6 Best Opal App Alternatives in 2026 (One of Them Is Mine)

Why people leave Opal

Opal is a good app. Worth saying before the criticism.

The trouble is what it costs and what it was never built to do.

Opal Pro is $99.99 a year. For a screen time app that is steep. Apple's built-in Screen Time costs nothing.

Then there is Android. Apple hands developers a Screen Time API that enforces blocks at the system level. Android has no equivalent, so Android blockers have to find another route, usually the Accessibility Service. Opal does ship an Android app, but its free plan there shows ads until you pay for Pro.

The third reason is the one I care most about. Opal is a focus app. It exists to stop you opening Instagram at 2pm on a Tuesday. It has an adult content switch on iPhone, but on Android you add explicit sites to the list by hand. Keeping explicit content away from you or your children is a different job from timing Instagram, and a lot of people search for an opal app alternative when what they actually want is a filter, not a timer.

How much does Opal cost?

Opal Pro costs $99.99 a year, $19.99 a month, or $399 for lifetime access, according to Opal's pricing page. The yearly plan starts with a free week and the monthly plan with three free days. When the trial ends you pay the full price, and on iPhone Apple needs you to cancel at least 24 hours before that to avoid the charge.

There is a free plan. It gives you one rule, basic timers and app blocking on iPhone, Android and Mac. On Android it shows ads.

What the free plan leaves out is Hard Mode, the setting that stops you cancelling a block before its timer runs out. Unlimited rules and allow-only mode are Pro features too. Opal is free to try, but the version that holds when you want to quit is the paid one.

What to look for in an opal app alternative

Four things separate the apps on this list.

Can you get around it? Most blockers fold the moment you open Android Settings and revoke the permission. If the block only holds while you want it to hold, it is a reminder, not a block.

What does it block? Apps and websites are the easy part. Blocking a search term, or a Reel inside an app you still need, is much harder and most of these do not attempt it.

Which devices? A phone-only blocker leaves the laptop wide open. A desktop-only one leaves the phone.

What does it cost after the trial? Several apps here are generous for a month and then are not.

1. Sunnah Lock — best if the problem is explicit content

On Android, Sunnah Lock blocks apps, websites and keywords, and it goes after Reels, Shorts, explicit sites and explicit search results before they load. Opal has no keyword blocking, so this is the part it has no answer for. You can leave a browser installed and still make whole categories of search return nothing. On iPhone, Sunnah Lock blocks adult content with Apple's own filter, plus any websites you add.

Strict mode on Android is the other difference. Turning a block off requires the PIN, and uninstalling or disabling the app is locked down too. That matters for a child's phone, where the failure mode is not weak willpower but a ten-year-old who found the Settings menu.

It is free to download on Android and iPhone. Some features need a paid plan.

Coming soon. Sunnah Lock for Windows is on the way. Join the waitlist to hear when it launches.

2. Freedom — the closest swap for Opal

Of the apps on this list, Freedom works the most like Opal.

Freedom covers Android, iPhone, Mac, Windows and Chrome, and syncs sessions across all of them. Start a block on your laptop and your phone goes quiet at the same time. Opal does this too. Freedom charges $39.99 a year for it instead of $99.99, or $99.50 once for lifetime access.

Locked mode is the feature worth paying for. It stops you ending a session early, which is the entire point of a blocker and the thing free tiers usually withhold.

Where it loses. The free plan drops scheduling and locked mode, which are the two features that make it work, so treat free as a trial. It blocks apps and sites but not keywords, so explicit material can still arrive through any app you have allowed. And any blocker you can end early eventually stops holding. That is the ceiling on this whole category, not a fault specific to Freedom.

3. Cold Turkey — the strongest desktop lock

Cold Turkey is the most stubborn blocker on this list and it is not close.

Frozen Turkey can lock you out of the entire computer on a schedule. Not an app. The machine. Pro is a one-time payment, no subscription, and the licence covers every computer you personally use. On a computer it can also block by keyword and by category, including adult content.

Where it loses. There is no Android app and no iPhone app. The developer's own documentation says operating system limitations prevent building something equally hard to remove on mobile, which is an honest answer and also a disqualifying one if your phone is the problem. The free tier only blocks websites; app blocking and the unbreakable timer are behind the paid licence. If your phone is where the problem lives, Cold Turkey does not reach it.

4. BlockerX — built for adult content, priced accordingly

BlockerX is one of the few here aimed squarely at explicit material rather than productivity, and it extends to gambling, gaming and dating apps.

It has been around long enough to have a real user base and an accountability-partner feature, where a second person gets told when you change your settings. For some people that social pressure works better than any technical lock.

Where it loses. About $199.90 for lifetime access is the highest entry price here, and the free tier stops at five blocked sites or keywords. If you want this category without the price tag, keep reading.

5. ScreenZen — the best free option

ScreenZen runs on donations and asks for nothing. That is unusual and worth respecting.

It works on friction rather than walls. Open Instagram and it makes you wait, or answer a question first. That pause is often enough to break the reflex, and for people whose problem is absent-minded reaching rather than deliberate seeking, it is genuinely all they need.

Where it loses. Friction is not enforcement. It has a lock mode and uninstall prevention, but reviewers report ways around them. It does not filter explicit content. If you are setting up a child's device, this is the wrong tool.

6. AppBlock — the plain scheduler

AppBlock does app and site blocking on a schedule through the Accessibility Service, with no VPN required. Its Strict Mode can stop the app being uninstalled while a block runs.

It is not trying to be clever. It blocks the apps you list during the hours you set, and it also offers keyword blocking and an adult content filter. Premium is $29.99 a year or $89.99 once.

Where it loses. Keyword blocking sits behind the paid plan, so the free version is mostly a scheduler. Judged as one, it is fine.

Side-by-side comparison

Which one should you pick

On an iPhone: Get Sunnah Lock on the App Store. It blocks adult content and any websites you add.

Distracted on a laptop: Sunnah Lock for Windows is coming soon, and you can join the waitlist now.

Blocking explicit content, especially on a child's phone: Sunnah Lock. It is free to download, and on Android it blocks keywords, Reels and Shorts and locks uninstall behind a PIN.

Not sure yet, or on a budget: Sunnah Lock is free to download, so you can try it on your own phone before paying for anything.

Happy with Opal but not the bill: Sunnah Lock is free to download on Android and iPhone, with Windows coming soon, and it is built to filter content, not just time your apps.

Frequently asked questions

Does Opal work on Android?

Yes. Opal has an Android app. Its free plan on Android shows ads, and upgrading to Opal Pro removes them.

Is Opal free?

Partly. Opal has a free plan with one rule, basic timers and app blocking on iPhone, Android and Mac, and it shows ads on Android. Hard Mode, unlimited rules and allow-only mode need Opal Pro, which costs $99.99 a year.

What is the cheapest opal app alternative?

ScreenZen is free and funded by donations. Sunnah Lock is free to download on Android and iPhone, with paid plans for some features. Among paid options, Cold Turkey's one-time Pro licence works out cheapest over a few years.

Can my child uninstall these apps?

Not Sunnah Lock on Android, which locks uninstall and disable behind a PIN. Many blockers can be removed in about thirty seconds through Android Settings. AppBlock's Strict Mode can also block uninstalling, and Cold Turkey is hard to remove but does not run on phones.

Which blocks explicit content rather than just social media?

Sunnah Lock is built for it, blocking explicit sites and explicit search results, and on Android it adds Reels, Shorts and a PIN lock. BlockerX and AppBlock have adult content filters, Opal has an adult content switch on iPhone, and Cold Turkey can block an adult category on a computer.

Is a free app blocker good enough?

It depends what you are fighting. Absent-minded scrolling, yes, friction usually handles it. Something you are deliberately seeking out, no. That needs a lock you cannot remove in the moment you want to remove it.

Do I still need Opal if I use one of these?

No. Every app here overlaps with Opal's core function. Running two blockers at once tends to cause conflicts through the Accessibility Service rather than doubling the protection.

The bottom line

A lot of people searching for an opal app alternative start with the price. Hard Mode, the part that makes Opal hold, costs $99.99 a year.

A good number are after something Opal never claimed to be. If you are trying to keep explicit content away from yourself or your family, a focus timer was always the wrong instrument. That is the gap Sunnah Lock was built for.

If you are on Android and the problem is explicit content, install Sunnah Lock. It is free to download and takes about five minutes to set up.

If you are on iPhone, Sunnah Lock is on the App Store now. For your computer, Sunnah Lock for Windows is coming soon.

Related reading: 5 best Cold Turkey alternatives in 2026, for the desktop side of the same problem. To block one app on your phone, use the step-by-step block guides.