Pushscroll Alternatives: Push-Up App Blockers Compared

Pushscroll made "exercise to scroll" popular, and it's a good app. It's also one of the more expensive ones. Below is every push-up blocker we could find with a real store listing, what each costs, and who each one suits. Prices are US App Store and Google Play prices, checked on 18 October 2026. They change, so check the listing before you subscribe.

One disclosure up front: we make Drill Sergeant, one of the apps in this list. We've tried to be fair to the others and honest about our own app's gaps. Judge for yourself.

The comparison

What Pushscroll does well

It's on both iPhone and Android, has more than 500,000 downloads on Google Play alone^[2], and keeps shipping: levels, streaks, weekly challenges and a community. It counts several exercises, not just push-ups. If you mainly want a fitness habit and don't mind the price, it's a safe pick.

Why people look for an alternative

We read the 200 most recent App Store reviews of four of these apps (Pushscroll, PushUp Time, Opal and ClearSpace) on 18 October 2026^{[8][9][10][11]}. 104 of them gave one to three stars. Here is what those unhappy reviewers wrote about, roughly counted:

• The paywall, about 58 of the 104. Mostly a paywall that appears only after a long setup, or one that's hard to close. People feel tricked when they've done the work of setting up and only then see the price.
• Blocking that fails, about 24. Apps that don't lock again after a break, or sessions that end early. Almost all of these were about Opal and ClearSpace.
• Reps counted wrong or easy to cheat, about 10. A counter that misses half your push-ups is maddening; one that counts nodding as push-ups is pointless.

Price is the other reason. At $14.99 a month, the two exercise leaders cost twice as much as the typical screen-time app in this list.

The alternatives, one by one

PushUp Time: App Blocker (iPhone)

The closest match to Pushscroll on iPhone, at the same price. Push-ups, squats or sit-ups unlock 15 to 120 minutes. Good if you want Pushscroll without Pushscroll. In our review count it drew the most paywall complaints of the four apps (33).

Push Up Time: AI App Blocker (Android)

The Android pick if you don't want to pay: it's free with ads, has more than 500,000 downloads, and counts push-ups, squats and planks. The ads are the price.

StepBloc (iPhone)

The cheapest subscription here at $3.99 a month, or $29.99 once. Earn time with push-ups, squats or steps, which is handy if you walk a lot. Far fewer ratings than the big names, so less proven.

ClearSpace (iPhone)

Mainly a mindful pause before you open an app, with an exercise option that its users praise. A good fit if push-ups every time sounds like too much and you want something gentler. $6.99 a month.

Push Up Social (iPhone)

One push-up buys one minute, and you compete with friends. Small and new: 13 ratings when we checked.

Drill Sergeant (Android now, iPhone launching)

Our app, so here's what's different and what isn't there yet. Instead of a timer screen you get Captain Jack, a drill sergeant who guards your apps and counts your push-ups out loud. Ten push-ups buy ten minutes. But push-ups aren't the only way in: report an hour of real work and you earn ten minutes, up to an hour a day. He also turns your goals into up to three objectives a day, and your friends see your rank on a weekly board.

What it doesn't do (yet):

• It only counts push-ups. No squats, planks or steps.
• On Android it blocks a fixed list of ten apps: Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X, Threads and the Lite versions of Instagram and TikTok. On iPhone you'll be able to pick any app.
• The iPhone version is launching on the App Store; app blocking on iPhone comes in an update shortly after.
• It's new, so there are no ratings to go by yet.

On the paywall complaint: Drill Sergeant costs $6.99 a month after seven free days, half of Pushscroll's price. Now you know before you install.

Push-ups or real work. Your choice. Excuses are not on the list.

The free option: your phone's own limits

iPhone's Screen Time and Android's Digital Wellbeing can limit any app for free. The catch is in Apple's own words: by default, Screen Time limits can be ignored once reached^[12]. You can make them stricter with a passcode, ideally one someone else sets. If you have that kind of discipline already, you may not need an app at all. For the step-by-step, see how to block Instagram Reels.

How to choose

• You mainly want a fitness habit: Pushscroll or PushUp Time. They count the most exercises.
• You're on Android and don't want to pay: Push Up Time: AI App Blocker, if you can live with ads.
• You want the lowest price on iPhone: StepBloc.
• You want a gentle pause, not a workout: ClearSpace.
• You want to get your work done, not just do reps: Drill Sergeant. It's the only one here that counts real work and sets your daily objectives, and the only one with a character who holds you to it.

Want to know how push-up blockers work before you pick one? Read the app that makes you do push-ups to open Instagram.