ScrollBuddy
vs Clearspace.
A session you choose the length of, against a pass you earn before the door opens. We make one of these, so every fact below links to where it came from.
The table scrolls sideways when it does not fit.
| ScrollBuddy | Clearspace | |
|---|---|---|
| What it does | The apps you picked are shut from midnight. Finishing one of your tasks mints a thirty minute pass, and spending a pass opens them until it runs out. | Opening a chosen app asks for a breath, or a set of pushups, and then for how long you mean to stay. |
| Price, US App Store | Free first full day, then $4.99 a month, $29.99 a year, or $49.99 once | Free tier, then $6.99 a month or $44.99 a year |
| Account needed | No account, no login | Sign in exists at their web app. Whether it is required is not stated |
| Where your data sits | On the phone. Blocking runs on Apple's Screen Time, so it never sees which apps you open | Not stated on their site. Their App Store privacy label says data may be used to track you across other companies' apps and websites |
| Runs on | iPhone, iOS 26 and later | iPhone, Android, Chrome extension |
| Uses Apple Screen Time | Yes, stated | Not stated |
Prices are US App Store prices in dollars, not converted, so your local price will differ. Checked 12 September 2026. Where an app publishes a fact itself we took it from there, otherwise from its App Store listing: ScrollBuddy, their App Store listing; Clearspace, their App Store listing.
Who Clearspace is right for
Clearspace is built for deliberate use rather than no use. Opening a chosen app asks for a breath, or for pushups it counts with the camera, and then asks how long you mean to stay. The session ends itself when that time is up.
That is a genuinely different idea from a schedule, and it suits people who do not want the app gone, only entered on purpose. The physical challenge is unusual and it works for people who respond to a bodily cost more than a digital one. It also covers Android and Chrome, which ScrollBuddy does not.
Two things to check yourself before buying. Clearspace publishes no prices and no privacy claim on its own site, so both come from its App Store listing, and that listing’s privacy label declares tracking across other companies’ apps and websites. Source: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/clearspace-reduce-screen-time/id1572515807.
Who ScrollBuddy is right for
The difference is who sets the price of entry and when. Clearspace asks at the door, in the moment you already want in, and the answer you give is how long you intend to stay. ScrollBuddy asks earlier, at a calm hour, in the form of one to three tasks, and the door does not open until one of them is finished.
Ask the door and you are negotiating with the version of you who already reached. Ask the morning and you are being held to the version who meant it. Which works better depends on you, and if a timed session is enough then Clearspace is the lighter tool.
No account and no login. Blocking runs on Apple’s Screen Time permission, so ScrollBuddy never sees which apps you open, and nothing about your day leaves your phone. Your first full day is free. After that it costs money, and if it does not help you can walk away free.
The honest caveat
Neither app can stop you. You can turn it off. ScrollBuddy holds no key you cannot take back, and it only ever knows what you tell it. All six apps we looked at are in one table at screen time apps compared, with a source and a date on every row.
Questions
How does Clearspace decide when to let me in?
You do. Opening a chosen app asks for a centering exercise, or a set of pushups, and then for how long you mean to stay, and the session ends when that time is up.
Is Clearspace private?
Clearspace states no privacy posture on its own site. Its App Store privacy label says data may be used to track you across apps and websites owned by other companies. That is a fact about the label, checked in September 2026.
Which costs less?
ScrollBuddy is $4.99 a month against Clearspace's $6.99, and $49.99 once against Clearspace's $44.99 a year. Clearspace publishes no prices on its own site, so those figures come from its App Store listing. Prices are US App Store prices and are not converted.