Best app blockers for iPhone (2026)
There is no single best app blocker, because they stop you in different ways. Screen Time is free but easy to skip, ScreenZen is free with optional tips, one sec slows you down instead of blocking, Opal and blokr have sessions you can't end early, Brick locks your phone with a physical device, and Freedom syncs blocks to your computer. Pick by how you want to be stopped. We make blokr.
There are dozens of app blockers on the App Store, and most do the same thing: they use Apple’s Screen Time framework to hide or lock apps you pick. What actually differs is how they stop you and whether you can talk your way past them. That decides whether a blocker works for you more than any feature list.
We make blokr, so read this with that in mind. Every fact below comes from each app’s own App Store listing in the US, checked on 25 October 2026, and we have kept blokr to the same facts as everyone else. Prices change, so confirm before you pay.
The nine options at a glance
| App | How it stops you | A mode you can’t end early | Devices (App Store) | US prices listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen Time (Apple) | Daily App Limits and Downtime | No, unless someone else holds the passcode | iPhone, iPad, Mac | Free, built in |
| ScreenZen | Wait before an app opens, then limits and blocks | Strict block | iPhone, iPad, Mac | Free, optional tips $5 - $40 |
| one sec | A short pause before distracting apps open | No, it slows you down instead | iPhone, iPad, Mac | $6.99 / month, $19.99 / year, lifetime $99.99 (family plans $9.99 / month, $29.99 / year, $149 lifetime) |
| Opal | Schedules, limits and focus sessions | Deep Focus | iPhone | $4.99 - $9.99 / week, $19.99 / month, $49.99 - $99.99 / year |
| blokr (ours) | Schedules, daily limits and focus sessions | Deep focus (one emergency unblock a week) | iPhone | $2.99 / week, $7.99 / month, $29.99 - $39.99 / year |
| Brick | A physical device: tap to lock, tap again to unlock | Yes, the key is somewhere else | iPhone | No in-app purchases; the device is sold separately |
| Freedom | Block sessions synced to all your devices | Locked Mode | iPhone, iPad | $8.99 - $12.99 / month, $39.99 - $59.99 / year, lifetime $199 |
| AppBlock | Schedules, limits and open limits | Strict Mode | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | $4.99 - $14.99 / month, $29.99 - $59.99 / year |
| Refocus | Blocks with several ways to make unblocking hard | Strict Mode (passcode, NFC tag, wait or a challenge) | iPhone | $7.99 - $9.99 / month, $49.99 - $59.99 / year |
Most apps list more than one price for the same period, usually a standard plan and a discounted one, so the table shows the lowest and highest the App Store listed.
Screen Time: free, built in, easy to skip
Screen Time is already on your iPhone, under Settings › Screen Time. App Limits give an app a daily budget, and Downtime blocks everything except the apps you allow during set hours. Our guide on how to block apps on iPhone walks through both.
The catch is the Ignore Limit button. When a limit runs out, iOS offers one more minute, a reminder in 15 minutes, or ignoring the limit for the day. Screen Time only holds if someone else sets the passcode. That is why most people who try it end up looking at the apps below.
Best for: a gentle nudge, or a parent setting limits on a child’s phone.
ScreenZen: the strongest free option
ScreenZen’s main tool is a wait before a distracting app opens, which can grow longer each time you open it, plus “is this important?” prompts, daily goals and strict blocks. Its listing has no subscription: the only in-app purchases are tips from $5 to $40.
Best for: anyone who wants more than Screen Time without paying.
one sec: slow down instead of block
one sec doesn’t block apps outright. It adds a short pause, with a breathing animation, before a distracting app opens, so you choose instead of tapping on autopilot. After a set time it can kick you out and make you go through the pause again. Its listing says it works through Apple’s Shortcuts automations.
Best for: people who want to cut back, not cut off. It also has the lowest yearly plan we found, $19.99.
Opal: the best known, and a hard lock
Opal is one of the best-known app blockers on iPhone. It covers schedules, app limits and focus sessions, with a difficulty setting. Its Deep Focus is a session you can’t cancel or bypass, in Opal’s own words. It is also one of the most expensive: yearly plans are listed at $49.99 and $99.99. We compared it with blokr in detail in Opal vs blokr.
Best for: people who want a polished app with a focus score and history, and don’t mind the price.
blokr: hard sessions and a free physical unlock
blokr is ours. It blocks apps and websites on a schedule, with a daily limit, or for a focus session. In Deep focus you can’t end, edit or delete the block, or delete blokr itself, while the session runs; one emergency unblock a week is the only way out. In Light mode you choose how a block can end, including scanning an NFC tag or a QR code you keep somewhere inconvenient, and that unlock is free.
Best for: a hard lock at a lower price than Opal, or a physical unlock without buying a device. It is an iPhone app only.
Brick: a lock you can’t reach
Brick is a physical device. You tap your phone on it to start a session, leave the Brick somewhere else, and tap again to unlock. Its pitch is that the off switch isn’t on the phone you’re trying to put down. The app itself has no in-app purchases, so you are paying for the device, which is sold separately.
Best for: people who have already beaten every software blocker.
Freedom: block on every device at once
Freedom syncs block sessions across phones, tablets and computers, with no limit on the number of devices. Blocking Instagram on your phone doesn’t help much if you just open it in a browser on your laptop, and Freedom covers both.
Best for: work and study across a phone and a computer.
AppBlock and Refocus: strict modes with options
AppBlock offers schedules, time and open limits, an allowlist and a Strict Mode that stops you bypassing restrictions. It also has an Apple Watch app. Refocus’s Strict Mode lets you pick what unblocking costs: a passcode, an NFC tag, a wait such as 30 seconds, or a copy-text challenge.
Best for: people who want to tune exactly how hard unblocking is.
How to pick
| You want | Look at |
|---|---|
| Free, nothing to install | Screen Time |
| Free, and harder to skip | ScreenZen |
| To slow down, not block | one sec |
| A session you can’t end early | Opal, blokr, AppBlock, Refocus |
| An unlock you have to walk to | Brick (device) or blokr and Refocus (NFC tag) |
| Blocks on your computer too | Freedom |
| The lowest yearly subscription | one sec, then blokr and AppBlock |
Whichever you pick, test it the cheap way first. Most of these apps have a free plan or a free trial. Set a 10-minute block, try to get out of it, and see if you can. That is the thing you are paying for.
App names, features and prices on this page come from each app’s public App Store listing on 25 October 2026. blokr is not affiliated with or endorsed by Apple or any other app named here.
Questions, answered
What is the best free app blocker for iPhone?
Apple's Screen Time is free and built in, but anyone can tap Ignore Limit. ScreenZen is the strongest free option we found: its only in-app purchases are optional tips. blokr and Opal also have free plans, with limits that Pro removes.
Which app blocker can't be turned off?
Several apps have a mode you can't end early once it starts: Opal's Deep Focus, blokr's Deep focus (with one emergency unblock a week), Freedom's Locked Mode, and the Strict Modes in AppBlock and Refocus. Brick goes further, because the unlock is a physical device you leave somewhere else. Start the session before the moment you need it.
Is Screen Time enough to block apps?
For a gentle reminder, yes. As a block, it is weak: when an App Limit runs out, iOS offers one more minute, a reminder in 15 minutes, or ignoring the limit for the day. It only holds if someone else sets the Screen Time passcode.
Which app blocker works on iPhone and computer?
Freedom syncs block sessions across phones, tablets and computers, with no limit on devices. Opal also has apps for Android and Mac. blokr, Brick and Refocus are iPhone apps.
What is the cheapest app blocker subscription?
On the US App Store on 25 October 2026, the lowest yearly plans listed were one sec at $19.99, then blokr and AppBlock at $29.99. ScreenZen has no subscription at all. Each app lists several plans, so check the price on the day.