Opal alternative for iPhone: Opal vs blokr

Opal is one of the best-known app blockers on iPhone, and blokr is a cheaper alternative. We make blokr, so read this with that in mind: every number below comes from the vendors’ own pages, linked next to it, and was checked on 22 October 2026. Prices move, so confirm on the page before you pay.

What each one costs

Plan	Opal	blokr
Free plan	Yes, no time limit	Yes
Weekly	None	$2.99
Monthly	$19.99	$7.99
Yearly	$99.99 (about $8.29 a month)	$29.99
Lifetime	$399, one time	None
Free trial on Pro	7 days	7 days
Students	Up to 50% off Pro	None listed

Sources: Opal pricing and the in-app purchase list on blokr’s App Store page.

Over a year, blokr’s yearly plan costs $70 less than Opal’s. Weekly billing is the exception. At $2.99 a week it adds up to about $155 over 52 weeks, more than Opal’s yearly plan. If you plan to stay, pick yearly on either app.

Opal’s lifetime plan only pays off if you keep using it for about four years. For a habit tool, that is a bet on yourself.

What the free plans give you

Opal’s free plan covers app blocking, one Rule (a schedule, time limit or open limit), basic timers and soundscapes, and today’s Opal Score. It runs on iPhone, Android and Mac.

blokr’s free plan covers a limited number of blocks, plus NFC and QR code unlock, which many apps put behind a paywall. Pro removes the cap on blocks.

What Pro adds

	Opal Pro	blokr Pro
Session you cannot end early	Yes (Hard Mode)	Yes (Deep focus)
Unlimited schedules and limits	Yes	Yes
Allow only chosen apps	Yes	Yes
Adult content filter	Not listed	Yes (Safe Content)
Usage score with history	Yes (Opal Score)	No

Both locked modes do the same job: once the session starts, the stop button is gone. In blokr’s Deep focus you also cannot edit or delete the block, or delete blokr itself, while it runs. One emergency unblock a week is the only way out. For a block you know you will argue with at 11 pm, either app works. Pick the one whose other features you actually use.

If you like tracking, Opal’s score and history have no equivalent in blokr. If you only want things blocked, you will not miss them.

NFC and QR unlock

An NFC tag is a coin-sized sticker you tap with your iPhone. In blokr, you write a tag from inside the app, stick it somewhere inconvenient, such as the kitchen or the front door, and scan it to unblock your apps. A QR code you print or save works the same way. Both are free, and both belong to Light mode, where you choose how a block can end. Deep focus has no NFC or QR unlock.

The point is friction. Getting up and walking to the tag is a small cost, and it is enough to stop a lot of thumb-reflex unblocks.

Opal has no built-in NFC unlock that we could find on its pricing page or in its features. In Opal’s community forum, a 2024 request for it was passed to engineers, and another user pointed to an Apple Shortcuts automation that starts an Opal session when a tag is tapped. That is a workaround for starting a session, not an NFC key that ends one. Opal may have added more since, so check its help centre if NFC matters to you.

Which one should you pick?

You want	Pick
Android or Mac as well as iPhone	Opal
A lifetime purchase	Opal
Score and history of your focus	Opal
The lowest yearly price	blokr
An NFC tag or QR code to unblock, free	blokr
A student discount	Opal

Both have a free tier and a free trial, so try them in that order: free plan first, then the trial of whichever Pro feature you wished you had.

Before you pay for either

Check the price on the day. Both vendors change plans. The figures above are from 22 October 2026.

Cancel the trial in time. Trials from the App Store convert to paid unless you cancel in your Apple ID subscriptions, at least a day before they end.

Test the lock on a real block. Set a 10-minute session, try to end it, and see whether you can. That is what you are paying for.