TL;DR. DoomCounter counts what you do. Cold Turkey locks you out. DoomCounter watches the scroll wheel on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and similar feeds and gives you a running, visible number; Cold Turkey is a desktop app that hard-blocks the site or app on a schedule or after a timer elapses. They are solving different problems with different enforcement models — pick the one that matches what actually trips you up.
Two different units of measurement
DoomCounter vs Cold Turkey is, at root, a question about unit-of-measurement — what gets measured, and what the response is.
DoomCounter treats a scroll event as the atomic unit. It increments once per real scroll wheel event on the apps that matter most (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X, Facebook, a few others) and surfaces the total on the tab-bar badge, the popup, and your dashboard. The default response is visibility: a number so unignorable that you can feel each scroll you chose to do.
Cold Turkey treats the configured timer or quota as the atomic unit. You set a schedule ("no Twitter Mon–Fri 9–5") or a quota, and after the threshold elapses the application is hard-blocked — the tab is locked behind a screen you cannot dismiss until a cooldown, password override, or schedule change. The default response is enforcement: blocking you from continuing regardless of intent.
The deciding question is simple: do you want to count what you do, or be locked out?
Feature-by-feature comparison
Here is a side-by-side of how each tool approaches the same problem. Where a column describes what you get out of the tool, it's framed from your perspective — what you actually see, configure, and trust.
| Feature | Cold Turkey | DoomCounter |
|---|---|---|
| Scroll-budgeting | Hard-blocks the site once a timer or daily quota elapses — enforcement, not budgeting. | You set a strict-mode scroll threshold per app; passing it triggers a block-page with cooldown. Otherwise you see a running count. |
| Customizable block copy | Built-in lock screen with a fixed message. Custom messaging is gated to paid tiers in some configurations. | Pro feature: write your own message that the block page shows when strict mode locks you out. See pricing → Pro. |
| Per-domain rules | Granular per-domain and per-app blocking schedules — Cold Turkey's biggest strength. | Per-domain thresholds in Strict Mode for the main feed apps; less granular, but tight on the feeds that drive the problem. |
| Free tier | Free tier with core blocking features. Pro tiers unlock extras like password unlock and per-app rules. | Free tier is the same tracker everyone gets: scroll counting, badge, public leaderboard. Pro funds extended stats and custom block copy. |
| Privacy of detection | Desktop app. Blocking rules are local, but some paid tiers and configurations have involved server-side signal processing. | Scroll counting is local-only in your browser. No accounts, no tracking, no scroll data sent off-device. |
| Default enforcement model | Timer hard-block after threshold — you cannot proceed regardless of intent. | Live scroll counter by default; hard-block opt-in via Strict Mode with cooldown. |
Who Cold Turkey is a better fit for
Cold Turkey is a legitimate, well-engineered tool, and there are real cases where it is the right answer:
- You want pure timer hard-blocks — a lock screen that physically prevents you from continuing, with no scrolling through.
- You prefer a desktop-first installer with deep per-application rules, including non-browser apps.
- You have already decided what your schedule should be and just need a wall to enforce it.
- You want a paid tier with extras like password unlock and granular per-app blocking.
If the behavior you are trying to break is "I cannot stop even after deciding to," Cold Turkey's hard-block model is the right kind of friction.
Who DoomCounter is a better fit for
DoomCounter is built around a different premise: most people who lose hours to feeds don't realize how deep they've gone in the moment. The fix is not a wall — it is a mirror.
- You want awareness first and only-enforcement-second. A running, visible number is the intervention.
- You scroll across multiple devices and want the badge, popup, and dashboard to all show the same total.
- You want a free, open-source browser extension you can install in one click with no account.
- You prefer local-only detection — your scroll events never leave your browser, with no telemetry sent to our servers.
- You want to compare against a public leaderboard of other people's numbers to anchor your own.
If the behavior you are trying to change is "I don't notice how deep I'm going until I do," DoomCounter's counter model is the right starting point. Strict Mode is there when you want it.
FAQ
What is the main difference between DoomCounter and Cold Turkey?
DoomCounter counts what you do (it increments per actual scroll event on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X, and similar feeds), while Cold Turkey locks you out hard once a configured timer or quota elapses. DoomCounter optimizes for visibility; Cold Turkey optimizes for enforcement.
Which one is better for someone who keeps losing hours to feeds?
If your real problem is that you don't notice how deep you're going, DoomCounter makes the invisible visible — a number you actually feel. If your real problem is that you cannot stop even after deciding to, Cold Turkey's timer hard-blocks a tab until the cooldown elapses, which is harder to bypass.
Do either of them respect my privacy?
DoomCounter runs entirely in your browser — scroll counting is local, with no accounts, no tracking, no telemetry sent to a server. Cold Turkey is a downloadable desktop app and processes blocking locally too; like many productivity tools it has had server-side signal processing in some configurations and paid tiers. Read each product's current privacy page before installing.
Is there a free tier for both?
DoomCounter's free tier is the same tracker everyone gets; Pro adds extended 30-day daily stats and custom block-page copy. Cold Turkey has a free tier with core blocking and paid Pro tiers that unlock extras like password unlock and per-application rules.
Can I use per-domain rules in either tool?
Both tools support per-domain rules to some degree. Cold Turkey's strength is precise, granular per-domain block schedules; DoomCounter focuses on the feed apps that matter (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X, Facebook, etc.), with per-domain thresholds in Strict Mode.
See your number.
DoomCounter counts every scroll on the apps that matter — Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X, and more. Free. No account required.
Install DoomCounter — Free View the Leaderboard