Most people who start looking for an Opal alternative have hit one of three walls. The price: Opal Pro is $19.99 a month or $99.99 a year. The free plan: it blocks apps, but Hard Mode, the setting that stops you ending a block early, is Pro only. Or Android, where Opal exists but is still catching up with the iPhone version. Each of those walls points to a different replacement, so this guide is sorted by problem rather than by a single ranking.
The short answer
If you want to pay nothing, start with ScreenZen. It is free on iPhone and Android and does most of what people use Opal for. If you have already beaten every blocker you have tried, a free tool will not hold you either, and you need something that makes the unlock itself cost effort: a physical key like Brick, or a challenge like Hopopop.
| App | Price | Free option | iPhone | Android | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opal (for reference) | $19.99/mo, $99.99/yr, $399 lifetime (website only) | Limited; Hard Mode is Pro only | Yes | Yes, catching up | Design and scheduling |
| Screen Time / Digital Wellbeing | Free | Built in | Yes | Yes | Measuring your usage |
| ScreenZen | Free (donations) | Fully free | Yes | Yes | Opal-style control for $0 |
| one sec | $6.99/mo, $19.99/yr, $99.99 lifetime | Free for 1 app | Yes | Yes | A pause, not a wall |
| Foqos | Free (open source) | Fully free | Yes | No | An NFC key on iPhone |
| Brick | $59 device | No | Yes | Yes (Android 12+) | Physical distance |
| Freedom | $8.99/mo, $39.99/yr, $199 Forever | Limited free plan | Yes | Yes, plus Mac and Windows | Phone and laptop together |
| Hopopop | €2.99/mo, €19.99/yr | 7 day free trial | Yes | Yes | People who bypass every blocker |
Prices were checked on each app's own pricing page or store listing in October 2026. Stores charge the local equivalent, so the amount on your receipt can differ slightly.
Why people leave Opal
- The free plan stops short of the feature that matters. You can block apps for free, but Hard Mode, which removes early exits, is Pro only. Opal's pricing page also lists the free plan at a single rule, although recent app updates suggest that cap has been loosened, so check in the app before you decide. Full breakdown in what Opal actually costs.
- Pro is near the top of the market. $99.99 a year is several times what most alternatives on this list charge, and the $399 lifetime plan, sold only on Opal's website, is a long bet on still needing a blocker in 2030.
- Android is still catching up. Opal has been on Android since August 2025, but by its own admission the app has not reached parity with iOS yet. The Emergency Pass, for example, is still missing. Details in our Opal on Android guide.
None of this makes Opal a bad app. Its design and onboarding are among the best in the category, as we said in our Opal review. It just means that for a lot of people, a different tool fits better.
The 7 alternatives
1. Screen Time and Digital Wellbeing: free, already installed
Every iPhone ships with Screen Time and almost every Android phone with Digital Wellbeing. Both let you set daily limits per app and schedule time away from your phone. On iOS 27, Apple renamed these Time Allowances and Screen Time Schedules. They cost nothing and need no new permissions.
The catch is the same on both. As Apple's own guide puts it, by default a Screen Time limit can be ignored once reached, and on Android an app timer can simply be deleted. A Screen Time passcode, or Digital Wellbeing's optional PIN for app limits, closes part of the gap, but it is still you guarding the door against yourself. That makes them excellent for measuring your usage and weak at stopping it.
Best for: a first week of honest measurement before you spend anything.
2. ScreenZen: the best free alternative
ScreenZen is completely free and funded by donations, which makes it the most surprising app on this list. Instead of blocking outright, it shows a pause screen and makes you wait before a distracting app opens. You can also cap how many times a day you open an app and set schedules, and if the pause is not enough, there are strict blocks, a settings lock and a lock mode against common loopholes. It runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android and Windows.
The trade-off is the one every pause-based tool shares: a wait is something you can sit through. On a bad evening, a few seconds of waiting is a small price for Instagram, so set up the stricter modes early if you know that evening is coming.
Best for: anyone who wants Opal-style control on iPhone or Android without paying.
3. one sec: a pause instead of a wall
one sec is built around a single idea. When you open a distracting app, it makes you take a slow breath first and gives you a moment to back out. It is a speed bump rather than a blocker, and that is deliberate: the approach was tested in a peer-reviewed study published in PNAS in 2023. A Re-Intervention option can also send you back out of an app after a set time.
It is free for one app. Pro costs $6.99 a month, $19.99 a year or $99.99 once, and it runs on iPhone, Mac, Android and as a browser extension.
Best for: people who do not want a hard block, just a moment to notice the reflex.
4. Foqos: free, open source, works with an NFC tag
Foqos does the job of a physical blocking key without the hardware price. You start a blocking session by tapping an NFC tag, scanning a QR code or barcode, or setting a timer, and only the tag or code you chose can end it early. Leave the tag in a drawer in another room and the friction becomes a walk.
It is free, open source and needs no account. The limit is simple: it is iPhone only.
Best for: iPhone users who like the idea of a physical key but not of paying for one.
5. Brick: a physical key you leave in another room
Brick is the hardware version of the same idea: a small NFC puck, sold at $59, that you tap to block your chosen apps and tap again to unblock them. Because the puck lives on a shelf by the door, getting back into Instagram means getting up. Five Emergency Unbricks cover genuine emergencies, and Strict Mode stops you deleting the app or changing settings to escape. It now works on Android 12 and later as well as iPhone, which many older reviews still say it does not.
The trade-off is logistics. The puck has to be somewhere you are not, and when you are away from it you cannot unblock, emergency passes aside. And $59 up front is more than a year of most apps here.
Best for: people who need distance, not willpower, between themselves and the unlock.
6. Freedom: when the problem follows you to your laptop
Freedom is the veteran of the category, and the only option here that blocks apps and websites at the same time across Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android and Chromebook. Start a session on your laptop and your phone is covered too, which closes the most common loophole of phone-only blockers. Locked Mode stops you quitting a session early.
There is a free plan, but scheduling, recurring sessions and Locked Mode need Premium, at $8.99 a month or $39.99 a year. A one-off Forever plan is listed at $199 and is sometimes discounted. We compared it with Opal directly in Opal vs Freedom vs Hopopop.
Best for: remote workers and students who lose as much time on a laptop as on a phone.
7. Hopopop: make every unlock cost a few seconds of thinking
Full disclosure: Hopopop is my app. It takes a different route from everything above. Instead of a timer or a wall, every time you open a blocked app it asks you to solve something first: a mental maths problem or a trivia question, in about 10 to 30 seconds. Get it right and the app opens for the time you chose. You also earn XP, levels and streaks, so the friction comes with a small reward.
The idea is that what breaks most blockers is not a lack of rules but a weak moment. A pause button is easy to tap when you are tired. A multiplication is not something you do on autopilot, and by the time you have solved it, the reflex has usually passed. On iPhone it uses Apple's Screen Time API, on Android an accessibility service, so the block is real on both.
It costs €2.99 a month or €19.99 a year, after a 7 day free trial with no card needed. That is roughly a fifth of Opal's annual price. What it does not do: there is no desktop version, and the analytics are simpler than Opal's.
Best for: people who have bypassed every blocker they have tried, on iPhone or Android.
How to choose
| If your problem is… | Pick |
|---|---|
| "I don't want to pay anything" | ScreenZen, or Screen Time / Digital Wellbeing to start |
| "I'm on Android" | ScreenZen, Hopopop, one sec, Brick |
| "I always find a way around my blocker" | Brick or Hopopop |
| "I lose time on my laptop too" | Freedom |
| "I don't want a hard block, just a nudge" | one sec |
| "I want a physical key without paying for one" | Foqos (iPhone) |
The pattern behind the table: a blocker fails at the exact moment you most want to get past it. So the useful question is not "which app has the most features?" but "what will this app make me do when I am tired and reaching for my phone?" A button, a breathing exercise, a walk to another room, or a sum. Pick the one you will not skip.
Switching from Opal without paying twice
If you are leaving Opal Pro, cancel before you install the next app, not after. Three details catch people out:
- Cancel where you subscribed. On iPhone: Settings, your name, Subscriptions, Opal. On Android: Play Store, profile picture, Payments and subscriptions, Subscriptions. If you signed up on Opal's website, use the link in your subscription email.
- Deleting the app does not cancel anything. The billing carries on without the blocker.
- Do it at least 24 hours before renewal. Opal's own help centre advises cancelling more than 24 hours before a trial converts or a subscription renews.
If a renewal went through that you did not want, App Store refunds go through reportaproblem.apple.com and Play Store refunds through your Google Play order history. More detail in our Opal pricing guide.
A note on this article
I build Hopopop, which is one of the seven apps above, so treat my view of it with the scepticism it deserves. To keep the rest useful, prices and features come from each app's own website, help centre or store listing, checked in October 2026, rather than from claims of long-term testing I have not done. Where another app is a better fit for your situation, the table says so.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a free alternative to Opal?
Yes. ScreenZen is free on iPhone and Android and covers most of what people use Opal for. Foqos is free and open source on iPhone. Apple Screen Time and Android Digital Wellbeing are free and already installed, but by default their limits are easy to ignore or delete.
What is the best Opal alternative for Android?
ScreenZen if you want it free, Hopopop if you have bypassed blockers before and want each unlock to require solving a quick challenge, one sec if you prefer a pause to a hard block, and Brick if you want a physical key. Foqos is iPhone only.
Is there an app like Opal but cheaper?
Most of them. Opal Pro costs $19.99 a month or $99.99 a year. Hopopop is €2.99 a month or €19.99 a year, roughly a fifth of Opal's annual price. one sec Pro is $19.99 a year, Freedom Premium $39.99 a year, and ScreenZen and Foqos are free.
Is Opal better than Screen Time?
Opal is more polished, and its Pro Hard Mode is far harder to dismiss than a Screen Time limit, which by default can be ignored once reached. Screen Time is free and already on your iPhone, so it is the right place to measure your usage before paying for any blocker.
How do I switch from Opal to another app?
Cancel Opal Pro in the store you subscribed through, at least 24 hours before renewal, then install the new app. Deleting Opal does not cancel the subscription. If you signed up on Opal's website, cancel through the link in your subscription email.
Already bypassed every blocker? Try one that asks a question.
Hopopop puts a quick maths or trivia challenge in front of every blocked app. €2.99 a month or €19.99 a year, 7 day free trial, iOS and Android.