ScrollMint vs Ransom
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ScrollMint
This app helps you reclaim your time by locking distracting applications and allowing you to earn back screen time through physical activity, focused work, or healthy habits. It offers a unique exchange rate system to encourage mindful usage and reduce doomscrolling.
- Lock distracting apps
- Earn screen time by moving
- Earn screen time by focusing
- Earn screen time with healthy habits
- On-device rep counting with form feedback
- Reliable re-locking via Screen Time technology
- Time Bank ledger
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Earn your screen time. Don't just burn it. Lock the apps that eat your day — Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Reels, whatever owns you — then earn every minute back with your body, your focus or one small healthy act. 3 ways, 20+ options, no daily cap. Your phone hands you unlimited scrolling for free and quietly takes your hours, your attention and your evenings in return. ScrollMint changes the deal: an app blocker that makes you earn the unlock. Doomscrolling isn't free anymore. Move more. Scroll less. Earn your scroll back. Willpower isn't the plan — the exchange rate is. When a scroll costs a set of squats, you scroll less. And when you've earned it, you enjoy it, guilt-free. HOW IT WORKS — ONE HONEST LOOP 1. LOCK. Pick the apps that steal your day. ScrollMint shields them with Apple's Screen Time technology, so the block holds even when your willpower doesn't. One tap on the shield takes you to earning. 2. EARN. Bank minutes three ways: • MOVE — your camera counts real reps: push-ups, diamond push-ups, squats, jumping jacks, high knees, butt kicks and a squat hold. Live form feedback, no wearables. Easy moves earn 1 minute a rep, harder ones 2, diamond push-ups 3. The video never leaves your phone. • FOCUS — run a Deep Work, Pomodoro, Study or Custom session (5 to 120 minutes) and earn while you concentrate. Guided breathing and follow-along yoga pay 5×: one mindful minute buys five. • HABITS — prove a small healthy habit with a quick photo: drink water, eat something real, touch grass, nature time, make your bed, clean your desk, hang out, smile. Each earns 2 to 5 minutes and can be repeated. Verified on your device, never uploaded. 3. SPEND. Trade banked minutes to unlock your apps for 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 or 60 minutes. Purchases stack. When the time runs out, the apps re-lock automatically — even if one is still open. Past you stays in charge. WHY IT WORKS WHEN BLOCKERS DON'T Timers and "are you sure?" pop-ups are easy to swipe away. A price isn't. Most screen time apps give you one lever — a hard block or a single way to unlock. ScrollMint gives you three, so the deal fits the day you're having: a workout, a focused hour or a glass of water. Self control with a scoreboard, not a lecture. MADE FOR THE PROBLEMS PEOPLE ACTUALLY SEARCH FOR • Doomscrolling and mindless scrolling at night • Phone addiction and social media addiction • Blocking Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Reels without deleting them • A dopamine detox or digital detox that lasts longer than a weekend • Screen time limits that survive the ignore button • Distraction-free focus for study, deep work or Pomodoro • Procrastination that starts with "just one scroll" WHAT YOU GET • Time Bank — every minute earned and spent, in one honest ledger • A daily goal you set (15 to 360 minutes), streaks and personal bests • On-device rep counting with live form feedback — no wearables, no equipment • Reliable re-locking built on Apple Screen Time • Live Activities: follow your session from the Lock Screen and the Dynamic Island • A demo of the loop before you start • No daily caps — earn as much as you're willing to work for • Private by design — camera and photo checks happen on your device, not in the cloud. No account, no login. WHO IT'S FOR Students who lose evenings to Reels. Professionals who open Instagram forty times a day. Anyone who has tried screen time limits, phone jail, deleting the apps and a detox that lasted a weekend — and wants to beat phone addiction in a way that feels good. Your feed can wait. Your body can't. Requires an iPhone with iOS 17 or later. ScrollMint uses Apple's Screen Time (Family Controls) to lock and unlock the apps you choose. Free to download; subscription required after the 7-day free trial on the annual plan (monthly has no trial). Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Terms of Service: https://scrollmint.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://scrollmint.app/privacy
Ransom
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Get your evenings back. Keep your apps. Ransom locks Instagram, TikTok and whatever else eats your day, and asks for push-ups, squats or steps before it opens them. Most of the time you'll decide it isn't worth ten push-ups. That is the whole trick. WHAT CHANGES You stop opening apps by reflex. A set standing between you and the feed makes you notice your hand reaching for the phone, and noticing is most of the battle. The hour before bed comes back. Set a wind-down rule and scrolling takes twice the reps right when you'd normally lose the evening to it. You get a bit stronger without meaning to. Ten push-ups a few times a day adds up faster than you'd think. You watch the number drop. The Progress tab shows today against this time yesterday, and your whole week. HOW IT WORKS 1. Pick the apps that eat your day. 2. Rex, a buff T-rex with tiny arms, locks them. 3. Do a set. The front camera counts push-ups and squats. The pedometer counts steps. 4. A set earns coins, and coins are minutes, one for one. 15 coins opens your apps for 15 minutes. Spend them on whatever you like. When they run out, your apps lock again until your next set. NOTHING LEAVES YOUR PHONE No account, no sign-up. Your screen time never leaves your phone. The camera looks at your form on the device and never records, saves or uploads a frame. Your screen time is your business. EVERY DAY IS A FRESH START Coins clear at midnight, so unspent minutes never pile up. Had a bad day and scrolled through all of it? Tomorrow starts at zero, and Rex is not going to bring it up. REX COUNTS PROPERLY Half a push-up is not a push-up. The camera looks for real depth, so a bounce doesn't earn a minute. It also means the minutes you do earn actually feel earned. RULES FOR THE HOURS THAT MATTER Name an hour. Dinner, gym time, wind down. During it, opening your apps takes twice the reps. You still can, it just takes more work. PICK YOUR LEVEL Chill, Standard or Beast. Start easy. Move up when ten push-ups stops being a reason to put the phone down. WHAT IT DOESN'T DO It doesn't delete your apps. It doesn't shame you. It doesn't nag. Full access is a subscription that renews automatically unless you cancel at least 24 hours before it ends. Manage it in Settings > Apple Account > Subscriptions. Terms: https://lucascoles.github.io/ransom/terms/ Privacy: https://lucascoles.github.io/ransom/privacy/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Ransom at none against ScrollMint's shown. Ransom also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 weeks). On price, in-app purchases, 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
Both are free to download. ScrollMint sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Ransom sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
ScrollMint ships an update every 2 weeks, Ransom every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ScrollMint | Ransom |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 92 MB | 78 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Oner Teknoloji Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi | Lucas Coles |
In-app purchases
ScrollMint
- ScrollMint Premium Monthly$5.991 Month
- ScrollMint Premium Annual Offer$34.991 Year
- ScrollMint Premium Annual Spin$46.901 Year
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- ScrollMint Premium Annual7 Days trial$49.991 Year
Ransom
- Ransom Pro Weekly$3.997 Days
- Ransom Pro Yearly7 Days trial$24.991 Year









