Best app blockers for iPhone in 2026, compared

How we picked

We looked for apps that actually block or delay other apps on iPhone and that publish their prices. For each one we read the US App Store listing, the pricing page and the help center on September 24, 2026. Every price in the table carries that date.

What we weighed:

• Does it block on iOS? Every app here can block or delay other apps on iPhone. We left out apps that only track time.
• How do you get out of a block? This is the biggest difference between these apps, so the table spells it out.
• Price. What is free, what the trial is, and every paid plan, with the date we checked.
• Scores and streaks. Some people want them, some don’t. We note which apps use them.

We did not include parental control apps. This list is for blocking apps on your own phone. The order below is grouped by use case, not a ranking.

Apple Screen Time: best free option built into iPhone

Screen Time is already on your iPhone and costs nothing. You get daily Time Allowances, a Screen Time Schedule, apps and people that are Always Allowed, and website blocking by URL.

What we like: it is free, it blocks websites, and it works across iPhone, iPad and Mac.

What we don’t: Apple’s iOS 26 guide says “By default, Screen Time limits can be ignored once reached.” Stopping that takes a Screen Time passcode, which you know if you set it yourself. Time Allowances and Screen Time Schedule replaced App Limits and Downtime in iOS 27, so older tutorials may not match your screen.

Price: free. Choose it if you want to start without installing anything. Our Calma vs Screen Time comparison has the full setup.

ScreenZen: best free app blocker

ScreenZen makes you wait before a chosen app opens, and the wait can grow with each open. It adds strict blocks by time range or number of opens, a settings lock, and website blocking. Its site says “ScreenZen is completely free.”

What we like: everything is free, and it runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android and Windows.

What we don’t: the default is a wait, not a block, so you can still open the app when it ends. It uses streaks.

Price: free, with optional tips from $5 to $40. Choose it if you want a real app blocker without paying.

one sec: best pause before opening

one sec shows a breathing exercise before a chosen app opens, then lets you continue or close it. It is the only app we found in this category with a peer-reviewed study: in PNAS in 2023, one sec “decreased users’ actual opening of target apps by 57% after six consecutive weeks” among 280 participants.

What we like: research behind the method, a cheap yearly plan, and support for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android and browsers.

What we don’t: the free version covers one app, and on iPhone it runs through Shortcuts automations.

Price: $6.99 a month, $19.99 a year or $99.99 lifetime (US App Store). Choose it if you want a pause before every open. More options in our one sec alternatives, or see Calma vs one sec.

Opal: best strict mode with stats

Opal combines sessions, app limits, open limits, an Opal Score and leaderboards. Its strictest level “won’t let you cancel or bypass at all,” per its App Store listing, with one Emergency Pass a week.

What we like: the longest feature list of the apps here, going by each listing, frequent updates, and apps for iPhone, Android and Mac. It has 4.7 stars from 88,415 US ratings as of September 24, 2026.

What we don’t: it is the most expensive subscription here, and the free plan is 1 rule.

Price: $19.99 a month, $99.99 a year or $399 lifetime. Choose it if you want a hard stop and like tracking your progress. See Opal alternatives if the price is the issue.

Brick: best physical lock

Brick is a small device you tap to block your apps, and “You’ll still need the physical Brick to unblock,” per its App Store listing. Leave it at home and your apps stay blocked.

What we like: a barrier outside the phone, “No subscriptions and no monthly fees,” and blocking data stored locally.

What we don’t: you buy and keep track of hardware, and you get five Emergency Unbricks before you have to email for more.

Price: $59 one-time. Choose it if software blockers never hold for you.

Freedom: best for iPhone and computer

Freedom blocks apps, websites or the whole internet in sessions that sync across your devices. Locked Mode “restricts the ability to make changes or end sessions early.”

What we like: one account for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Windows and Android, plus a one-time Forever plan.

What we don’t: the free plan runs only Start Now sessions of up to 2 hours, and it is built around sessions rather than 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). Choose it if your laptop distracts you as much as your phone.

Jomo: best for choosing how hard to unlock

Jomo blocks apps at set times, after a limit, or “until you take action.” You pick the unlock: wait, give a reason, retype a text, scan a QR code. Strict Mode “makes your rules unbreakable.”

What we like: you can make one rule gentle and another strict, and the yearly plan is $29.99.

What we don’t: the free plan is 1 session and 1 action or limit, and there is no iPad app on the App Store.

Price: $5.99 a month, $29.99 a year or $99.99 once. Choose it if you want different strengths for different apps.

Clearspace: best for challenges and accountability

Clearspace adds a pause before a chosen app opens, a deep breath or a short exercise, then lets you proceed or opt out. It also has schedules, app limits, challenges and accountability partners.

What we like: a pause and a limit in one app, and a way to involve a friend.

What we don’t: it is iPhone only on Apple devices (no iPad or Mac app), and we could not find a public list of what the free version includes.

Price: $6.99 a month or $44.99 a year for Premium in the US App Store. Choose it if a challenge or a partner motivates you.

Calma: best for gentle blocks at set times

We make Calma, so read this section with that in mind. Calma blocks the apps you pick during the times you choose, like weekdays 9 AM to 5 PM or every night 10 PM to 7 AM. A blocked app shows “Instagram is resting.” and one button, Back to calm. You can also set daily limits (15 minutes to 2 hours) or open limits (“3 opens a day”).

What we like: schedules that overlap and run overnight, ready-made routines, no streaks or scores, and no account. Your rules stay on your iPhone.

What we don’t: iPhone only, apps only (no website blocking), no free plan beyond the 3-day trial, and no research of its own.

Price: $3.99 a week or $39.99 a year in the US, with a 3-day free trial. Choose it if your scrolling happens at predictable times and you want a calm block instead of a scoreboard. Here is how it works, or see it applied to one app in how to block Instagram on iPhone.

Is Apple Screen Time enough?

It is enough unless you are the kind of person who sets a limit and then taps past it. It is free, it covers websites, and in iOS 26, with a Screen Time passcode, it can block apps at the end of a limit. The weak spots are a passcode you set yourself and an Ignore Limit button you tap at the same time every night. If that is you, read why you keep overriding your own limits and our Calma vs Screen Time comparison.

Strict or gentle: which kind of app blocker works?

Both can work, for different people. Strict blockers (Opal’s hardest mode, Jomo’s Strict Mode, Brick) remove the choice, which helps if you always find a way around softer rules. Gentle blockers (one sec, ScreenZen, Clearspace, Calma) keep a choice but make it deliberate.

The one published test of a gentle approach is one sec’s. In its PNAS study, a follow-up experiment found the option to dismiss had “the strongest effect,” while “the deliberation message was not effective.” That study covers one sec only, but it suggests the choice itself does some of the work. We walk through it and other studies in does a pause before opening an app work? A good test for yourself: if you end up deleting a strict blocker to get out, try a gentler one; if you tap through a gentle one every time, go stricter.

Is there a free app blocker for iPhone?

Yes, two good ones. Apple Screen Time is free and built in, and ScreenZen is free with optional tips. Several paid apps have limited free versions: one sec for one app, Opal for 1 rule, Freedom for sessions up to 2 hours, and Jomo for 1 session. Calma has a 3-day free trial but no free plan.

FAQ

What is the best app blocker for iPhone overall?

There isn’t one for everyone. If you want free, start with Screen Time or ScreenZen. If you want the hardest stop, Opal or Brick. If you want to block apps at certain times without a scoreboard, Calma.

Is Forest an app blocker?

Forest is a focus timer: a tree grows while you stay off your phone and dies if you give up. Its App Store listing also describes Time Guard, which blocks distracting apps on a schedule, but the app is built around timed focus sessions, so we left it out of the main list.

Do app blockers work when the app is closed?

Calma’s blocks are applied by iOS itself through Apple’s Screen Time access, so they keep working when Calma is closed. one sec’s pause runs through Shortcuts automations, so it depends on those staying on. For other apps, check their help pages.

Can an app blocker block websites on iPhone?

Some can. Screen Time, ScreenZen, Opal, Freedom and Jomo can block websites. Calma blocks apps only, so pair it with Screen Time’s website list.

Want a closer look at one of these apps? See Calma vs Opal, ScreenZen alternatives and Brick alternatives.