few pages at a time. A reading habit builds on its own. And a small companion, Pause-kun, grows with every page. [ Free ] • Sessions: pick "just N minutes" before you open. When time's up, the apps are blocked again • Reading timer: paper or app. Time in Kindle, Audible, or Apple Books counts as reading too • Pages instead of minutes: your social time shown as "about N pages of a book" • Honest records: based on Screen Time measurements. No inflated numbers to scare you • A companion that grows: books pile up behind Pause-kun as you pause and read • Home Screen widget and a Lock Screen view while you read (Live Activity) • Share card: the time you turned into reading, and your companion, in one image • Today and this week at a glance * The free version covers up to 3 apps. [ Pause Plus ] The free version is enough for most days. Pause Plus is for people who want to cut back more seriously. It's available as a subscription or a one-time purchase. • Push Mode: a block you can't lift for the period you choose • Unlimited apps • Reward Mode: after you finish, 24 hours with no limits on your blocked apps • Monthly and yearly views, with a full year of history • Name your companion Pause Plus yearly and monthly plans each come with a 1-month free trial. Pause Plus one-time purchase: pay once, no auto-renewal. [ Your privacy ] • Your Screen Time details and the books you read never leave your device. No account, no sign-in • Pause doesn't ban social media. It only asks you to pause. The choice is always yours After the free trial, the subscription converts to a paid plan. Payment is charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase, and the subscription renews automatically at the same price unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the period. You can manage or cancel subscriptions in Settings → Apple ID after purchase. Terms of Use https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy https://pause-lp.vercel.app/privacy/

Screenshots

Ritsu3 screens
Pause4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Pause at none against Ritsu's 3. Pause also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs fortnightly). Ritsu's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, ads, monetization model 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. Ritsu sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Pause asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Ritsu ships an update fortnightly, Pause every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on September 8, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Ritsu versus Pause: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRitsuPause
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size57 MB60 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKYOSUKE WATANABEIku Yagome

Customer experience

Ritsu

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Pause

Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Ritsu

Subscriptions2
  • Ritsu Pro Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Ritsu Pro Yearly7 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Ritsu Pro Lifetime$34.99
None

Pause

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Ritsu free?
Ritsu is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pause free?
Pause is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Ritsu or Pause have ads?
Neither Ritsu nor Pause shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Ritsu or Pause?
Ritsu ships an update fortnightly, and Pause every 5 days. Most recently, Ritsu was updated on September 8, 2026 and Pause on September 22, 2026.

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