Comparison

StepGate vs Gate

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

Head to head
About

StepGate

Features
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Lock the apps you overuse until you've walked your steps. Make yourself one promise: steps before scrolling. StepGate keeps it for you. HOW TO USE STEPGATE: 1) Pick the apps you want locked 2) Set your daily step goal 3) Walk. Hit the goal and they open* A real lock on the apps you doomscroll. It lifts when you hit your steps, so your screen time is earned, not assumed. Not a reminder you can swipe away. StepGate uses Apple's Screen Time to block them for real: a digital detox that costs a walk instead of willpower. Your steps come from Apple Health, so the pedometer is already running. There's no account and no sign-up, and because you pick your apps in Apple's own picker, StepGate never sees which ones you chose. Rest days, active hours and a pause switch are built in. Rigid systems get deleted. Questions or ideas: https://stepgate-omega.vercel.app/support NOTE: StepGate is a habit tool, not medical or fitness advice. Steps are read from Apple Health and Motion & Fitness (read-only). App blocking uses Apple's Family Controls framework with individual authorization: you managing yourself. Requires iOS 17 or later. *STEPGATE PLUS IS REQUIRED TO GATE APPS. Already using StepGate before Plus existed? It stays free for you. TERMS: https://stepgate-omega.vercel.app/terms PRIVACY: https://stepgate-omega.vercel.app/privacy

About

Gate

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Your alarm goes off, and your apps are gated. Enjoy a screen-free morning or take some steps, and your apps will be open by the time you are back at your front door. HOW IT WORKS: The Gate goes up at your chosen start time. It comes down once you've gotten your steps, or at your chosen end time - whichever is first. All up to you: which apps you'd like gated, your desired schedule, and the number of steps. Set your schedule: Choose which days of the week you want Gated. You can always adjust later. Pick when the gate goes up, and when it should come down if you haven't hit your step goal. That way, you can still have a screen-free morning. How long of a walk? Set how many steps you'd like to take before the Gate comes down. 100 is completing your morning routine. 2,000 is a twenty-minute stroll around the neighborhood. 7,000 is an entire workday. WHY GATE What happens after your alarm is where your morning actually goes. Waking up early is great, but it's easy to spend the 40 minutes after your alarm scrolling. Gate closes the gap between your alarm and actually starting your day. Some days you may not want to go for a walk, and that's okay. Your apps are gated until you hit your step count or until your set time for the Gate to come down - that way, you can still have a screen-free morning. HOW IT WORKS Choose your apps. Anything you'd rather not open first thing. Choose your goal. Anywhere from 100 to 20,000 steps, set separately for each day of the week. Choose your mornings. A rise time, a come-down time, and rest days where nothing is locked. Then walk. The gate comes down the moment you reach your goal when you tap Check my steps on the block screen or open a blocked app, and on its own within roughly fifteen to twenty minutes in the background. WHAT'S IN IT A step ring on the home screen that changes with the morning - waiting, holding, open, done. A Lock Screen Live Activity, so you can see how far you've come without unlocking. An optional alarm that rings the moment the gate goes up. Snoozing it doesn't move the gate. A month log. The mornings you made, in a row you can read at a glance. A hold-to-open override โ€” ten seconds, no questions asked. It's counted, not judged. One notification a day, when the gate opens. Never a reminder, never a nudge, never a streak. QUIET BY DESIGN No streak notifications. No badges. No leaderboards. No confetti. Gate speaks before something is about to happen and stays out of the way afterward. Miss a morning, and nothing is broken โ€” the next one starts clean. PRIVACY No analytics. No ads. No tracking. No third-party code of any kind. Privacy Policy: https://pointeddesigns.com/gate/privacy Terms of Use: https://pointeddesigns.com/gate/terms REQUIREMENTS iPhone running iOS 26 or later. Gate asks for Screen Time to hold your apps, and Motion & Fitness to count your steps. SUBSCRIPTION Gate is $3.99 per month or $24.99 per year, both with a 7-day free trial, or $50 once for lifetime access. If a subscription ends, Gate stops arming new gates and unlocks your apps.

Screenshots

StepGate4 screens
Gate4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Gate at every 3 days against StepGate's weekly. StepGate's advantage is iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. StepGate sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days and Gate sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

StepGate ships an update weekly, Gate every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 13, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
StepGate versus Gate: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStepGateGate
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 3 days โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS17.0 โ€” better26.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size20 MB3 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperKush DagaPointed Designs LLC

In-app purchases

5 purchases

StepGate

Subscriptions4
  • StepGate Plus$2.997 Days
  • StepGate Plus$6.991 Month
  • StepGate Plus7 Days trial$15.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • StepGate Plus7 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • StepGate Plus Lifetime$79.99
3 purchases

Gate

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly7 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • Annual7 Days trial$24.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$49.99

Questions

Is StepGate free?
StepGate is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Gate free?
Gate is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do StepGate or Gate have ads?
Neither StepGate nor Gate shows ads.
Which is updated more often, StepGate or Gate?
StepGate ships an update weekly, and Gate every 3 days. Most recently, StepGate was updated on November 13, 2026 and Gate on November 6, 2026.

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