The best app blockers compared: free and paid, Android and iPhone

An app blocker stops you from opening the apps you’ve chosen, or makes it harder. Some lock them on a schedule, some add a pause, and some ask for something in return. They differ a lot in how strict they are, what they cost and what they can see on your phone.

Most “best app blocker” lists are written by the maker of one of the apps on them, and so is this one: Braintoll is ours. So we’ve kept the comparison checkable. Plans and prices come from each app’s own pricing page and store listing, as of October 2026, and we say where another app is the better choice. We haven’t run a long-term test of all of them.

The best app blockers at a glance

Prices change often and differ by country, so check the store before you subscribe.

The apps, and who each one suits

Screen Time and Digital Wellbeing: start here

They’re free and already on your phone, and they’re enough for a clear limit like no social media after 11 p.m. Their weakness is the exit. On Android, you can take a break from Focus mode with a tap, or delete an app timer that has run out. On iPhone, a limit can be ignored unless a passcode you don’t know protects it. Our guide on how to block apps has the steps.

ScreenZen: the best free app blocker

ScreenZen makes you wait before a chosen app opens, and adds per-app limits, schedules, strict blocks and a settings lock. It’s free on both platforms. The App Store lists optional tips of $5 to $40, and one reviewer there says a tip unlocked extra features, so a few things may sit behind it. For most people, this is the first app to try after the built-in tools.

Weak spot: a delay can turn into routine, and the strict options need setting up.

AppBlock: schedules and a strict mode, especially on Android

AppBlock blocks apps and websites on a schedule, with a Strict Mode that makes it much harder to switch the block off. The free plan is limited but usable. On Android, it covers Quick Block for 3 apps and 3 websites, up to 3 schedules, and Strict Mode for up to 24 hours. On iPhone, it’s 2 schedules and Strict Mode for up to 12 hours.

Weak spot: on the free plan, Strict Mode has a time cap and some of its conditions are paid-only.

Opal: polished, and the most expensive

Opal blocks apps during sessions and on schedules, with a focus score and a well-designed app. Its Deep Focus mode can’t be ended early except in an emergency. The free plan allows one rule, while the strictest settings and unlimited rules need Pro at $99.99 a year. Students can apply for up to 50 percent off.

Weak spot: the price, for something the cheaper apps also do.

one sec: a pause with research behind it

one sec shows a short breathing exercise before an app opens, then lets you continue or leave. Its creator co-wrote a published study of it, covered below. It’s free for one app, and Pro is about $20 a year.

Weak spot: it doesn’t stop you. If you’ve already decided to scroll, a few seconds won’t change that.

Freedom: for your phone and your computer

Freedom blocks apps and websites on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android at once, which matters if you simply switch to the laptop when the phone is locked. There’s a free plan, but Locked Mode, which stops you from quitting a block, costs $3.33 a month, billed yearly. If you only need the computer, Cold Turkey is the strict alternative: app blocking and locks come with a one-time Pro purchase, and it has no phone version.

Forest: if rewards work on you

You start a timer and a virtual tree grows, and it dies if you give up. The core app is now free, including blocking during a session and a recurring block for one app or site. Forest Plus adds more.

Weak spot: it’s built around sessions you start yourself, so it’s strongest for focus blocks, not the quick open at any other time.

Brick: a lock you have to walk to

Brick is a small NFC tag, not just an app. You tap your phone on it to start a block and have to tap it again to end it, so you can leave the tag at home or in another room. In Consumer Reports’ review, at $59, screen time dropped below 3 hours on some days but still passed 5 on others, after unblocking for reasons that seemed valid at the time. There are also five emergency unlocks.

Weak spot: you pay for hardware, and it’s no help if you carry the tag around with you.

Braintoll: a toll in flashcards instead of a wall

Braintoll is our app. When you open a blocked app, a few of your flashcards come first. Answer them, mark enough as Easy, and the app opens for the time you’ve set. When that runs out, the toll returns, even mid-scroll. The time you’d lose to the reflex goes into vocabulary or exam material, reviewed on a spaced repetition schedule.

Weak spot: you need something you want to learn, and Keep my attention lets you leave without any lock forcing you to. It doesn’t run on computers, and on Android it can block your browser as a whole, but not single websites.

Do app blockers actually work?

The evidence is promising, with some catches:

• Pauses: in a 2023 study of one sec, users closed the target app in 36 percent of attempts, and actual opens fell by 57 percent over six weeks. That compares the first and sixth week among the 280 of 719 recruited users who kept going, and one author created the app. In a separate experiment, what mattered most was the offer of a clear way out. The delay added nothing beyond it, and a reminder message had no effect of its own.
• Limits you set yourself: in a large experiment by Hunt Allcott and colleagues, letting people cap their future screen time noticeably reduced their use. Their model attributes about 31 percent of social media use to self-control problems.
• Hard blocks: in a 2025 trial led by Noah Castelo, blocking all mobile internet on iPhones for two weeks cut screen time from 314 to 161 minutes a day, and improved well-being, mental health and sustained attention. But of 467 participants, 266 installed the block and only 119 kept it on for at least 10 days.

That last number is the most useful one for choosing. A very strict block can work well, and most people won’t keep it up. The right blocker is the strictest one you’d still leave switched on after two weeks.

App blockers on Android: what the permission can see

On Android, most blockers ask for the Accessibility permission, because it lets them notice which app is in front. It’s a powerful permission. It exists to help people with disabilities use their phones, and in the wrong hands it has been used to spy on people. Google Play requires apps that use it for other purposes to disclose this in the app and get your consent, so you can compare what each one says:

These are the makers’ own statements, taken from their Play Store listings, and you can’t verify them from the outside. Before you grant the permission, read the listing and the disclosure, and treat an unknown app with no clear statement as a reason to pick another.

If a blocker stops working on your Android phone, check the battery settings first. Some manufacturers’ battery savers stop background apps, so exempt the blocker from optimization.

App blockers on iPhone

iOS doesn’t let apps watch what you open, so most iPhone blockers build on Apple’s Screen Time system. You pick apps in Apple’s own list, and the blocker receives private tokens instead of app names. That’s good for privacy, and it makes the block hard to get around. The catch is that Apple’s rules limit what happens next: a blocker on iPhone generally can’t switch you straight back into the app, so you often have to open it again yourself. Braintoll works this way too.

Which app blocker fits you

• You want to try one for free: ScreenZen, after the built-in tools.
• You need fixed hours without discussion: AppBlock, or Opal if you’re happy to pay more.
• You open apps out of reflex, not because you need them: one sec, ScreenZen or Braintoll.
• You keep switching off whatever you install: Brick, because the off switch is somewhere else.
• You switch to your laptop when the phone is locked: Freedom, or Cold Turkey for the computer.
• You like streaks and rewards: Forest.
• You have something to learn anyway: Braintoll. Students will find more options in app blockers for studying.

If a block only ever says no

Many people install a strict blocker, get annoyed the first time it’s in the way, and turn it off. Braintoll tries a different trade: you can always get in, but you pay with a minute of learning. Write your own cards, start from a preset, import an Anki deck, or let the AI make them from a topic, notes or a PDF. It’s free for one app with unlimited cards, on Android and iPhone, and you can run it next to any of the apps above.

If you want a lock that can’t be argued with, use one of those instead, or both: a hard lock for your working hours and a toll for the rest of the day. The direct comparison is in one sec and Opal alternative.

Common questions

What is the best app blocker?

There’s no single best one, because it depends on how strict you need it to be. ScreenZen is a strong free start, AppBlock and Opal suit hard locks on a schedule, one sec adds a pause, and Freedom covers your computer too. Choose the strictest one you’d still keep running after two weeks.

What is the best free app blocker?

ScreenZen offers the most for free, on Android and iPhone, with optional tips instead of a paid plan. Screen Time and Digital Wellbeing are free and built in but easy to override. AppBlock, Opal, one sec, Freedom, Forest and Braintoll have free versions with limits.

What is the best app blocker for Android?

AppBlock is a good choice for schedules and a strict mode, with a usable free plan. ScreenZen is the best fully free option. On Android, most blockers need the Accessibility permission, so read what each one says it does with it.

Is a social media blocker different from an app blocker?

Mostly not. A social media blocker is usually an app blocker pointed at Instagram, TikTok and similar apps. If you also use them in a browser, block the websites too, or the app block just moves you there.

Can app blockers be bypassed?

Yes, none is truly unbreakable, since you can change settings or uninstall an app on your own phone. Strict modes, a Screen Time passcode someone else sets, or a physical tag make it much harder. It’s usually more useful to choose a blocker you won’t want to bypass.

Braintoll is not affiliated with Apple, Google, ScreenZen, AppBlock, Opal, one sec, Freedom, Cold Turkey, Forest or Brick. All product names are the property of their respective owners.