ReadLock vs Block&Read
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ReadLock
This app requires users to read a page from a selected text before granting access to blocked apps, categories, or websites. It utilizes Apple's Screen Time system to enforce focus and offers a library of public-domain classics for reading material.
- Earn app access through reading
- Block apps, categories, and websites
- Schedule reading locks
- Manual app locking
- Built-in reader with public-domain classics
- Track local reading progress
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ReadLock makes you read before you scroll. If app blockers are too easy to ignore, ReadLock gives your phone a real forcing function: your selected apps, categories, and websites stay blocked until you read one page. Choose what you want to block, set your reading times, then let ReadLock hold the line. When it is time to read, ReadLock uses Apple's Screen Time and Family Controls system to shield your selected distractions. Finish one page in the built-in reader, and your apps unlock. Why people use ReadLock: - Earn access instead of relying on willpower - Block chosen apps, app categories, and websites - Schedule reading locks for morning, midday, or evening - Lock apps manually when you need a reset - Read bundled public-domain classics like Pride and Prejudice, Frankenstein, Crime and Punishment, and Sherlock Holmes - Track local reading progress in a simple library - Get optional reading reminders and unlock notifications ReadLock is for the moment when you catch yourself opening the same app again and again, even though you meant to do literally anything else. Instead of another dismissible reminder, it turns one page of reading into the key that gets you back in. Read first. Scroll later. Notes: - App blocking requires Screen Time permission and a selected app, category, or website. - Blocking behavior can vary based on iOS, device settings, and the selections you choose. - Full access requires an auto-renewing subscription. Trial, price, and renewal details are shown before purchase. - Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Block&Read
This app replaces distracting apps with reading material to help you achieve your daily page goals. It offers a built-in e-reader and blocks selected applications until you meet your reading targets, promoting focus and time management.
- Block distracting apps
- Read to meet page goals
- Built-in e-reader
- Public domain classics library
- Import your own EPUBs
- Reading insights
- Strict mode for focus
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Trade the scroll for a chapter. Block&Read locks the apps that eat your evenings and opens a book in their place. Reach your page count, and the lock lifts. A real e-reader and a real app blocker, in one app. No willpower required, just a page or two. HOW IT WORKS • Set your blocklist: social, video, news, whatever burns your day • Reach for one of them and a book opens instead • Read to your daily goal, and the lock lifts • Keep the streak alive and win your time back FREE • Block one app, forever free • Bring one of your own books • A shelf of public-domain classics in English and Spanish • Streaks, stats and daily reminders • Strict mode, no easy way out PREMIUM • Block unlimited apps • Import your own EPUBs and search 75,000+ classics • Blocking schedules and extra reader themes • Reading insights, see how you read • Private iCloud backup of your library • Monthly or yearly, or pay once with Lifetime Privacy is total. There is no account to create, nothing is measured, and nothing is sent anywhere. Your library and your reading stay on your device, or in your own private iCloud. Earn the scroll. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://dezeo.lat/blockandread/privacypolicy/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: ReadLock at every 5 days against Block&Read's every 2 weeks. ReadLock also leads on iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). 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
Both are free to download. ReadLock sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Block&Read sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. 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 ReadLock against 5.0 for Block&Read. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively.
ReadLock ships an update every 5 days, Block&Read every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.
| Parameter | ReadLock | Block&Read |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days — better | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 27 MB | 37 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | MATTHEW HENRY FOSTER | Nicolas Gula |
Customer experience
ReadLock
Block&Read
In-app purchases
ReadLock
- Read Lock Pro Monthly7 Days trial$9.991 Month
- Read Lock Pro Yearly7 Days trial$39.991 Year
Block&Read
- Premium Weekly3 Days trial$4.997 Days
- Premium Yearly$17.991 Year









