FocusFirst Screen Time Control vs EarnTime
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
FocusFirst Screen Time Control
This app helps you reclaim your time by blocking distracting applications and encouraging focused activity. It's designed to foster a more deliberate relationship with your phone, reducing mindless scrolling and guilt while building momentum towards your goals.
- Block distracting apps
- Earn screen time through focused activity
- Build healthy boundaries
- Reduce mindless scrolling
- Increase momentum towards goals
- Promotes deliberate phone use
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Take back control of your time. FocusFirst helps you spend less time scrolling and more time on the things that actually move your life forward. Whether you’re studying, building a business, learning a language, reading, exercising, or simply trying to be more intentional with your day, FocusFirst gives you a better way to protect your attention. Most apps compete for your focus. FocusFirst helps you reclaim it. Instead of relying on willpower alone, FocusFirst helps you build healthy boundaries around the apps that pull you off course. Block the distractions that interrupt your momentum, focus on something meaningful, and earn time back as you make progress. It’s a simple idea, but it changes the feeling of using your phone: - less mindless checking - less guilt - less friction when you want to stay on track - more momentum toward the work, habits, and routines you care about FocusFirst is built for people who want a calmer, more deliberate relationship with their phone. Not punishment. Not shame. Just a clearer way to stay aligned with your priorities. Focus first. Scroll later. FocusFirst is free to download, but a subscription is required to use the app. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
EarnTime
This app intelligently blocks distracting applications by requiring users to earn screen time through physical activity. It offers workout immunity and allows unused time to roll over, promoting a healthier balance between digital habits and physical well-being.
- Earn screen time through physical activity
- Workout immunity for active sessions
- Intelligent app shielding
- Screen-off audio doesn't count against time
- Rest day grace period and reserves
- Apple Watch and iOS widgets
- 100% on-device privacy
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Tired of doomscrolling? Earn your screen time through real movement. Intelligent app blocking that only counts true visual screen time: free background audio, workout immunity, and rest day reserves—with zero subscriptions and 100% on-device privacy. Most screen time blockers treat you like a child, forcing rigid locks that punish you for listening to music or working out. EarnTime is different. It seamlessly aligns your physical health with your digital habits: close your Apple Watch rings, earn minutes, and spend them without guilt. SMART SCREEN TIME: ONLY REAL USAGE COUNTS • Free Screen-Off Audio: Listening to YouTube, Spotify, or podcasts with your screen locked in your pocket? It won't cost you a single second. We detect display state and only count time when your eyes are actually on the screen. • Workout Immunity: Out for a run, cycling, or lifting at the gym? Monitored apps stay completely unlocked during active Apple Watch workout sessions. Never get locked out of your workout playlist or training log. • Exercise Adds Time: Each synced Exercise ring minute earns one minute of unlocked app allowance. Active movement above your daily baseline earns an extra bonus. • Keep Room for Rest: Real life happens. You start each day with a 30-minute grace period, backed by a 60-minute weekly reserve (up to 120 minutes) for rest days and recovery. • Intelligent Shielding: When your daily allowance and reserve run out, selected distracting apps are gently shielded until you get moving again. A GLANCE ON YOUR WRIST & HOME SCREEN • Apple Watch Companion: Check your live remaining allowance, reserve, and status directly from your wrist. • iOS Widgets: Beautiful Lock Screen and Home Screen widgets keep your balance visible at all times. • History & Marks: Track your weekly progress, celebrate streaks without punitive broken-streak penalties, and collect editorial weekly covers. WHY EARNTIME IS DIFFERENT • No Subscriptions: Free to start with 1 monitored app. Unlock up to 10 apps with a single, tiny $1.99 one-time purchase. Future core updates included forever. • 100% Private & Local: No accounts, no ads, no trackers, and no remote servers. Everything runs strictly on your device via Apple’s native Screen Time and HealthKit APIs. • Guilt-Free Balance: We don't believe in digital starvation. Unused daily time rolls over into your reserve, turning your screen time into a healthy, earned reward. COMPATIBILITY & NOTES Requires an iPhone with iOS 17.4 or later and Apple Watch Exercise ring data in Apple Health. Health read access and individual Screen Time authorization are required. The Apple Watch companion app requires watchOS 10.0 or later. Balance updates after exercise data syncs via HealthKit. Sync and callback frequency are managed by iOS.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: EarnTime at free with in-app purchases against FocusFirst Screen Time Control's subscription. EarnTime also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 2 weeks) and iOS requirement (17.4 vs 26.1). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. FocusFirst Screen Time Control sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per month and EarnTime sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for FocusFirst Screen Time Control against 5.0 for EarnTime. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
FocusFirst Screen Time Control ships an update every 2 weeks, EarnTime every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | FocusFirst Screen Time Control | EarnTime |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Subscription | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 26.1 | 17.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 34 MB | 11 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Michael Riehl | Hangfang Zhang |
Customer experience
FocusFirst Screen Time Control
EarnTime
In-app purchases
FocusFirst Screen Time Control
- Focus First | Monthly7 Days trial$8.991 Month
- Focus First | Yearly1 Month trial$39.991 Year
- Focus First | Yearly7 Days trial$49.991 Year
EarnTime
- EarnTime Full$1.99
Questions
Is FocusFirst Screen Time Control free?
Is EarnTime free?
Which has better reviews, FocusFirst Screen Time Control or EarnTime?
Do FocusFirst Screen Time Control or EarnTime have ads?
Which is updated more often, FocusFirst Screen Time Control or EarnTime?
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