PushScroll vs RepScroll: an honest comparison, plus the free option both of them skip
Full disclosure up front: we make MyRepsCount, which competes with both of these apps. We have tried to keep every factual claim below checkable against the App Store listings and the apps' own websites, and we tell you plainly where each competitor beats us.
PushScroll and RepScroll sell the same core idea: your social apps stay locked until you do real exercise, verified by your phone's camera. It is a genuinely good idea. The question is which one to install, and whether you should pay for either, because both of them expect a subscription for full access. There is also a third option that does the same job for free, which we will get to.
The short version
PushScroll is the biggest name in the niche, with a simple hook: one pushup earns one minute of scrolling. It requires a subscription after the trial. RepScroll is the strictest blocker of the two, with a Hard Lock mode and PIN protection, and it is iOS only. It is free to start, with premium tiers for the features you will actually want. MyRepsCount (ours) blocks apps and counts reps for free on iPhone and Android, and counts over 60 exercises instead of a handful, because it is a full workout app underneath the blocker.
What each app actually does
PushScroll
PushScroll popularized exercise-gated scrolling. You pick the apps to block, and when you try to open one, PushScroll asks for exercise first. The exchange rate is the app's signature: one pushup buys one minute. Exercise support started with pushups and squats and has grown to include lunges, jumping jacks, diamond pushups, squat holds, and situps. The company says over 200,000 people have used it, and it is available on both iPhone and Android.
The catch is pricing. PushScroll's own App Store listing says a subscription is required to use and enjoy full access. If you stop paying, you lose the thing that was working for you. Whether that is worth it depends on how much the blocking changes your screen time, and to be fair, plenty of its reviews say it does.
RepScroll
RepScroll is the newer entry and takes discipline further than PushScroll does. Its Hard Lock mode and PIN protection make the block hard to weasel out of, and an Emergency Scroll option lets you borrow time now and repay it in exercise later. It counts pushups, squats, jumping jacks, and planks. It holds a 4.8 rating from over 1,300 reviews on the App Store, which is a real signal that the blocking works for its users.
Two limitations matter. It is iOS only (iOS 17 and later), so Android users are out. And while the base app is free, the premium tiers gate the features that make it distinctive, with weekly plans at $3.99 to $6.99, monthly at $9.99, and lifetime unlocks at $29.99 to $39.99 as of August 2026. A weekly subscription price on a habit app deserves a second look: $6.99 a week is over $360 a year.
MyRepsCount
Ours takes the same blocking idea and bolts it onto an actual workout app. The Focus feature blocks the apps you choose until you have worked out, and you decide what counts as a workout: any completed session, a total rep goal, or a workout-minutes goal, on whichever days you choose. The camera does the counting, so there is no honor system.
The two things we would point at in this comparison: it counts over 60 exercises (six pushup variations, pullups, squats, lunges, deadlifts, kettlebell swings, cleans, thrusters, core work), so the workout that unlocks your phone can be a real training program instead of the same pushups every day. And the blocking, the rep counting, custom workouts, and leaderboards are free on both iPhone and Android. Some advanced features are premium, but the parts this article is about are not.
Side by side
| Feature | PushScroll | RepScroll | MyRepsCount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platforms | iPhone, Android | iPhone only | iPhone, Android |
| Exercises counted | ~7 | 4 | 60+ |
| App blocking | Yes, subscription required | Yes, strictest (Hard Lock, PIN) | Yes, free |
| Unlock rule | 1 pushup = 1 minute | Set your own entry fee | Any workout, rep goal, or minutes goal |
| Price for blocking + counting | Subscription after trial | Free base, premium tiers from $3.99/week | Free |
| Beyond blocking | Screen-time stats | Streaks, friend challenges, Apple Health | Full workout builder, Tabata/AMRAP, leaderboards, monthly challenges |
Competitor details from App Store listings and vendor sites, August 2026. If we got something wrong or outdated, tell us and we will fix it.
Which one should you get?
- Choose PushScroll if the one-pushup-one-minute exchange rate clicks for you and you are happy paying a subscription for a polished single-purpose blocker.
- Choose RepScroll if you are on iPhone, you know you will look for loopholes, and you want the harshest lock available. It is the most escape-proof of the three.
- Choose MyRepsCount if you want the blocking for free, you are on Android (RepScroll will not help you), or you want the exercise side to be more than pushups: real workouts, 60+ counted movements, and leaderboards to keep you going after the phone is unlocked.
Honestly, all three will reduce your scrolling, because the mechanism works: adding a physical price to an impulse kills most of the impulse. Pick the one whose price and platform fit your life. If you want to try the free one first, here is how our Focus feature works, and the app is on the App Store and Google Play.