AppBlock Alternatives: 10 Android App Blockers Compared (2026)

AppBlock is the most installed dedicated blocker on Google Play: over ten million installs, 249,000 ratings averaging 4.7, schedules by time, place or Wi-Fi, and a Strict Mode that locks your settings and stops it being uninstalled^[1][2]. It's a good app. People look for an alternative when they want the extras without paying, a stricter or gentler kind of block, or a different idea altogether. Here are ten, checked on Google Play on 1 November 2026. We make Drill Sergeant, one of them.

What the apps say they do for you

These are each company's own claims from its store listing, not independent tests, so don't pick on them alone. The strongest independent evidence is for a short pause before the app opens: in a six-week study of 280 people, one sec cut how often they opened their target apps by 57%^[14]. More in what the research says stops doomscrolling.

The comparison

Installs and ratings are from each Google Play listing on 1 November 2026. “Free version” means you can block apps without paying.

The closest match: Stay Focused

If you like how AppBlock works and just want something else, start here. Stay Focused blocks apps and websites, has a Strict Mode, schedules and blocking by location, and adds a Pomodoro study timer and Reels and Shorts blockers^[4]. It's free with ads, and the lowest-rated of the big blockers at 4.4.

Free and ad-free: StayFree and ScreenZen

StayFree has over ten million installs and no ads; it started as a screen time tracker, so its stats are the best here, and it blocks apps once you hit a limit^[3]. ScreenZen takes a softer line: a pause before the apps you choose, then short allowed bursts so you don't slide into a long scroll. It's free, lives on tips and is rated 4.8^[8]. More free picks in free app blockers with no subscription.

Stricter: Regain and Lock Me Out

Regain's Strict Mode means once a limit is on you can't edit or disable it until the time ends, and its block protection can prevent uninstalling^[5]. Lock Me Out password-protects entry, uninstall and tampering, and can allow only the apps you choose^[7]. Set up your emergency way out before you switch either on. See is there an app blocker you can't turn off?

Gentler: one sec

A breathing pause before your chosen apps, with the best research behind it, and on Android it can remove just Reels or Shorts and leave the rest of the app alone^[9]. Free for one app. Compare it in one sec alternatives.

For phone and computer: Freedom and BlockSite

Freedom runs one block list across every device you connect^[11]. BlockSite has as many installs as AppBlock but a much lower rating, 3.7; its strength is blocking whole categories of sites and apps^[10].

A different idea: earn your apps back with Drill Sergeant

AppBlock, and most apps here, put up a wall. Drill Sergeant puts up a price instead: ten push-ups, counted by your phone's camera, buy ten minutes, or you report a piece of real work. Captain Jack turns your goals into daily objectives, and you can bring friends into your squad. On Android it blocks Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X, Threads and the Lite versions of Instagram and TikTok^[13]. If you keep switching hard blocks off, earning your time might stick better. The other push-up apps are compared in Pushscroll alternatives.

A blocker you switch off is no blocker. Pick one you'll keep on.

Or skip the app

Digital Wellbeing, already on most Android phones, has app timers and a Focus mode. It's easy to switch off, but an App limits PIN helps. See Digital Wellbeing alternatives, and on a Galaxy, the best app blockers for Samsung.

How we compared them

We read each app's Google Play listing on 1 November 2026 for installs, rating and features; free versions come from the listings and the developers' own pages. The screen time figures are the companies' own claims. We didn't rank by affiliate deals; there aren't any. All 14 Android blockers are in the best app blockers for Android.