Freedom App Blocker Review: Pricing, Locked Mode and the Best Alternatives (2026)

Freedom is built for a problem most blockers ignore: you block a site on your laptop, and the scroll just moves to your phone. It's the most complete cross-device blocker we found. Here's what the free plan does, what Premium adds and costs, where Freedom falls short, and which alternative fits each device, all checked on 2 November 2026. We make Drill Sergeant, a phone-only alternative, and say so where it comes up.

What Freedom does

You build a block list (apps, websites, or the entire internet) and start a session. Freedom syncs it to every device you've connected, so the sites you block on your laptop are blocked on your phone too^[1]. That's its edge: most blockers only guard one device, and the scroll simply moves to another.

Free plan

• Block apps, websites or the whole internet
• Sessions synced across unlimited devices, with custom block lists
• App blocking on desktop, website exceptions on Mac and Windows, and focus music

Premium adds

• Locked Mode, which stops you quitting a session once it's started
• Scheduling: sessions that start on their own, recurring through the week or set for later today
• Sessions longer than two hours

Premium is $8.99 a month, $39.99 a year in the App Store (the yearly plan has a 7-day free trial) or a one-time Forever plan, listed at $199 and on sale for $99.50 on Freedom's site when we checked^[1][3].

Who Freedom suits

Use Freedom if you work at a computer and your distractions follow you: you block Reddit on the laptop and pick up your phone. A single session that covers both is the fix, and nothing else here does it as well.

Look elsewhere if your problem is only the computer (a one-time desktop blocker is cheaper and stricter) or only the phone (free phone blockers are better rated and more flexible).

The best Freedom alternatives

Prices are US and were checked on 2 November 2026.

For your computer: Cold Turkey or SelfControl

Cold Turkey's free version blocks websites on a timer; a one-time Pro purchase adds app blocking, schedules and its locking features, on Windows and Mac^[5]. SelfControl is free and open source for Mac, and famously strict: until the timer runs out you can't reach the blocked sites, even if you restart your computer or delete the app^[6].

In the browser: LeechBlock NG or BlockSite

LeechBlock NG is free, rated 4.9 by 1,600 people and used by 100,000; it blocks sites on schedules or after a daily allowance^[7]. BlockSite is the simpler, more popular choice, with a million Chrome users^[8].

For your phone: ScreenZen, Opal or Drill Sergeant

On a phone, ScreenZen does most of what people want for free: a pause, limits and strict blocks^[10]; see our ScreenZen review. Opal is the polished paid option^[11]. Drill Sergeant takes another route: Captain Jack keeps the apps you pick locked until you earn them with ten push-ups or a report of real work^[12]. Pair a free phone blocker with a free desktop one and you've covered both screens for nothing, though with two apps to manage instead of one.

Block the laptop and the phone, or the scroll just moves. Cover both today.

How we reviewed Freedom

We read Freedom's pricing page, homepage and store listings on 2 November 2026, and did the same for each alternative. Freedom's user count, time-gained and productivity figures are its own. We weren't paid by Freedom or anyone else on this page, and there are no affiliate links. More: the best app blockers for Android, for iPhone, and how to block apps at certain times.