Pricing & Transparency
ScreenLeash is free to use. You only pay when you fail to meet your own commitments. And half of what you pay is donated.
The Chrome extension, all tracking features, dashboards, and the full algorithm suite are completely free.
You set the starting penalty and maximum cap per goal. The amount you risk is entirely under your control.
Half of every penalty sustains the service. Half is donated to charitable organizations.
Penalty escalation
Penalties double after each breach, up to your configured cap. The example below uses a ₹50 starting penalty with a ₹1,000 cap.
| Breach # | Amount Charged | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ₹0 | Free warning |
| 2 | ₹50 | Starting penalty |
| 3 | ₹100 | 2× previous |
| 4 | ₹200 | 2× previous |
| 5 | ₹400 | 2× previous |
| 6 | ₹800 | 2× previous |
| 7 | ₹1,000 | Cap reached |
| 8+ | ₹1,000 | Stays at cap |
Starting penalty and max cap are configurable per goal. Changes are subject to the 7-day akrasia horizon.
Where your money goes
Service (50%)
- Server and database hosting (Vercel, Supabase)
- Payment gateway fees (Cashfree)
- Development and maintenance
- Support and infrastructure
Donated (50%)
- Pooled across all penalty revenue
- Distributed to effective charitable organizations
- You do not choose the recipient (by design)
- Transparency reports published regularly
Payment mandate
To enable automatic penalty charges, you authorize a payment mandate through Cashfree. This supports UPI Autopay and Card Standing Instructions.
How it works
- Sign up and go to your account settings
- Authorize a mandate with a maximum amount (e.g. ₹15,000)
- When a breach fires, only the penalty amount is charged
- You can cancel the mandate anytime from your account
Safeguards
- First breach is free — always a warning, never a charge
- Cap is yours to set — no breach can charge more than your max_penalty_cap
- Mandate cap — the mandate itself has a maximum authorized amount
- Cancel anytime — revoke the mandate from your account dashboard
Frequently asked
Can I use ScreenLeash without a payment mandate?
Yes. The extension works fully without a mandate — goals track, breaches fire, and Slack notifications send. But without a mandate, no money is actually charged, which weakens the commitment.
What if I want to stop? Can I cancel?
You can cancel your mandate at any time from your account page. Goal deletion has a 7-day delay (akrasia horizon) to prevent impulse quitting.
Do penalties ever reset?
No. Penalty escalation never resets automatically. Once you're at your cap, every breach costs the cap amount. You can manually reset the penalty level, but that change takes 7 days to apply.
What if a charge fails?
Failed charges are recorded but not retried. The breach still counts and the penalty still escalates for the next breach.