Comparison

DoomPal vs Pailtime

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

Head to head
About

DoomPal

Features
Read full description

DoomPal puts a tiny animated pet in your Dynamic Island that lives and dies by your doomscrolling. Pick your pal from a roster of pixel pets. Set a daily scroll budget. Summon. Your pal hangs out in the Dynamic Island while you scroll, with a heart showing how much time you've got left. Burn through three-quarters of it, and they get sleepy. Burn through all of it and, well... they don't make it. You'll get a notification. You'll feel bad. That's the point. CONNECT SCREEN TIME Link Screen Time and pick the apps that eat your day. Then your pal reacts to the time actually spent scrolling. Everything stays on your device. FEATURES • Animated pixel pet in your Dynamic Island and on your Lock Screen • 8 pets to choose from, each with their own idle, sleepy, and doom animations • Daily scroll budget with a draining heart • Screen Time integration for real usage tracking • Watch an ad to revive your pal for more time • No accounts required Your feed will still be there tomorrow. Your pal might not.

About

Pailtime

This app helps you regain control of your phone usage by setting daily limits for specific apps. Instead of outright bans, it offers a "scrolltime bucket" that drains as you use apps, locking them when time is up. You can also earn back scrolltime by engaging in productive activities.

Highlights
  • Daily scrolltime bucket
  • App blocking with time limits
  • Live countdown on Lock Screen/Dynamic Island
  • Earn scrolltime back with activities
  • Gradual "Half Plan" for reduced usage
  • Usage insights and streaks
Features
Read full description

Doom-scrolling steals time in tiny pieces. Five minutes turns into twenty. Twenty turns into an hour. And suddenly, the time you meant to spend reading, moving, creating, resting, or being with people you care about is gone. Pailtime helps you take that time back. Instead of banning the apps you love, Pailtime gives your scrolling a limit you can actually feel: a daily bucket of scrolltime. Choose how much time you want before you start. Watch the bucket drain while you scroll. When the time is gone, the apps lock again. And when you spend time doing things that actually make your day better, you can earn some scrolltime back. No guilt. No cold turkey. No endless blocking. Just a calmer, more intentional way to use your phone — and slowly scroll half as much. HOW IT WORKS 1. Pick the apps you tend to doom-scroll. Pailtime locks them using Apple’s Screen Time framework. 2. Want to scroll? Choose your limit first. Pour out 5, 10, or 15 minutes. 3. Your apps unlock, and your bucket drains live on your Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island. 4. When time runs out, the apps lock again. Done is done. 5. Recharge to earn scrolltime back. THE HALF PLAN You don’t have to quit scrolling. You just need it to take up less of your life. Tell Pailtime how much you scroll today, and the Half Plan builds a gentle path toward cutting that time in half. Your daily limit decreases a few minutes at a time, making the change feel achievable instead of extreme. You’ll see the full projection from day one and watch your progress build every day after. WHY IT WORKS - Intention before impulse - Choosing your limit before opening an app turns automatic scrolling into a conscious choice. - Time becomes visible - A draining bucket makes every minute feel real instead of disappearing unnoticed. - Earned, not banned - Recharge rewards the things you want more of in your life instead of punishing you for scrolling. - Recharge with brain games - Small steps are easier to keep - The Half Plan reduces your limit gradually, helping you change without feeling deprived. FEATURES • Scrolltime Bucket — your daily scrolling budget, visualized as living liquid • App Blocker — chosen apps stay locked until you intentionally start a scroll session • Live Countdown — see remaining time on your Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island • Recharge — earn scrolltime through focus, meditation, reading, workouts, walks, learning, creating, and connecting and also by playing brain games • Half Plan — a gradual path toward scrolling 50% less • Resist — turn the urge to scroll into a challenge and climb the ranks as you resist • Insights — track today’s scrolltime, weekly trends, and urges resisted • Streaks — build momentum over time • Satisfying haptics and fluid bucket physics • Dark, calm, distraction-free design PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your attention is personal. Your data should be too. Pailtime uses Apple’s Screen Time framework. Your app choices are protected by Apple, and Pailtime cannot see what you do inside your apps. Your data stays on your iPhone. No account. No ads. No tracking. Your time is too valuable to lose one scroll at a time. Scroll on purpose. Fill your day with everything else. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://banimo.net/apps/pailtime/privacy

Screenshots

DoomPal4 screens
Pailtime4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: DoomPal at none against Pailtime's 1. Pailtime's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Pailtime sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $39.99 per year. DoomPal asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

DoomPal ships an update weekly, Pailtime every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
DoomPal versus Pailtime: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDoomPalPailtime
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 10 days
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB25 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperChizimuzo IkejianiBanimo

In-app purchases

None

DoomPal

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Pailtime

Subscriptions1
  • Pailtime Pro Yearly3 Days trial$39.991 Year

Questions

Is DoomPal free?
DoomPal is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pailtime free?
Pailtime is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do DoomPal or Pailtime have ads?
DoomPal shows ads; Pailtime does not.
Which is updated more often, DoomPal or Pailtime?
DoomPal ships an update weekly, and Pailtime every 10 days. Most recently, DoomPal was updated on October 12, 2026 and Pailtime on October 29, 2026.

Other comparisons