Two iPhone apps that connect chores to Apple Screen Time — built on the same Apple framework, aimed at the same argument, and designed around opposite ideas of how screen time should work.
Choreio pays screen time out as a reward: chores earn a daily allowance the child then spends. taskr works the other way round — apps are simply there, and they lock the moment a chore passes its deadline, coming back once you approve a photo of the finished job. If your problem is how much your kid is on their phone, an allowance model fits. If your problem is that the dishes never get done, a deadline model fits.
Choreio details below are taken from its App Store listing and choreio.app, checked in August 2026. Both apps change; verify anything that would decide it for you.
Feature
taskr
Choreio
Apps stay open by default and lock the moment a chore goes overdue
Chores unlock a daily screen time allowance the child spends down
Photo proof, submitted by the child and approved or rejected by you
Chore approvals with configurable trust levels; no photo proof listed
Free to try; Pro $9.99/mo or $49.99/yr
Free to download, with a $99.99/year in-app purchase
Yes — Apple Family Controls, no VPN or MDM profile
Yes — states it needs no VPN or MDM profile either
iPhone and iPad, iOS 16 or later
Apple devices only — no Android version
Per-task due times, recurring chores, and per-task app rules
Assign to one child, a group, or on a rotation, with schedules and late penalties
Choreio got to this idea early, and it shows in the chore management itself. Assigning a chore to a group of kids or rotating it between siblings week by week is genuinely useful, and taskr keeps things simpler there — chores belong to one child at a time. Choreio also lets you restrict screen time during sleep and school hours as a scheduled rule, independent of chores.
Both apps are built on Apple's official Screen Time API, so neither one asks you to install a VPN or device-management profile on your child's iPhone. Both use the Apple framework built for consumer parental-control apps, and the blocking runs inside Apple's own sandbox on the child's device. Our guide to parental controls on iPhone covers how this fits with the settings Apple already gives you.
An allowance model turns screen time into a currency. That works well when the goal is moderation, but it introduces a negotiation — how many minutes is unloading the dishwasher worth? — and kids get very good at that negotiation.
A deadline model removes the negotiation. The chore has a time, and the apps you picked go away when that time passes. There is nothing to haggle over, which is why taskr also asks for a photo: the only remaining argument is whether the chore was actually done, and a photo settles it. Read more on how taskr works or compare it with Apple Screen Time on its own.
Choreio is free to download with an in-app purchase listed at $99.99 per year on its App Store page as of August 2026. taskr is free to try on the App Store; taskr Pro is an optional subscription at $9.99 a month or $49.99 a year, and the first month is free. Pricing on both apps can change, so check the current App Store listing before you commit.
taskr is the closest alternative: it is also iOS-only, also built on Apple's official Screen Time API, and also ties chores directly to app access. The main differences are the model and the price — taskr locks apps when a chore goes overdue rather than paying out a daily allowance, requires photo proof that you approve, and its optional Pro subscription is $49.99 a year (or $9.99 a month) against Choreio's $99.99 a year.
They solve the same problem from opposite directions. Choreio is additive: chores earn screen time, which the child then spends. taskr is subtractive: apps are simply available, and they lock automatically when a chore passes its deadline, unlocking again once you approve a photo of the finished job. Additive models suit families who want to budget total screen time; subtractive models suit families whose real problem is chores not getting done.
Choreio's App Store listing describes chore approvals with configurable trust levels, but does not list photo proof as a feature as of August 2026. taskr requires a photo for every chore: the child submits it and you approve or reject it. If the deadline has already passed, the locked apps come back only once you approve.
No. Both taskr and Choreio are iOS-only, because both are built on Apple's Family Controls / Screen Time API, which exists only on Apple platforms. Family Controls doesn't exist on Android, so any cross-platform chore app enforces on Android by some other means — usually a VPN or device-admin profile.
See how taskr compares with the bigger names — Greenlight, Bark, Qustodio and Cozi. We also ranked the best chore apps for kids, rounded up the best free chore apps, and explained the difference between apps where kids earn screen time and apps that lock it.
Free to try on the App Store. taskr Pro is an optional subscription at $9.99 a month or $49.99 a year, and the first month is free. iOS only.