niche still openApp Store US · November 2026Join the waitlist

Is the screen time control app market saturated? What the App Store US data says

18 keywords measured on App Store US, last scanned 2026-11-03. Figures are read directly from store pages, not estimated.

NEW ENTRANTS · 12 MONTHS

How many screen time control apps released in the last 12 months are ranking on App Store US today, and how many reached the ratings threshold?

Newcomers do survive here 3 of 12 top-10 apps released 6–12 months ago cleared 50 ratings; 41 more were released in the last 6 months and are too young to judge; 1 of 17 keywords are still unclaimed.
Released 6–12 months ago, past 50 ratings
3/12
top-10 apps released 6–12 months ago that reached 50 ratings
Too young to judge
41
released in the last 6 months, not counted either way
Over 24 months
7/28
same ratings threshold
Median release year, top-10
2026
of 86 dated apps
Store autocomplete confirms people search for this niche. Searched for: "screen time control" suggested after typing 32% (position 3).

WHAT WINNERS CHARGE

Are screen time control apps profitable, and what do the top apps on App Store US charge?

5 of 5 sell in-app purchases, top prices range from 40 USD to 149 USD.

Real prices, read from each app's own store page, not estimated

App holding top-5RatingsWhat it chargesLast update
Opal: Screen Time Control90,85399.99 USD — Yearly Planupdated 2026-11-02
BePresent: Screen Time Control71,44499.99 USD — BePresent Pro Family (iCloud)updated 2026-10-31
Unrot: Earn your Screen Time57,03169.99 USD — Full Accessupdated 2026-10-21
ScreenZen- Screen Time Control53,08740 USD — Fantastic Tipupdated 2026-09-06
one sec | screen time + focus23,788149 USD — one sec pro | Family Lifetimeupdated 2026-11-02

REVENUE CHARTS

Do screen time control apps make money on App Store US, judged by days on a top-grossing chart?

2 of 86 apps holding a top-10 position sat on their category's top-grossing chart on at least 3 of the last 30 days.

AppCategoryBest rankDays on chart
BePresent: Screen Time ControlProductivity2130/30
Opal: Screen Time ControlProductivity3730/30
How to read this

Chart read on 30 of the last 30 days.

Only the top-grossing chart counts. Top-paid charts are left out: paid-app sales are thin enough that almost any paid app reaches one. Each category chart lists the 100 highest-earning apps in that category on this store, so the bar is far higher in Games than in Medical.

RATING GROWTH

Are screen time control apps on App Store US still gaining ratings, or has the market gone quiet?

22 of 78 apps are still gaining ratings, a median of 1.94 new ratings a day. 47 gained none in the last 30 days; 9 moved only once.

AppReleasedRatings nowNew ratings per day
BePresent: Screen Time Control202271,444185.34
ScreenZen- Screen Time Control202153,08771.79
Opal: Screen Time Control202090,85357.72
Refocus: App Blocker & Lock202211,8159.97
Brainrot: Screen Time Control202522,8048
How to read this

78 of 86 apps holding a top-10 position have rating readings spanning 14+ days.

App Store rating counts are kept per country, so these are App Store US ratings only. Google Play counts are worldwide. Compare apps within one store, never across the two. A rate is the rise in rating count over the days observed in the last 30 days; a drop of more than half is read as a counter reset and earlier readings are discarded.

KEYWORDS

What do people search to find a screen time control app, and which keywords does nobody target?

1 of 8 keywords have no top-10 app aiming at them: less screentime.

KeywordDifficulty (0–100)Apps targeting it
less screentime6nobody — 0/10
screen time control block291/10
limit screen time353/10
screen time tracker414/10
less screen time255/10
screen time blocker385/10
screen time control655/10
self control316/10

9 more keywords in the full report.

How to read this

Difficulty is the cost of reaching the top, 0–100. "Apps targeting it" counts top-10 apps carrying every word of the keyword in their name or subtitle.

COMPLAINTS

What do users complain about in the top screen time control apps?

Most common: Paywall, 8 of 20 classified 1–2★ reviews.

Paywall8/20
Crashes & bugs4/20
Missing feature3/20
Billing3/20
Data loss & sync1/20
Hard to use1/20
How to read this

Mixes the slice of reviews the store chooses to show, which skews positive, with each app's latest reviews — so the shares show which problems dominate, not how many users hit them.

Each 1–2★ complaint was assigned one theme by an AI model. A second AI model re-read 100 random labels in September 2026: about 7 in 10 matched its own pick and 9 in 10 were a reasonable reading. Read the order of the leading themes, not exact shares. Classified on 2026-10-09.

OTHER STORE

Is the screen time control app market different on Android (Google Play)?

See screen time control on Google Play US → 4 of 13 top-10 apps released 6–12 months ago reached 50 ratings there