Comparison

Vesper vs Deny

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

Head to head
About

Vesper

This app helps users, particularly women, reduce mindless scrolling and regain calm with their phones. It offers gentle pauses before opening distracting apps and allows for scheduled quiet windows to promote focus and intentional usage.

Highlights
  • Screen time protection for distracting apps
  • Morning and Night Quiet Windows
  • Earn 'Glow' for keeping promises
  • Two-minute breathing ritual
  • Intentional app access
  • Calm reward moments
Features
Read full description

Vesper helps you turn the urge to scroll into a reason to move. Choose the distracting apps you want to protect with Apple Screen Time. When you reach for them, Vesper creates a calm pause and guides you toward a verified live walk before granting a bounded opening. When the opening ends, your selected apps return to protection automatically. See your verified daily steps and walking goal on Home, start a live walking session, and follow your progress as you move. If walking is not available, Box Breathing offers a limited fallback. Vesper is designed for women who want less automatic scrolling, more movement, and a softer way to protect their attention—without shame, punishment, or productivity pressure. Features: • Screen Time protection for selected distracting apps • Verified live walking for bounded intentional access • Daily iOS Health step progress and walking goals • Clear protection status and next actions on Home • Automatic re-protection after each opening • Limited Box Breathing fallback • Calm celebrations and a warm star companion Your attention belongs to you. Stop scrolling. Step into her. Vesper offers free onboarding. Additional features require a lifetime purchase or subscription. Terms of use: https://xcompass.ai/terms-of-service

About

Deny

This app helps you regain focus by blocking distracting applications. It requires a friend's approval to unlock apps, fostering accountability and making screen time limits stick. Take back your attention with a collaborative approach to digital well-being.

Highlights
  • Block distracting apps and sites
  • Schedule app blocking
  • Daily time limits for apps
  • Friend approval required for unlocks
  • Temporary unlock with countdown
  • Collaborative progress tracking
Features
Read full description

Deny locks the apps that waste your time — and puts a friend in charge of the key. Most screen-time apps fail for one reason: the moment you want back in, you just tap "ignore limit." Deny removes that escape hatch. Block your most distracting apps, and when you want to unlock them, you have to ask a friend to approve it. HOW IT WORKS • Build block groups — pick the apps and sites to lock, on a schedule or a daily time limit. • Stay locked. Blocked apps are shielded by iOS, so there's no sneaking past them. • Allow temporary unlocks — give yourself a set number of minutes, with a live countdown showing exactly when apps re-lock. • Bring in friends. Connect with an invite code, then ask a friend for screen time. They approve or deny — you stay accountable. • See each other's progress and keep one another honest. WHY DENY • Friends make it stick. Accountability beats willpower. • Honest by design — no one-tap "ignore." • Private. Your data is yours; we never sell it or use it for ads. Deny uses Apple's Screen Time (Family Controls) features to block apps on your own device. Take back your attention — together.

Screenshots

Vesper4 screens
Deny4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Deny at none against Vesper's 3. Vesper's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.0). On price, rating, ratings volume 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. Vesper sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per 7 days. Deny 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 Vesper against 5.0 for Deny. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Vesper versus Deny: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVesperDeny
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings2 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size64 MB15 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperxCompass, LLCStepAI K.K.

Customer experience

Vesper

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Deny

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

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Vesper

Subscriptions2
  • Vesper Weekly$12.997 Days
  • Vesper Yearly7 Days trial$59.991 Year
One-time1
  • Believer$99.99
None

Deny

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Vesper free?
Vesper is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Deny free?
Deny is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Vesper or Deny?
Vesper and Deny are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Vesper or Deny have ads?
Neither Vesper nor Deny shows ads.

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