# The best free screen time apps in 2026

"Free" in this category usually means a trial, an ad, or a free tier that covers a single app. These six are the exceptions.

*Source: https://phonestop.app/best/free-screen-time-apps · Last checked August 2026 · PhoneStop — A daily screen time budget that stops you. A free Android app.*

This category has a pricing problem. A timer that shows you a number and greys out an
icon is, at bottom, a small piece of software, and quite a lot of it is sold for $100 a year. There are good
arguments for paying — someone has to maintain the thing — but you should not have to pay to find out whether
the idea works for you.

Everything below is usable indefinitely without paying. Where there is a paid tier, we say what it holds back.

## How we judged them

- **Free forever, not a trial.**
- **The free tier has to do the actual job** — one app is not enough.
- **No ads inside the intervention.** An advert on the screen telling you to stop looking at screens is a
  contradiction we ruled out.
- **No account required**, wherever possible.

| App | Best for | Platforms | Price |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Digital Wellbeing | Costing nothing and being here already | Android (built in) | Free |
| ScreenZen | The best free app in the category | iPhone, iPad, Android | Free, donation-supported |
| PhoneStop | A free whole-phone budget | Android | Free |
| StayFree | Free tracking with real depth | Android, iPhone, Chrome | Free with a premium tier |
| Forest | Free focus sessions on Android | iPhone, iPad, Android, browser extension | One-time purchase on iOS; free with in-app purchases on Android |
| Apple Screen Time | iPhone, free, already there | iPhone, iPad, Mac (built in) | Free |

## The list

### 1. Digital Wellbeing — Costing nothing and being here already

*Android (built in) · Free*

Free, part of Android, no install. Weekly reports, app timers and bedtime mode. Its weakness is famous — the Time's up screen offers to remove your timer for the day — but as a free instrument for finding out the truth about your week it is unbeatable.

**Good:** Nothing to install or trust.

**Less good:** One tap dismisses the limit.

[Read the full PhoneStop vs Digital Wellbeing comparison](https://phonestop.app/vs/digital-wellbeing)
### 2. ScreenZen — The best free app in the category

*iPhone, iPad, Android · Free, donation-supported*

Donation-supported with no paid tier holding features hostage. A pause screen before the app opens, an intention prompt, and a limit on daily opens — on both Android and iPhone.

**Good:** Genuinely free, genuinely good, on both platforms.

**Less good:** Per app, and the Android version wants an accessibility service.

[Read the full PhoneStop vs ScreenZen comparison](https://phonestop.app/vs/screenzen)
### 3. PhoneStop — A free whole-phone budget

*Android · Free*

Free with no paid tier and no ads. One budget for the day, escalating warnings inside other apps, and a full-screen stop at zero with a reset and a one-tap lock. No account, and the Android build does not hold the internet permission.

> **PhoneStop — 30 minutes left**
> Half an hour of budget to go. A good moment to pick where it goes. [PAUSE]
>
> **PhoneStop — Time's up**
> You are out of budget for today. Take a minute, then lock the phone. [PAUSE]

**Good:** Nothing paid, nothing collected, nothing to configure.

**Less good:** Android only, and it will not block a specific app.
### 4. StayFree — Free tracking with real depth

*Android, iPhone, Chrome · Free with a premium tier*

The free tier gives you per-app, per-day and per-week usage that is far more detailed than the built-in reports, plus basic limits.

**Good:** The best free numbers on Android.

**Less good:** Ads and a premium tier; blocking is soft.

[Read the full PhoneStop vs StayFree comparison](https://phonestop.app/vs/stayfree)
### 5. Forest — Free focus sessions on Android

*iPhone, iPad, Android, browser extension · One-time purchase on iOS; free with in-app purchases on Android*

Free on Android with in-app purchases (it is a paid app on iPhone). Plant a tree, stay off the phone for the session, keep the tree.

**Good:** Free where most people need it, and pleasant enough to keep using.

**Less good:** Only guards sessions you start yourself.

[Read the full PhoneStop vs Forest comparison](https://phonestop.app/vs/forest)
### 6. Apple Screen Time — iPhone, free, already there

*iPhone, iPad, Mac (built in) · Free*

The iPhone equivalent of starting with Digital Wellbeing: app limits, categories, Downtime, and a five-minute warning before the block. Then an Ignore Limit button.

**Good:** Free, deeply integrated, and the category system is better than any third-party list.

**Less good:** Ignore Limit is right there.

![The PhoneStop home screen: one ring, draining as you use the phone.](https://phonestop.app/assets/home-dark-640.a10347c8.webp)

*1h 20m left of a 3h budget*

![The PhoneStop over-limit takeover screen.](https://phonestop.app/assets/takeover-dark-640.411574cd.webp)

*The full-screen stop, 57 minutes over budget*

## The verdict

Start with the free thing already on your phone — **Digital Wellbeing** or **Apple
Screen Time** — for one week, purely to get an honest number. Then add **ScreenZen** if a few named apps are the
problem, or **PhoneStop** on Android if the total is the problem. None of that costs anything, and if it works
you have saved yourself a $100 subscription.

*Disclosure: we make PhoneStop. Prices and platforms were checked in August 2026 and change often — check the vendor before you pay.*

**PhoneStop** is a free Android app: set a daily screen time budget, get warned before it runs out, get stopped when it does. https://phonestop.app/

## Questions people ask

### Is there a completely free app blocker?

ScreenZen is free and donation-supported. AppBlock has a free tier that blocks a limited number of apps. PhoneStop is free but budgets rather than blocks.

### Why are screen time apps so expensive?

Because the market will bear it: people looking for one usually want it badly. That does not mean the software is expensive to build, and the free options here are proof.

### Are free screen time apps selling my data?

Some free apps in adjacent categories do. Check what the app asks for: an app with no account and no internet permission cannot send anything anywhere, which is the standard PhoneStop holds itself to.

## Keep reading

- [Every best-of guide](https://phonestop.app/best)
- [Why blocking one app does not lower your screen time](https://phonestop.app/why-blocking-apps-does-not-work)
- [Head-to-head comparisons](https://phonestop.app/compare)