Merit

Block the apps you pick. Earn them back with real activity.

$9.99 once. No subscription, ever.

Every other app in this category bills you weekly to stay off your phone. One charges $10 a week, which comes to $520 a year to not open Instagram.

Merit reads your steps, exercise minutes, stand hours and sleep from Apple Health and turns them into screen-time credits by itself. There is no "I did it" button, so there is nothing to fake.

The exchange rate

1,000 steps5 minutes
10 minutes of exercise10 minutes
Each stand hour2 minutes
7 hours of sleep15 bonus minutes

What costs nothing

Blocking apps and websites, the study-mode allowlist that keeps your calculator reachable, and earning from your step count. Forever, with no trial clock and no paywall waiting at the end of setup.

What costs $9.99

The other three earning sources, saved blocking profiles, and stats. You pay once. Nothing you already had disappears after you buy.