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Dopamine Detox vs screen-time blockers and habit trackers
Different tools do different jobs. Here is what each kind is for, where the others are the better choice, and what ours does that they don't.
The short version
- Want to be stopped from opening an app? Use a blocker or your phone's built-in limits.
- Want to measure your screen time automatically? Apple Screen Time or Android Digital Wellbeing.
- Want to track any habit, game-style or minimal? A general habit tracker.
- Want to cut back on specific habits and see what the research says about each one? That is what Dopamine Detox is for.
App blockers and pause apps
for example one sec and Opal
What they do
- Stand between you and the apps you choose: a short pause before an app opens (one sec is known for this), or blocking apps during sessions and schedules you set (Opal's approach).
- Work in the moment, at the exact point where the habit starts.
Where they're better
- Stopping you. If you want a hard block or forced friction, a blocker does it and we don't.
- Needing no effort from you once set up.
How Dopamine Detox differs: Dopamine Detox does not block or delay any app. It records the habits you choose to log and shows the research behind each one.
Built-in screen-time tools
Apple Screen Time and Android Digital Wellbeing
What they do
- Report how long you spend on your phone and in each app, measured automatically.
- Set app limits and quiet periods such as downtime or bedtime modes.
Where they're better
- Measuring screen time. They read it from the phone itself; we never see your usage and you log habits by hand.
- Cost and setup: they are already on your phone.
How Dopamine Detox differs: They measure minutes on screens. Dopamine Detox tracks habits, on or off a screen (porn, gaming, sugar, alcohol, exercise, sleep), and explains what the studies say about each.
General habit trackers
for example Habitica and Streaks
What they do
- Track any habit or task you define, with checklists and streaks. Habitica turns your habits into a role-playing game; Streaks is built around keeping daily streaks going.
Where they're better
- Flexibility: any habit, any routine, to-dos included.
- Motivation styles we don't offer: a full game (Habitica) or a deliberately simple streak list (Streaks).
How Dopamine Detox differs: Dopamine Detox is narrower on purpose: a catalogue of habits linked to published studies, each with a computed evidence grade, a research model score and streaks of clean days.
What Dopamine Detox does, and doesn't
Does
- Evidence pages for 18 habits, built from a catalogue of 77 studies. Each habit gets a grade computed from the study designs, including studies that point the other way.
- Mechanism cards: what the research says about each habit, in plain words, with the citation.
- An editorial model score from 0 to 100 (50 = neutral) and a timeline of your logged habits. The numerical weights and timing assumptions are uncalibrated estimates, not measurements of your brain.
- Streaks of clean days for the habits you are cutting back on.
- Pro: the Simulator, which projects the model a week forward if you drop a habit, and the full 72-hour timeline.
Doesn't
- It does not block, limit or delay any app.
- It does not read your screen time. You log habits yourself.
- It is not a general to-do or routine planner.
- It is not a treatment. If a habit feels out of control, a doctor or counsellor can help.
See the evidence for yourself: every habit and its studies and how grades are computed.
What it costs
Free · $0
Up to 12 active habits, streaks, the evidence pages, mechanism cards, the research score and a 24-hour timeline.
Pro · $9.99/month or $59.99/year
Adds the Simulator and the 72-hour timeline. Web prices in USD with a 14-day free trial; in the Android app, Google Play shows your local price.
Full pricing. We don't list other products' prices: they change, and their own sites are the place to check.
Using them together
These tools don't compete much. A common setup is a blocker or your phone's limits for friction in the moment, and Dopamine Detox for the record of clean days and the evidence on the habit you are working on. If you are deciding whether to bother at all, start with is a dopamine detox real? or what the studies say about phone addiction.
Quick answers
- Does Dopamine Detox block apps?
- No. It tracks the habits you log and shows the research behind each one. If you want apps blocked or delayed, use a blocker or your phone's built-in limits; they do that job and we don't.
- Can I use Dopamine Detox with an app blocker?
- Yes, and the two do different jobs. A blocker adds friction in the moment; Dopamine Detox keeps the record of clean days and explains what the studies say about the habit.
- Is Dopamine Detox free?
- Yes. Habit tracking, streaks, the evidence pages and the research score are free. Pro adds the Simulator and the 72-hour timeline for $9.99 a month or $59.99 a year on the web, with a 14-day free trial. In the Android app, Google Play shows the price in your currency.
- Does it measure my dopamine?
- No. Published studies inform the habit explanations. The score and timeline use editorial weights and uncalibrated timing assumptions; the studies do not establish those numbers or measure you.
Try it on the habit you want to change
Free to start, on Android or on the web.
Last checked 2026-10-25, from each product's public description. one sec, Opal, Habitica, Streaks, Screen Time and Digital Wellbeing are trademarks of their owners. Dopamine Detox is not affiliated with any of them. Spotted something out of date? Write to dopaminedetoxapp@gmail.com.