Comparison

SocialZen vs Aimstep

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

Head to head
About

SocialZen

Features
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SocialZen opens the social apps you already use, with the parts built to keep you scrolling taken out. Messages, profiles, search and posting all work exactly as they did. Reels, Shorts, Spotlight, For You and Explore do not appear at all. WHAT GETS REMOVED • Short-form video — Reels, Shorts, Spotlight and the For You feed • Explore, trending rails and "suggested for you" injected between real posts • Ads and trackers, refused at the network rather than hidden after they load • Like and view counts, comment sections and story trays — each one optional WHAT STAYS • Direct messages and group chats • Profiles, followers and search • Posting, replying and reacting • A video someone sends you in a chat plays once, then takes you back to the conversation instead of sliding into the next one OPEN THE REAL APP, LAND IN THE CALM ONE Turn on interception and opening Instagram brings you to the filtered version instead. iOS enforces it with Screen Time, so it survives a reboot and cannot be killed in the background. DECIDE IN ADVANCE • Sleep Mode locks the apps overnight, on a window you set while you are not tired • Daily limits give each network a budget. Lowering one applies at once; raising one you have already spent waits until tomorrow • Schedules turn interception on for work hours, evenings or weekends • Strict Mode commits you to a window with no early exit SEE WHERE THE TIME WENT SocialZen shows how long you spend inside the filtered apps, per platform, per day. PRIVATE BY CONSTRUCTION There is no account and no server. No analytics, no crash reporting, no ad SDK. Your logins belong to the sites themselves, exactly as they would in a browser, and SocialZen has no way to read them. Every number is computed on your device and stays there. FREE, AND PRO Every platform, every content filter, the scroll-stop and the ad blocking are free forever. Pro adds the enforcement and the depth: blocking the real apps, Sleep Mode, daily limits, unlimited schedules, a home-screen widget per network and thirty days of history. SocialZen Pro is an auto-renewable subscription. Monthly or yearly, billed to your Apple Account. It renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period; manage or cancel it any time in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://socialzen-cwb.web.app/privacy

About

Aimstep

Features
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What's your card? Six questions and your discipline gets a rating out of 99. Then lock in with your squad and make it climb, every Sunday. LOCK IN WITH YOUR SQUAD Start a private squad of up to 6, or join a friend's with their 6-character code. You see each other's cards and ranks, today's count (2/3, 3/3…) and streaks, ranked by rating. Every day one of you locks in counts for the whole squad. No chat, no feed, no DMs: one reaction a day, like Respect or Lock in. Your missions stay private. Report, block or remove anyone, leave anytime. PICK YOUR ARC • Winter Arc: until December 31. Walk into the new year ranked. • 30-day lock in: one month, no zero days. • 75-day challenge: body, mind and sleep, every day for 75 days. • New Year Reset: all of January. Every arc has an end date. Your card is minted for it, and if you finish, that edition is yours for good. GET RATED IN 60 SECONDS Six honest questions about last week. Out comes your starting card: an overall rating out of 99 and six stats. WILL, BODY, MIND, FOCUS, SLEEP, MONEY. Pick three pillars to raise; WILL grows with every day you keep. 3 MISSIONS A DAY One mission per pillar, every day, built from your answers. Check it off and the points are banked for Sunday. Bad day? Minimum mode gives you the 10-minute version. Half the points, streak saved, no zero days. A mission doesn't fit your day? Swap it, up to three times a week. EVERY SUNDAY AT 6 PM Your card upgrades. The week you kept turns into points, up to +4 a week, so nobody fakes their way up. Cross a line and you rank up: Recruit → Legionary → Veteran → Centurion → General → Imperator. Bronze, silver, gold, obsidian, then violet and laurel. Imperator takes months of near-perfect weeks. And when your arc ends, a final upgrade at midnight seals the card you earned. ALSO IN THERE • One side quest a week: extra WILL and a stamp for your collection • A journal of every day and every Sunday • Day 1 next to today, stat by stat • Post your day, your upgrade, your card • A reminder at 9 PM if a mission is still open, and one when Sunday's upgrade lands No feed. No strangers. Just you, your squad and your Day 1. SUBSCRIPTION Aimstep needs a subscription to run your arc. It renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period or trial. Manage or cancel anytime in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use: https://prime-legal.nicobe21.chatgpt.site/terms Privacy Policy: https://prime-legal.nicobe21.chatgpt.site/privacy

Screenshots

SocialZen4 screens
Aimstep4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: SocialZen at none against Aimstep's shown. Aimstep's advantage is iOS requirement (16.4 vs 18.0). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. SocialZen sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $10.99 per month and Aimstep sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SocialZen ships an update every 3 days, Aimstep every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences Ā· 4 level
SocialZen versus Aimstep: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSocialZenAimstep
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 5 days
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS18.016.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size17 MB64 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperChristian BrownMANGIN Nicolas

In-app purchases

3 purchases

SocialZen

Subscriptions3
  • Pro Monthly$10.991 Month
  • Pro Yearly3 Days trial$74.991 Year
  • Pro Yearly7 Days trial$74.991 Year
3 purchases

Aimstep

Subscriptions3
  • Aimstep Weekly$1.997 Days
  • Aimstep Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Aimstep Annual3 Days trial$44.991 Year

Questions

Is SocialZen free?
SocialZen is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Aimstep free?
Aimstep is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do SocialZen or Aimstep have ads?
Aimstep shows ads; SocialZen does not.
Which is updated more often, SocialZen or Aimstep?
SocialZen ships an update every 3 days, and Aimstep every 5 days. Most recently, SocialZen was updated on October 21, 2026 and Aimstep on October 29, 2026.

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