Comparison

Charge Screen Time vs Recharge

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

Head to head
About

Charge Screen Time

This app provides a renewable screen time budget, allowing you to set limits on specific apps, websites, and categories. Once your budget is depleted, access is blocked until minutes drip back over a set interval.

Highlights
  • Renewable screen time budget
  • App and website limiting
  • Category-based restrictions
  • Customizable drip intervals
  • Blocks access when budget is zero
Read full description

Block distracting apps without the all-or-nothing cutoff. Charge gives any app or website you choose a charge of minutes, like a battery. Once you've used the useful portion of your scrolling, it blocks until you take a break! Most screen time limits are a wall: you hit it, you're locked out until tomorrow, so you switch the limit off. Charge works like a battery instead. Spend your charge when you need it and recharge every time you step away. Run out, and Charge blocks those apps with Apple's own Screen Time shield until you've recharged. HOW IT WORKS • Pick the apps, websites or categories that steal your time • Choose a preset (Lockdown, Limited, Restrained or Relaxed) or set your own • Your charge goes down while you use them; at zero they're blocked • Take a break from them and recharge, up to your max charge FEATURES • App blocker and website blocker built on Apple Screen Time. No VPN, no accessibility tricks • Earned breaks: time away from your apps recharges them • Multiple blocklists, each with its own charge, for social media, games, news, shopping or work email • Schedules: only count time during work hours, school or evenings • Always-block schedules for sleep, study or deep focus • Locked mode: a blocklist that's out of charge can't be edited, paused or deleted, so you can't talk yourself out of your own limits • Lock on low charge: lock your settings when you're running low, not just at zero • Low charge alerts before you run out • Mindful Launcher widget: open apps through a short breathing pause, count your pickups and cap how often you open them • Stats: see how many hours your apps stayed blocked and how much charge you never even needed • Break the Glass: once a day, unblock everything for 3 minutes when you really need it FOR DOOMSCROLLING, NOT FOR LIVING Charge is for the endless feeds, autoplay video and autopilot pickups, not for cutting off your whole phone. Reduce screen time, break the phone addiction loop and stay focused for work and study without deleting apps. PRIVATE BY DESIGN • Uses Apple's Screen Time framework. Charge never sees the names of the apps you pick • Your blocklists and their charge stay on your iPhone • No account, no sign-up • Anonymous usage analytics only, with no personal information CHARGE PRO Charge is free with up to 3 blocklists, recommended presets, a low charge alert, Locked mode, Lock on low charge, the Mindful Launcher widget and Stats. Charge Pro adds more blocklists, custom charge settings, always-block schedules, up to 5 low charge alerts per blocklist and Break the Glass. Charge Pro is a monthly auto-renewing subscription. Payment is charged to your Apple Account when you confirm your purchase. It renews automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the period ends. Manage or cancel any time in your App Store account settings. Privacy Policy: https://www.chargescreentime.app/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Recharge

This app helps you manage your screen time by creating app groups with rechargeable batteries. When a battery drains, those apps are temporarily blocked until you've recharged. It offers features like emergency unlocks and accountability partners.

Highlights
  • App grouping with rechargeable batteries
  • Customizable battery presets
  • Emergency unlock feature
  • Accountability partner option
  • Cross-device sync
  • Yearly usage wrap-up
Features
Read full description

Recharge turns Screen Time into a battery. Group the apps you want to use less. Each group gets a battery that drains as you use them and recharges while you're away. Hit 0% and those apps shield until you've recharged. It's a budget, not a wall. HOW IT WORKS • Make a battery for a habit: social, games, video • Pick a preset (Saver, Standard or Extended) and tune it any time • Start a session right from the shield and watch it drain • Time away refills it BUILT FOR REAL LIFE • Emergency unlock, at a cost you choose • Low-battery warnings before you run out • Streaks, goals and a yearly Wrap built from your own sessions • Optional accountability partner • Sync your setup across your devices with Sign in with Apple PRIVATE BY DESIGN iOS never tells Recharge which apps you picked. No ads, no trackers, no selling data. RECHARGE PLUS (optional subscription) Unlimited batteries, full tuning, widgets and Live Activities, days off, themes and more. Payment is charged to your Apple ID. Plus renews automatically unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the period ends. Manage or cancel in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use: https://solvrlabs.com/recharge/terms Privacy Policy: https://solvrlabs.com/recharge/privacy

Screenshots

Charge Screen Time4 screens
Recharge4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Charge Screen Time at free against Recharge's freemium. On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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. Charge Screen Time sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $5.99 per month and Recharge sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Charge Screen Time against 5.0 for Recharge. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 2 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Charge Screen Time ships an update every 2 weeks, Recharge weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Charge Screen Time versus Recharge: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCharge Screen TimeRecharge
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings3 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB10 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRoman PisaniSolvr Labs

Customer experience

Charge Screen Time

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Recharge

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Charge Screen Time

Subscriptions1
  • Charge Pro$5.991 Month
1 purchases

Recharge

Subscriptions1
  • Recharge Plus$2.991 Month

Questions

Is Charge Screen Time free?
Charge Screen Time is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Recharge free?
Recharge is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Charge Screen Time or Recharge?
Charge Screen Time and Recharge are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 3 and 2 ratings respectively.
Do Charge Screen Time or Recharge have ads?
Neither Charge Screen Time nor Recharge shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Charge Screen Time or Recharge?
Charge Screen Time ships an update every 2 weeks, and Recharge weekly. Most recently, Charge Screen Time was updated on November 10, 2026 and Recharge on October 31, 2026.

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