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

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Less scrolling. More living. BrainSober Pro requires a paid, auto-renewing subscription. App protection, Focus Credits, intentional unlocks, and progress tracking require an active plan. Choose a weekly or annual plan in the app. Pricing and billing terms are shown before you confirm payment with Apple. No free trial is currently offered. MAKE REAL LIFE COUNT Walk, read, exercise, tidy, or focus. Complete offline activities to restore Brain Energy and earn Focus Credits. Spend 3 credits for a temporary 15-minute unlock when you choose to use your protected apps. SET YOUR OWN LIMITS Choose distracting apps privately using Apple Screen Time. Set a daily allowance, protected windows, and a protection style that fits your day. SEE YOUR PROGRESS Watch Brain Energy respond to selected-app use. Review your weekly attention score and completed offline resets with Brio, your brain companion. PRIVATE SCREEN TIME DATA No BrainSober account is required. Your selected-app tokens, protection plan, Brain Energy, Focus Credits, and detailed activity history stay on your device or in Apple's private App Group storage. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the current period ends. Manage or cancel your subscription in your Apple account settings. Payment is charged to your Apple account when you confirm the purchase. 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, in-app purchases, 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. BrainSober sells 3 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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BrainSober ships an update every 2 days, hey! every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
BrainSober versus hey!: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBrainSoberhey!
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
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
Size41 MB42 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFritz doebelX1 Consulting LLC

In-app purchases

3 purchases

BrainSober

Subscriptions3
  • BrainSober Pro Weekly$8.997 Days
  • BrainSober Rescue Annual$29.991 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.
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 7, 2026 and hey! on October 5, 2026.

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