Comparison

BrainSober vs hey!

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

Head to head
About

BrainSober

Read full description

Brain rot? Not today. BrainSober blocks the apps that eat your day and lets you earn screen time back in real life. Take a walk, read or move to earn Focus Credits, then spend them to open an app on purpose instead of on autopilot. BrainSober Pro is a paid subscription, weekly or annual. Prices are shown in the app before you confirm with Apple. HOW IT WORKS • Pick the apps that pull you in. Apple's private Screen Time picker means we never see which ones. • Set a daily allowance and a protected time window, like your evenings. • When your time is up, the apps pause. • Do something real to earn more: 10 minutes offline = 1 Focus Credit. • Spend 3 credits to unlock your apps for 15 minutes. EARN YOUR SCREEN TIME Take a walk, read offline, move your body, tidy your space or start a focus session. Each reset earns up to 3 Focus Credits and restores your Brain Energy. WATCH YOUR BRAIN RECOVER Meet Brio, your little brain buddy. Every scroll drains Brain Energy, and real life recharges it. Brio shows how you're doing at a glance, without guilt trips. LIMITS THAT FIT YOUR LIFE • Daily allowance from 15 minutes to 4 hours • Protected hours that match your routine • Gentle, Standard or Strict protection • Weekly attention score and offline reset history PRIVATE BY DESIGN • No account needed • We never see which apps you choose • Your plan and activity history stay on your iPhone SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS BrainSober Pro is required for app protection, Focus Credits, unlocks and progress tracking. No free trial is offered. Payment is charged to your Apple Account when you confirm the purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings. Privacy Policy: https://brainsober.app/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

hey!

This app helps you manage phone usage with a virtual companion who encourages breaks and rewards them with in-app currency. Earn coins by taking breaks to buy items for your companion or decorate their room. Track your progress and mood without pressure to maintain streaks.

Highlights
  • Virtual companion for focus
  • Earn coins for breaks
  • Decorate companion's room
  • Track mood and sessions
  • Focus Filter integration
  • No streaks or pressure
Read full description

You opened your phone to check one thing. Somehow, you're still here. hey! is a little taro pal called Taro. He lives in a room on your phone and watches only the apps you choose. When time in them runs long, he asks: "Hey, you still with me?" Take a break and he adds 5 coins. Keep using and he steps out of the way. Nothing is ever locked. MEET TARO Taro's mood goes okay, good, glowing. Breaks lift it, snacks lift it, and it drifts back to okay on its own — it never drops lower. There's nothing you can do to make it worse, and nothing to lose by coming back after a week away. Check in with your own mood any time; Rhythm remembers it. COINS FOR EVERY BREAK Every break you take earns 5 coins, and the check-in says so before you choose. Coins do one thing: they buy things for Taro. WORK TOGETHER Sit down with Taro for a light session: 25 minutes on, 5 off, for one, two or four rounds. Pick what you're working on. Finish and earn 30 coins, plus 10 more for finishing every round you planned. End early and you keep what you finished. Pause whenever you need to. During a round Taro checks in the moment you open one of your apps, instead of waiting out the usual delay. Keep using still works. SNACKS AND KEEPSAKES Spend coins in the Shop. Treats — a strawberry, a rice ball, a cookie — lift Taro's mood a little, and water is free once a day. Keepsakes like a mug, a plant, a lamp or a cushion go into his room and stay there for good. GIFTS YOU CAN'T BUY Sometimes Taro finds you something: a pebble by the door, a pressed leaf, a seedling he grew while you worked. Gifts are never for sale. They sit on the From Taro shelf with the day they arrived. YOUR WEEK, NOT YOUR SCORE Rhythm shows the breaks you took, how you've been feeling, the sessions you ran and every gift on the shelf. No streak to break. No day that counts against you. Nothing resets. ON FOR FOCUS Add hey! as a Focus Filter in iPhone Settings. Taro wakes when that Focus turns on and rests when it turns off. The app walks you through setup. Manual sessions are there when you'd rather start one yourself. YOUR APP CONTENT STAYS PRIVATE Apple's Screen Time tools count use in the apps and websites you select. hey! doesn't read your messages, your photos or the videos you watch. No account. No advertising. Optional usage sharing helps us improve setup and check-ins; it never includes what you do in other apps. TRY IT FREE FOR 14 DAYS Eligible new subscribers get 14 days free when they choose a monthly or yearly plan and confirm with Apple. Every plan includes all features. After the trial, your selected subscription renews automatically at the price shown before you confirm unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the trial ends. Manage or cancel in App Store settings. Lifetime access is a separate one-time purchase with no subscription trial or renewal. Local prices appear in the app. Restore purchases with the Apple Account used to buy. HELP SHAPE HEY Suggest a feature and vote on ideas at tryhey.app/feedback. Need a hand? Reach us at hello@tryhey.app. Requires iPhone with iOS 18 or later and Screen Time permission. Check-ins depend on Apple's usage signals and can arrive a little late. Time adds up across the apps and websites you select while a Focus or session is active. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

BrainSober4 screens
hey!4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: hey! at none against BrainSober's shown. BrainSober's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 9 days). On price, rating, ratings volume and in-app purchases 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. BrainSober sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per 7 days and hey! sells 3 in-app purchases, 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 BrainSober against 5.0 for hey!. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BrainSober ships an update every 2 days, hey! every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
BrainSober versus hey!: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBrainSoberhey!
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings11
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 9 days
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS18.018.0
Further details — not scored
Size64 MB42 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFritz doebelX1 Consulting LLC

Customer experience

BrainSober

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

hey!

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

9 purchases

BrainSober

Subscriptions9
  • BrainSober Pro Weekly$8.997 Days
  • BrainSober Pro Monthly7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • BrainSober Pro Monthly$9.991 Month
Show 6 more
  • BrainSober Rescue Annual7 Days trial$22.991 Year
  • BrainSober Rescue Annual$22.991 Year
  • BrainSober Rescue Annual$29.991 Year
  • BrainSober Pro Annual7 Days trial$44.991 Year
  • BrainSober Pro Annual$44.991 Year
  • BrainSober Pro Annual$59.991 Year
3 purchases

hey!

Subscriptions2
  • hey Monthly14 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • hey Yearly14 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • hey Lifetime$39.99

Questions

Is BrainSober free?
BrainSober is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is hey! free?
hey! is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, BrainSober or hey!?
BrainSober and hey! are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do BrainSober or hey! have ads?
BrainSober shows ads; hey! does not.
Which is updated more often, BrainSober or hey!?
BrainSober ships an update every 2 days, and hey! every 9 days. Most recently, BrainSober was updated on October 29, 2026 and hey! on October 22, 2026.

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