Fella vs Jomo: simpler blocking or more ways to customize?

Jomo is named after its own philosophy: the Joy of Missing Out. Where FOMO treats missing something as a loss, Jomo treats blocking as something you can shape and even earn your way through, with Strict Mode, habit-based unlocks, and social accountability all built in as optional layers.

Fella works differently: fewer settings, not fewer options for when blocking runs. You start a focus session yourself, or set up a routine that starts one on a schedule. Every session gets exactly one 5-minute Emergency Unlock, and selected apps relock automatically the moment the unlock or the session ends.

Pricing reflects that same difference in structure. Jomo's free plan covers 1 session, 1 action, and 1 screen-time budget, with a $5.99 monthly plan, a $29.99 annual plan (3-day trial) unlocking up to 10 sessions, Strict Mode, and Apple Health syncing, or a $99.99 lifetime purchase adding family sharing. Fella is one plan: $9.99 a month with no trial, or $34.99 a year with a 7-day free trial, and sessions, routines, and the Emergency Unlock work the same way on both. Both run on Apple's Screen Time framework. What differs is how much you configure before it works.

Jomo's Emergency Mode is an escape hatch for Strict Mode, not a timed unlock. You reach it through Profile → Help & Feedback → Emergency Mode, and it lets you suspend Strict Mode or delete a rule outright, capped at 2 uses per week. You can add a PIN to make it harder to trigger on impulse, and Jomo's own team notes they may not respond to emergency requests.

Fella's Emergency Unlock is a fixed 5-minute window, not a rule change. Every blocking session gets exactly one, whether the session runs 15 minutes or 24 hours. Nothing gets deleted or suspended: when the 5 minutes end, or the session ends, selected apps relock automatically with no extra step.

The two solve different problems. Jomo's version exists to get you out of a strict rule you set for yourself, twice a week, at the cost of weakening or removing it. Fella's version exists to let you handle one real task without touching the rule at all.

Jomo's Strict Mode is one of the more granular lockout tools in this category. You choose when it's active — for a set number of hours, during the session, on a schedule, or always-on until you enter a password — and it blocks rule deletion, rule edits, uninstalling Jomo, and changing your device's date and time.

That's a real strength, and it comes with a real precondition. Strict Mode only protects you if you've already configured it correctly before the moment you need it, chosen the right duration, and actually switched it on. It's a premium feature gated behind the $29.99 annual plan or the $99.99 lifetime purchase, not something free users have access to at all — and Emergency Mode is always there as the built-in way out, twice a week.

Fella doesn't have a strict setting to remember to arm, and no separate override to reach for. There's no configuration screen with duration options to get right in advance. The block is the only mode the app has, on every plan, and the one 5-minute Emergency Unlock per session is the only way back in.

Jomo's unlock methods are genuinely inventive. Move unlocks an app after you hit a step count or another movement goal, like a walk, a run, or a set number of calories burned. Self-Care unlocks after meditating, hydrating, going outside, or logging your mood. Scan requires physically scanning an object. To-Do asks you to finish an offline task first.

Complete Habits turns unlocking into a direct exchange. Doing the dishes can unlock 15 minutes of YouTube. Hitting 5,000 steps can fully unlock Netflix. An optional AI photo-verification step can confirm the dishes actually got done, the meal actually got finished, or the room actually got tidied, rather than trusting an honor system.

That's a real behavior-change mechanic, and it can work well. Tying a chore to a reward is a well-worn habit-stacking technique, and turning screen time into something you earn rather than something you're simply denied can make the block feel less like punishment.

Fella has no exchange rate to game, because there's nothing being sold. There's no action that buys extra time and no chore that unlocks an app — just the one 5-minute Emergency Unlock every session already has.

Squads let you share screen time with family, friends, coworkers, or a community for mutual support. It's a free feature, and for people motivated by not wanting to look bad in front of others, that visibility can genuinely help.

It also means your blocking is no longer just between you and your phone. A squad works because someone else can see your numbers, which is a form of leverage that has to be actively maintained, kept honest, and re-engaged with, rather than something that just runs quietly in the background.

Fella has no social layer at all. Sessions aren't shared, reported, or visible to anyone else by design. It's a private rule, which is either a limitation or the whole appeal, depending on whether you want an audience for your screen time or specifically don't.

Fella runs on sessions, and you decide when they start. Start one yourself for anywhere from 15 minutes (Apple's Screen Time minimum) up to 24 hours or more, or set up a routine that starts sessions automatically on a schedule, like every weeknight or a full weekend block. Every session, however it starts, gets the same one 5-minute Emergency Unlock.

Jomo's sessions are a counted resource. The free plan includes 1 session; paid plans raise that to up to 10 sessions you configure and manage individually, each with its own action, budget, or Strict Mode setting.

The tradeoff is between more session slots and less to manage. Ten sessions give you more distinct rules running at once, for different apps or times of day. One routine that repeats gives you the same schedule without re-configuring it, or a session count to keep track of.

Jomo's free plan is a genuinely limited trial of the product. 1 session, 1 action or limit, and 1 screen-time budget total. Strict Mode, Apple Health syncing, multiple concurrent budgets, and up to 10 sessions all sit behind the $5.99 monthly, roughly $2.49-a-month annual ($29.99/year, 3-day trial), or $99.99 lifetime plans. A separate $14.99 annual student plan includes the same Plus features at a lower price.

Fella doesn't have a free plan, and doesn't segment its core behavior by tier. $9.99 a month with no trial, billed right away, or $34.99 a year with a 7-day free trial first. Both get the exact same sessions, routines, and one 5-minute Emergency Unlock per session. There's no cheaper version that blocks less strictly, and no more expensive version that blocks more strictly. One plan, one rule.

Jomo holds a strong 4.8 average App Store rating across roughly 2,400 ratings, and specifically on Strict Mode, users report it's effective enough that they don't bother trying to get around it, which is a meaningful signal for its toughest setting.

Outside Strict Mode, reliability reports are more mixed. Users have described syncing problems where blocking doesn't lift when a break is supposed to start, and screen time getting miscalculated at times. The developers have continued shipping updates, including a simplified "Locks" feature for app limits and interface refinements across the app.

Fella's surface area for that kind of drift is smaller by design. There's one blocked state per session to keep synced, not sessions, actions, budgets, habit completions, and Strict Mode durations all needing to agree with each other at once.

Fewer settings to configure means fewer to get wrong. Jomo's habit-based unlocks and Strict Mode durations only work if they're set up correctly in advance. Fella's one Emergency Unlock per session works the same way every time, with nothing to configure first.

No weekly emergency-access cap to think about. Jomo's Emergency Mode is capped at 2 uses a week and can suspend or delete a rule. Fella's Emergency Unlock is scoped to 5 minutes on the same session, every session, with the rule itself never touched.

No audience required. Squads help people who want social pressure to stay honest. Fella's sessions stay private, which works for people who'd rather the rule not depend on who's watching.

Jomo fits people who want to shape their own rules. If you want Strict Mode's granular durations, habit-based unlocks tied to movement or chores, Squads for social accountability, or website and Mac coverage alongside iPhone, its deeper configuration is built for that.

Fella fits people who want one setup that doesn't need revisiting. Start a session or set a routine, get one 5-minute Emergency Unlock if you need it, and let it relock itself. There's no Strict Mode to arm, no habit to complete, and no session count to manage.

The difference is how much you want to configure. Jomo gives you more knobs and more ways to earn access back. Fella gives you fewer decisions and the same simple behavior every time.