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Screen Limiter vs ScreenZen
Last updated November 2026
Both are free, both avoid a subscription, and both refuse to treat you as a customer to be retained. They differ in shape: ScreenZen is a toolkit of small frictions that you assemble, and Screen Limiter is one rule applied consistently — a small allowance per window, then a shield.
What ScreenZen does well
- Many kinds of friction. A configurable wait before an app opens, a reflective prompt, an interrupt after a scrolling session, strict blocks by time range, open count or screen time.
- Daily accounting. A screen time goal for the day and per-app open limits, which suits people whose problem is frequency rather than duration.
- Protections against yourself. Locks on the settings, and uninstall protection, so a bad moment cannot quietly dismantle the setup.
- Genuinely free. Donation-supported, and it runs beyond iOS.
What Screen Limiter does well
- One rule, not a toolkit. Pick apps, pick an allowance, pick a window, pick a strictness. There is nothing to tune afterwards and nothing to check.
- Rolling windows instead of a daily total. 30 minutes, an hour or two hours per group, so a bad morning cannot consume the day.
- No scores, streaks or dashboards. No streak to break, nothing that turns your phone use into a game you can lose.
- No account and no analytics. Themes, four languages, and nothing leaves the device.
| Screen Limiter | ScreenZen | |
|---|---|---|
| Core idea | An allowance per window, then a shield | Delays, prompts and blocks you assemble |
| Before an app opens | Nothing | Configurable wait and prompts |
| Accounting period | 30 / 60 / 120 minutes, per group | Daily goal, open limits, timed blocks |
| Uninstall protection | No | Yes |
| Account | None | Optional |
| Price | Free (payments off) | Free (donations) |
From ScreenZen's App Store listing and site, November 2026. Its iOS blocking method is not documented publicly, so this page does not claim one.
Which one you want
- Choose ScreenZen if your habit is frequent short opens, you like tuning knobs, you want a daily number, or you need the same setup on a computer as well as a phone.
- Choose Screen Limiter if you want one rule you never think about again, a budget that returns on the hour rather than at midnight, and no measurement of any kind.
Where Screen Limiter is worse. ScreenZen can protect itself from being uninstalled, and Screen Limiter cannot. If the fear is that you will delete the app at a low point, ScreenZen is the more resilient of the two — and so is Precursor. Screen Limiter's answer to that moment is a passcode and a bit of friction, not a guarantee.
FAQ
Is ScreenZen really free?
Its own site describes it as completely free and donation-supported, with no subscription. Screen Limiter is free because payments are currently switched off.
Does ScreenZen reset limits hourly?
Its published mechanics are daily goals, daily open limits, delays and timed blocks. Rolling per-hour allowances are what Screen Limiter does; for a direct hourly equivalent, Precursor is the other option.
Which has fewer distractions inside the app?
Screen Limiter, by design: no streaks, no scores, no dashboards, and a single limits screen. Whether that is a feature or a missing feature depends on whether numbers motivate you.
One rule, repeated all day
A small allowance per group, a window you pick, and a shield that lifts on its own.
See how Screen Limiter works