The Best App Blockers for iPhone, Compared (Free and Paid)
By Fred Smith, maker of Drill Sergeant / Updated / 8 min read
Free: ScreenZen (a pause before the app, tips only) or Foqos (blocks until you tap an NFC tag). A gentle nudge: one sec. Hard blocks: Opal ($19.99 a month) or a physical key, Brick ($59 device). To make every scroll cost effort: Pushscroll, StepBloc or Drill Sergeant. Built in and free: Screen Time, if someone else holds the passcode.
Every app blocker on iPhone runs on the same Apple machinery underneath, so the real differences are price, how strict each one is, and what it asks of you before an app opens. Below are the ones with real track records on the App Store, with US prices and ratings checked on 23 October 2026. We make Drill Sergeant, one of them; we've kept to the facts.
How app blocking works on iPhone
Apple lets apps block other apps only through its Screen Time API[1]. You choose the apps in Apple's own list, the blocker receives tokens that stand for them rather than their names[2], and iOS shows a block screen when you open one. Three things follow for every app on this page:
- They block whole apps and websites, never just Reels or Shorts inside an app.
- They can't read what you do in other apps.
- You can always switch one off in Settings > Screen Time, or delete it. The strict ones just make that harder to want, or harder to reach.
The comparison
| App | Price (US) | How it stops you | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screen Time[3] | Free, built in | Daily limits per app or category; skippable unless someone else holds the passcode | - |
| ScreenZen[4] | Free (tips) | A pause before the app, open limits, blackout times | 4.9 (52K) |
| Foqos[5] | Free (tips) | Blocks until you tap an NFC tag or scan a QR code | 4.9 (5.5K) |
| one sec[6] | Free for one app; Pro $6.99 a month or $19.99 a year | A breathing pause before the app | 4.8 (24K) |
| Brick[7] | App free; the Brick device is $59[8] | Blocks until you tap the physical Brick again | 4.9 (58K) |
| Opal[9] | $19.99 a month or $99.99 a year | Blocks, schedules, and a Deep Focus mode you can't end early | 4.7 (90K) |
| BePresent[10] | $3.99 a month; yearly from $24.99 | Blocking, plus competing with friends and rewards | 4.8 (69K) |
| Refocus[11] | Pro from $7.99 | Strict Mode: unblock only with a passcode, an NFC tag, a wait or a typing challenge | 4.8 (12K) |
| Jomo[12] | $5.99 a month or $29.99 a year | Scheduled blocking | 4.8 (2.5K) |
| ClearSpace[13] | $6.99 a month or $44.99 a year | A pause, limits, an exercise option | 4.7 (8.9K) |
| Unrot[14] | Paid plans from $9.99 | A walk, a study session or a workout earns coins that unlock apps | 4.7 (57K) |
| Pushscroll[15] | $14.99 a month | Push-ups, squats and other exercises unlock minutes | 4.7 (18K) |
| StepBloc[16] | $3.99 a month or $29.99 once | Push-ups, squats or steps unblock apps | 4.5 (494) |
| Drill Sergeant[18] | $6.99 a month, first 7 days free | A checkpoint: 10 push-ups or a report of real work | Too new to have one |
The best for what you need
Free: ScreenZen, Foqos or Screen Time
ScreenZen is the best free blocker on iPhone: a pause in front of the apps you choose, a cap on how often you open them, and blackout hours, all paid for by tips. Foqos is free too and stricter. Stick an NFC tag on your desk or print its QR code, and your apps stay blocked until you tap or scan it again. Screen Time costs nothing, but its limits can be ignored with a tap unless someone else sets the passcode.
A gentle nudge: one sec
one sec makes you take a breath before Instagram opens, and lets you carry on if you still want to. It's the app behind a 280-person study in which that short pause cut how often people opened their social apps by 57% over six weeks[17]. See one sec alternatives for others like it.
Strict: Brick, Opal or Refocus
Brick blocks your apps until you tap a small physical device, which you can leave in another room. It costs $59 once, with no subscription. Opal's Deep Focus sessions can't be ended early, and Refocus's Strict Mode can make you wait, type a passage or find an NFC tag before anything unblocks. For how far strict can go, read whether any blocker is impossible to turn off.
Make every scroll cost effort: Pushscroll, StepBloc, Unrot or Drill Sergeant
These don't say no. They put a price on yes. Pushscroll and StepBloc want push-ups, squats or steps; Unrot pays coins for walks, study and workouts. Drill Sergeant puts Captain Jack in front of the apps you pick: 10 push-ups buy 10 minutes, a report of an hour's real work buys 10 minutes, or you close the app. He also turns your goals into daily objectives and ranks you against your friends. More in apps that make you do push-ups for screen time.
Every blocker here can be switched off in Settings. Mine makes opening Instagram cost you ten push-ups.
How to choose
- You want it free: ScreenZen, or Foqos if you'll stick a tag somewhere.
- You want a pause that's been studied: one sec.
- You want it hard to undo: Brick, or Opal's Deep Focus.
- You want the scroll to cost effort, and your goals to get done: Drill Sergeant.
On Android instead? See the best app blockers for Android. Paying for Opal? Read Opal alternatives.
Questions people ask
What is the best free app blocker for iPhone?
ScreenZen: it's free, lives on tips, and has a 4.9 rating from about 52,000 App Store reviews. Foqos is free too and stricter, because you unblock by tapping an NFC tag or scanning a QR code. Screen Time is built into every iPhone and free, but easy to ignore unless someone else sets the passcode.
Can an iPhone app blocker block only Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts?
No. Apple doesn't let any app control what happens inside another app, so iPhone blockers can only block whole apps and websites. For Shorts, YouTube's own Shorts feed limit is the closest thing.
Can I make an app blocker I cannot turn off on iPhone?
Not completely. Any blocker can be removed by turning off its Screen Time access in Settings or deleting it. The hardest setups make that annoying: a Screen Time passcode someone else holds, or a physical key you have to walk to, like Brick or a Foqos tag.
Do iPhone app blockers see which apps I use?
Not the ones built on Apple's Screen Time API. You pick the apps in Apple's own list, and the blocker only receives tokens that stand for them, not their names.
Sources
- Apple Developer. Family Controls (Screen Time API).
- Apple Developer. ApplicationToken: an opaque token that represents an app.
- Apple. Set schedules with Screen Time on iPhone (iOS 26): App Limits.
- ScreenZen- Screen Time Control, App Store listing.
- Foqos - Tap to Block, App Store listing.
- one sec | screen time + focus, App Store listing.
- Brick - Ditch Distractions, App Store listing.
- Brick. Product prices (Brick $59.00).
- Opal: Screen Time Control, App Store listing.
- BePresent: Screen Time Control, App Store listing.
- Refocus: App Blocker & Lock, App Store listing.
- Jomo - Screen Time Blocker, App Store listing.
- ClearSpace: Reduce Screen Time, App Store listing.
- Unrot: Earn your Screen Time, App Store listing.
- Pushscroll: Exercise To Scroll, App Store listing.
- StepBloc: Screen Time Blocker, App Store listing.
- Grüning, Riedel & Lorenz-Spreen (2023). Directing smartphone use through the self-nudge app one sec. PNAS 120(8).
- Drill Sergeant for Discipline, App Store listing.