Comparison

Pond vs Read First

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

Head to head
About

Pond

This app helps you regain control of your screen time and digital wellbeing. It offers mindful app blocking, tracks your digital balance, and provides a visual representation of your focused time. It's designed to foster healthier phone habits without guilt or gamification.

Highlights
  • Mindful app blocking
  • Screen time tracking
  • Daily balance score
  • Scheduled focus sessions
  • Lotus garden visualizer
  • Breathing prompts
Features
Read full description

Pond - Your Digital Sanctuary A mindful app blocker for screen time balance and digital wellbeing You already know the feeling. Another evening lost to scrolling. Reaching for your phone during dinner. The exhaustion of being always on. Your phone promised connection. Instead, it scattered your attention into a thousand pieces. Pond is different. A gentle app blocker and screen time tracker that helps you reclaim your time. Not through guilt or gamification, but through quiet intention and mindful awareness. Three Things That Matter: Daily Balance Score One number that shows the quality of your digital day. Are you creating or consuming? Connecting or scrolling? Resting or stimulating? Not to judge—to help you notice. Track your digital wellbeing and build healthier phone habits. Mindful Blocking Set focus sessions for work, meditation, meals, or sleep. Block distracting apps and social media automatically. Your scattered attention becomes whole again. Just you and what you chose to do. Your Lotus Garden Each moment of presence blooms a lotus in your pond. Not points or streaks—just quiet beauty that grows with your practice. A visual reminder of time well spent and focus reclaimed. What You Can Do: • Block distracting apps during focus time • Set daily limits on social media and screen time • Schedule recurring sessions (work, sleep, meals, study) • Track your balance and phone usage without judgment • Take mindful breaks with breathing prompts • See weekly patterns in your digital life This Isn't Another Productivity App Pond won't buzz you to work harder. Won't shame you for a bad day. Won't turn presence into competition. Just a quiet space. A gentle reminder. A place to return to stillness. Perfect for those seeking digital detox, building healthier phone habits, improving focus, or simply using their phone more intentionally. Pond — a calmer way to use your phone. Your Privacy Matters Everything stays on your device. No tracking. No social comparison. No data collection. Terms & Conditions https://go.pixo.co/pond-terms

About

Read First

Features
Read full description

Your scrolling apps stay shut until you've read today's pages. Read First uses Apple's Screen Time to lock the apps that eat your evenings. Read your pages, snap a photo of the page you're on, and they open back up. That's the whole deal. HOW IT WORKS 1. Pick the apps that take your time 2. Add your book and the date you want to finish it 3. Read First works out today's page count 4. Read, snap the page, type where you got to. Your apps open. FOCUS TIMER Spin the dial, lock your apps for 5 minutes or 2 hours, and just read. A gentle tune plays when you're done, and the countdown shows on your Lock Screen. MAKE IT YOURS • All day: locked until you've read • Reading hours: locked only during the hours you choose • Relock rounds: read, get a few hours free, then a new page count • Normal or Hard: decide whether the lock screen can be dismissed • Reading reminders and a Home Screen widget for today's pages A LIBRARY THAT GROWS Covers pulled in automatically, an up-next shelf, your finished books and a daily streak. And Folio, a small book who is very happy when you read. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account. Your books, pages and photos stay on your iPhone. Screen Time gives Read First anonymous tokens only, so it can't see which apps you picked or anything you do in them. We use anonymous analytics to improve the app, never your name, your books or which apps you lock. SUBSCRIPTION Read First requires a subscription. The plans, prices and any free trial are shown in the app before you subscribe. Payment is charged to your Apple ID at the end of a free trial, or when you subscribe if there is no trial. It renews automatically unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the period. Manage or cancel in Settings › Apple ID › Subscriptions. Terms of Use: https://read-first.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://read-first.app/privacy

Screenshots

Pond4 screens
Read First4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Read First at every 6 days against Pond's every 3 weeks. Read First also leads on iOS requirement (16.4 vs 18.0). 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. Pond sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month and Read First sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pond ships an update every 3 weeks, Read First every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Pond versus Read First: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPondRead First
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (848 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews71.1% of reviews—
Number of ratings848 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.016.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size350 MB71 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPIXO IncorporationMatt Lamborne

Bugs and requests

Pond

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Timer inaccuracies
  • Interface issues on Mac
  • Inability to share audio with other apps
  • Unreliable auto-reset functionality
  • Subscription issues

Requested features

7 requests
  • Auto-reset option
  • Ability to assign tasks to Pomodoros
  • Project/focus area tracking
  • Cross-device sync
  • Apple Watch support
Show 2 more
  • Ability to skip long breaks
  • Playlist support for sounds

Read First

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Pond

Subscriptions2
  • Pond Plus 1 Month$7.991 Month
  • Pond Plus 1 Year7 Days trial$49.991 Year
One-time1
  • Pond Plus Lifetime$99.99
5 purchases

Read First

Subscriptions5
  • Weekly$4.997 Days
  • Monthly7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Yearly7 Days trial$29.991 Year
Show 2 more
  • Yearly7 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • Yearly3 Days trial$49.991 Year

Questions

Is Pond free?
Pond is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Read First free?
Read First is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Pond or Read First have ads?
Neither Pond nor Read First shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pond or Read First?
Pond ships an update every 3 weeks, and Read First every 6 days. Most recently, Pond was updated on November 1, 2026 and Read First on October 31, 2026.

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