It's close: ScrollCop edges it 8.6 to 8.6, so the right pick depends on what you need. ScrollCop wins on 2 of the 5 scores, Calm on 3.
iPhone users who keep turning off their own app limits
Light sleepers and anxious minds who want help winding down each night
Score by score
The details
| Feature | ScrollCop | Calm |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Mind & Focus | Mind & Focus |
| Category rank | #4 of 9 | #5 of 9 |
| Developer | The Big Head | Calm.com, Inc. |
| Pricing | Free | Subscription |
| Usable for free | Yes | No |
| iPhone & iPad | ✓ | ✓ |
| Android | — | ✓ |
| Web | — | ✓ |
Strengths and weaknesses
ScrollCop
- A friend can hold the key, so blocks actually stick
- Free with no subscription, no ads and no account
- Blocks whole categories and websites, not just apps
- iPhone only, with no Android or desktop version
- Fewer stats and reports than Opal
ScrollCop blocks the apps and sites that eat your time using Apple's Screen Time, so blocked apps really disappear. Its best idea is the key: when you start a block you can let a friend hold a one-time PIN, so you can't quietly end it at midnight. Daily schedules, an SOS button for cravings and short boredom exercises round it out. It is iPhone-only, but free with no subscription.
Full ScrollCop review
Calm
- Best-in-class Sleep Stories and sleep music
- Soothing, beautifully produced design
- Wide range of content for stress and anxiety
- Most content is paywalled
- Less structured for learning to meditate
Calm is the app to get if better sleep is your main goal. Its Sleep Stories are excellent at helping you drift off, and soundscapes, music and breathing exercises round it out. Guided meditations cover anxiety and focus too. Most content needs a subscription, and the meditation teaching is less structured than Headspace's. Still, few apps make winding down this easy.
Full Calm review
