6 Opal alternatives for iPhone in 2026

Why look for an Opal alternative?

Most people look for an Opal alternative because of the price, the small free plan, or the scores. Opal itself is a strong, popular app: 4.7 stars from 88,415 US App Store ratings as of September 24, 2026. The reasons people compare, each from Opal’s own pages:

• Price. Opal Pro costs $19.99 a month, $99.99 a year or $399 once, per Opal’s pricing page.
• A small free plan. The free tier lists 1 rule, app blocking and today’s Opal Score. Unlimited rules need Pro, and so does Opal’s strictest level.
• Scores and competition. Opal’s App Store listing pitches “leaderboards and rewards,” and grades your focus with an Opal Score. Some people love that. Others want a blocker that doesn’t grade them.
• Strictness that doesn’t fit. Opal’s strictest level goes by three names: Deep Focus on the App Store, Hard Mode on the pricing page, and “No way, I’m hardcore” in the help center. The listing says “Deep Focus won’t let you cancel or bypass at all.” If your plans change often, you have one Emergency Pass a week.

Screen Time: best free option already on your iPhone

Screen Time does the basic job of Opal for free: daily limits per app and a schedule for the evening. You give up the Opal Score, the reports that show your focus over time, and a mode you can’t cancel.

Better than Opal at

• Price: it costs nothing and is already installed.
• Websites: it blocks sites by URL, which Calma can’t do.
• Devices: the same limits can apply on iPad and Mac.

Worse than Opal at

• Holding the line. Apple’s iOS 26 guide says “By default, Screen Time limits can be ignored once reached.” Opal’s Deep Focus has no Ignore Limit button.
• Motivation: a weekly report, no score or leaderboard.

Price: free. Pick it if you are paying for Opal but only use one or two limits. Our Calma vs Screen Time comparison has the full free setup.

ScreenZen: best free app if you want Opal’s features without the bill

ScreenZen is the strongest free option here. It delays a chosen app before it opens, and it can also strict-block apps by time range, after a number of opens, or after a set amount of use. Its site says “ScreenZen is completely free,” funded by optional tips.

Better than Opal at

• Price: $0, with no features behind a paywall.
• Platforms: iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android and Windows, where Opal covers iPhone, Android and Mac.

Worse than Opal at

• Default strength: a wait is the starting point, and once it ends you can open the app. Opal starts from a session that blocks.
• Reports: no Opal Score. It does use streaks.

Price: free, with optional tips from $5 to $40. Pick it if Opal’s features are fine and the price is the problem.

one sec: best if you’d rather pause than block

one sec replaces Opal’s session model with a breathing exercise before a chosen app opens, then lets you continue or close it. It has published evidence: a 2023 PNAS study of 280 people found one sec “decreased users’ actual opening of target apps by 57% after six consecutive weeks.”

Better than Opal at

• Price: $19.99 a year in the US App Store, against Opal’s $99.99.
• Evidence: Opal has no comparable published study that we found.

Worse than Opal at

• Free use: one sec is free for one app; Opal’s free plan gives you 1 rule.
• Setup: on iPhone it runs through Shortcuts automations you set up in the Shortcuts app.
• Strictness: the pause lets you through by design. Pro adds block sessions, but nothing sold as “no way out.”

Price: $6.99 a month, $19.99 a year or $99.99 lifetime (US App Store). Pick it if Opal feels like too much and a pause is enough. More apps in this style in our one sec alternatives.

Brick: best if Deep Focus still isn’t strict enough

Brick moves the lock out of the phone. You tap a small device to block apps, and its App Store listing says “You’ll still need the physical Brick to unblock.” Where Opal’s strictest mode lives in software, Brick’s lives on your shelf.

Better than Opal at

• A barrier you can’t talk yourself out of from the couch.
• Cost over time: $59 once, with “No subscriptions and no monthly fees,” which is less than one year of Opal Pro.

Worse than Opal at

• Stats: usage history, but no score or leaderboard.
• Flexibility: five Emergency Unbricks, then you email Brick for more. Opal gives one Emergency Pass every week.

Price: $59 one-time for the device. Pick it if you keep finding ways out of Opal’s sessions.

Freedom: best if you need Windows too

Freedom and Opal both have a Mac app, but Freedom also covers Windows, and it can block apps, websites or the whole internet in sessions that sync across your devices. Its Locked Mode “restricts the ability to make changes or end sessions early,” which is close to Opal’s Deep Focus.

Better than Opal at

• Computers: Mac, Windows and Android from the same account.
• Price: $39.99 a year against $99.99, or $199 once against Opal’s $399.

Worse than Opal at

• Free use: free sessions run up to 2 hours, and only when you start them.
• Daily limits: Freedom is built around sessions, and its pages don’t list per-app daily limits.

Price: $8.99 a month, $39.99 a year or $199 once (shown at $99.50 in a promotion on September 24, 2026). Pick it if your laptop is as much of a problem as your phone.

Calma: best if you want Opal’s schedules without the score

Calma is ours, so here it is against Opal specifically. Like Opal, Calma blocks chosen apps on a schedule and supports daily limits and open limits. Unlike Opal, it has no score, streaks or leaderboards: a blocked app shows “Instagram is resting.” and one button, Back to calm. To end a block early, you switch the rule off in Calma, or hold for 3 seconds to end a focus session.

Better than Opal at

• Price: $39.99 a year against $99.99.
• Quiet: no grades, no rankings. The only number is time protected today.
• Privacy: no account at all. Your rules stay on your iPhone.

Worse than Opal at

• Platforms: iPhone only, where Opal also has Android and Mac.
• Websites: Calma blocks apps only. Opal blocks apps and websites.
• Free use: nothing blocks without Calma Pro. There is a 3-day free trial; Opal’s free plan keeps 1 rule.
• Strictness: no mode you can’t turn off.

Price: $3.99 a week or $39.99 a year in the US, with a 3-day free trial. Pick it if you mostly used Opal for bedtime or work schedules and never looked at the score. See how Calma’s app blocker works.

Is Opal still worth it?

Opal is worth it if you use what you pay for. Stay with Opal if the Opal Score keeps you going, if you want Deep Focus sessions that can’t be cancelled, or if you need Android or Mac. Going by each app’s listing, it has the longest feature list of the apps here, and it updates often (version 4.16 shipped on September 22, 2026).

If you mostly run one or two schedules and skip the stats, a cheaper app does the same job. If you mostly break your own sessions, Brick or Freedom’s Locked Mode fits better.

How to switch from Opal to another app

1. Cancel Opal Pro. If you paid in the App Store, go to Settings > [your name] > Subscriptions, tap Opal, then Cancel Subscription. Opal’s pricing page notes that App Store purchases “can’t be refunded by Opal directly.”
2. Turn off Opal’s sessions and rules before you set up the new app, so two apps aren’t blocking the same things.
3. Set up the replacement. In Calma: allow Screen Time access, pick your apps, then open the Moments tab and tap a suggestion like Night Peace, or tap New moment. Tap each word to set apps, days and times, then tap Protect this moment.
4. Move website blocks to Screen Time. If you blocked sites in Opal, add them to Screen Time’s Never Allow list instead.

FAQ

Is there a free Opal alternative?

Yes. Apple Screen Time is free and built in. ScreenZen is free and supported by optional tips. Both can block apps on a schedule.

What is the cheapest paid Opal alternative?

Of the subscription apps here, one sec has the cheapest yearly plan at $19.99 in the US App Store, then Calma and Freedom at $39.99. Brick has no subscription but costs $59 for the device.

Is there an Opal alternative without streaks or scores?

Calma has no streaks, scores or leaderboards. Screen Time has none either, only a weekly report.

Can I use Opal and Calma at the same time?

You can install both, since both use Apple’s Screen Time access. It is simpler to pick one for app blocking, so you always know which rule is blocking an app.

How we compared

We read each app’s App Store listing, pricing page and help center on September 24, 2026, and put the date next to every price. This comparison is based on public documentation, not hands-on tests of the other apps. Where an app does not say something publicly, the table says so instead of guessing. We don’t accept payment for placement. For a wider view, see our list of the best app blockers for iPhone, the head-to-head Calma vs Opal, or Brick alternatives if you were weighing a physical lock.