Comparison

Deny vs Startline

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

Head to head
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.

About

Startline

Read full description

"I know exactly what to do. I just can't start." That gap - between knowing and starting - is where task paralysis lives. Planners organize the day. Timers count it down. Neither one closes the gap. Startline was built for that exact moment, and for the way ADHD brains actually work. It has one job: get a person from frozen to a running focus session on ONE thing, with a two-minute first step, in under a minute. Dump the noise in your head. Pick one thing. Get a tiny, physical first step. Start. Any start counts as a win. TIME YOU CAN FEEL A solid block of time shrinks on the screen and on the Dynamic Island, so a session stops being an abstract number and becomes something you can watch. Over weeks, Startline learns your real time multipliers per kind of task - the emails guessed at ten minutes that always take twenty-four - and shows them back to you, kindly. SURVIVE INTERRUPTIONS Pulled away mid-task? One tap leaves a breadcrumb. When you come back, Startline walks you to the exact step you were on, then counts you in, 3-2-1. NO SHAME, EVER No overdue piles. No streaks to break. No red badges. A Momentum meter grows with any start and fades gently - it never resets to zero. Designed for ADHD brains. Startline is a productivity tool, not medical advice or treatment. FREE, FOREVER Unlimited brain dumps and focus sessions, Pick One, 10 ramps, one breadcrumb at a time, 14 days of time calibration, and Momentum. The whole core loop works offline on day one. STARTLINE PLUS - All 50 ramps plus custom ramps you save yourself (the free tier has 10). - Your full time-calibration history and personal multipliers (free keeps 14 days). - Unlimited breadcrumbs across every task (free keeps one at a time). - Procedural brown, pink, and white noise plus rain, generated on device. - Widgets, the Action Button, and Start my One Thing. - Optional gentle time pings during a session. - A near-monochrome, motion-free theme. - Search your Someday drawer. Plus is one purchase: Lifetime 34.99 USD (pay once, own it), Annual 12.99 USD with a 14-day free trial, or Monthly 2.99 USD. Subscriptions renew automatically unless turned off at least 24 hours before the period ends. Payment is charged to your Apple Account. Any unused part of a free trial is forfeited when you buy. Lifetime is a one-time purchase and does not renew. Manage or cancel anytime in your App Store account settings. Startline works fully offline and is designed exclusively for iPhone. Your records live on your iPhone. No account, no ads. Privacy Policy: https://app-legal-pages.vercel.app/startline/privacy Terms of Service: https://app-legal-pages.vercel.app/startline/terms

Screenshots

Deny4 screens
Startline4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Deny at none against Startline's 3. On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Startline sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Deny asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard1 real difference · 7 level
Deny versus Startline: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDenyStartline
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS18.0 — better18.2
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStepAI K.K.慧慧 高

In-app purchases

None

Deny

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Startline

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Annual14 Days trial$12.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$34.99

Questions

Is Deny free?
Deny is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Startline free?
Startline is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Deny or Startline have ads?
Neither Deny nor Startline shows ads.

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