Comparison

Welockin vs PolyNotes

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

Head to head
About

Welockin

Features
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Built by students for students, WeLockIn helps you protect study time on iPhone. Focus alone when you need quiet deep work, or start a shared session with friends when a common timer and accountability help you stay on track. SOLO FOCUS Need a quiet session? Start Solo Focus, choose what you want to block and set your own timer. Study independently, with the same commitment options and without involving anyone else. FOCUS WITH FRIENDS Focus with Friends lets your study group start and stay focused together. One person creates a session, chooses a duration and shares an invitation code. Every participant joins from their own iPhone and chooses the apps they want to block. Those choices stay private. When everyone is ready, the organiser starts the session and the same countdown begins for every member. • Flexible: participants can leave before time is up. • Hard Lock: one shared commitment—no one can end the session early. • Optional encouragement: friends can receive a simple alert when someone tries to open a blocked app, without seeing their app list, Screen Time data or complete activity. No rankings. No competition. No extra chat. Just a shared timer, a common commitment and the support of friends. MADE FOR STUDENT LIFE • Deep-work sessions for lectures, essays, problem sets and coding • Exam mode for revision weeks • Recurring schedules that match your timetable • Pomodoro sessions and planned breaks • Focus sounds for the library, café or home • Progress, streaks and completed-session statistics HOW WELOCKIN WORKS 1. Choose what to block. Build personal lists for social media, games, video platforms and distracting websites. 2. Set your session. Start a quick sprint, plan an afternoon at the library or schedule a recurring block. 3. Choose your commitment. Use Soft Lock when you need flexibility, or Hard Lock when you do not want an easy way out. 4. Lock in. WeLockIn keeps selected distractions out of reach until your session ends. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Each person controls their own blocked-app choices. Focus with Friends does not reveal one member's blocklist to the group. Your focus activity and personal settings remain under your control. STUDENT-FRIENDLY PLANS Monthly: 3-day free trial, then a monthly subscription. Yearly: 7-day free trial, then a yearly subscription. Lifetime: one-time purchase, no recurring payments. Free trials are available to eligible users. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the trial or current billing period. You can manage or cancel at any time in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

PolyNotes

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PolyNotes is the notebook app for students. Handwrite your notes, mark up your lecture slides, and ask an AI tutor that answers from your own course material. TAKE NOTES YOUR WAY • Write with Apple Pencil on a whiteboard that grows as you go, or type. • Import lecture slides and PDFs, then mark them up with a pen, highlighter, text and photos. • Bring in notebooks you've exported from other note apps. • Keep quick notes on your Home screen. YOUR LECTURE COMPANION ON IPHONE • Open a lecture to read the slides and write on them. • Photograph the board. Photos taken during a class are filed to the right module. • Record the lecture, even with your screen locked. • Ask the AI about a module while you're in class. AN AI TUTOR THAT KNOWS YOUR COURSE • Get answers from your own slides and notes, with the source cited. • Work through problems step by step with the built-in math solver. • Turn a lecture into flashcards, a summary or a quiz on the Pro plan. STAY ON TOP OF YOUR COURSES • See your timetable, deadlines and exams, with a countdown as they get close. • Find your university and sync your courses from Moodle, or from Canvas. • Plan your degree with a roadmap, and keep your CV up to date. ALL YOUR DEVICES, IN STEP • Sign in to keep your timetable, courses, deadlines and lecture notes on iPhone, iPad and Windows. • Photos and recordings from your iPhone reach your other devices. • No account needed to start writing. Sign in when you want the AI and sync. PLANS • Free: 1 module and 3 AI actions a month. • Essential: unlimited modules, Moodle and Canvas sync for every course, and the AI tutor and math help, with 30 AI actions a month or 300 a year. • Pro: everything in Essential, plus AI flashcards, summaries and quizzes, clean handwriting, equation plots and an AI degree roadmap, with 50 AI actions a month or 500 a year. Subscriptions are billed through the App Store and renew automatically until you cancel. Manage them in your Apple account settings. AI answers are a study aid and can be wrong. Check anything important, and follow your school's academic-integrity rules. Terms: https://polynotes-legal.yarob1028.workers.dev/terms Privacy: https://polynotes-legal.yarob1028.workers.dev/privacy

Screenshots

Welockin4 screens
PolyNotes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: PolyNotes at every 2 days against Welockin's fortnightly. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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. Welockin sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and PolyNotes sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Welockin ships an update fortnightly, PolyNotes every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 5 level
Welockin versus PolyNotes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWelockinPolyNotes
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.415.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size66 MB28 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHedi FouratiYarub Alhaj

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Welockin

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Access3 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Yearly Access7 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Access$79.99
4 purchases

PolyNotes

Subscriptions4
  • Essential (Monthly)$4.991 Month
  • Pro (Monthly)$9.991 Month
  • Essential (Yearly)$29.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Pro (Yearly)$59.991 Year

Questions

Is Welockin free?
Welockin is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PolyNotes free?
PolyNotes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Welockin or PolyNotes have ads?
Neither Welockin nor PolyNotes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Welockin or PolyNotes?
Welockin ships an update fortnightly, and PolyNotes every 2 days. Most recently, Welockin was updated on November 10, 2026 and PolyNotes on November 8, 2026.

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