Opal Alternatives: Cheaper and Free Screen Time Apps Compared
By Fred Smith, maker of Drill Sergeant / Updated / 7 min read
Opal Pro costs $19.99 a month on the US App Store. The best alternatives: ScreenZen (free, donation-supported, iPhone and Android), one sec (free for one app, Pro $6.99 a month), Jomo ($5.99), ClearSpace ($6.99), AppBlock on Android, and Drill Sergeant ($6.99), which makes you earn your apps back with push-ups or real work.
Opal is the best-known screen time app on iPhone, with 90,000 ratings and an Editors' Choice. It's also the most expensive in this list. Here are the alternatives, what each costs and who each suits. Prices and ratings are from the US App Store and Google Play, checked on 18 and 19 October 2026. We make Drill Sergeant, one of the apps below; we've kept it to the facts.
The comparison
| App | Phones | Price a month | How it stops you | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opal[1] | iPhone | $19.99 (yearly $99.99) | Blocks, focus sessions, schedules | 4.7 (90K) |
| ScreenZen[2] | iPhone, Android | Free (donations) | A pause before the app, open limits, blackout times | 4.9 (52K) |
| one sec[3] | iPhone, Android | Free for one app; Pro $6.99 | A breathing pause before the app | 4.8 (24K) |
| Jomo[4] | iPhone | $5.99 (yearly $29.99) | Scheduled blocking | 4.8 (2.5K) |
| ClearSpace[5] | iPhone | $6.99 (yearly $44.99) | A pause, limits, an exercise option | 4.7 (8.9K) |
| AppBlock[6] | Android (10M+ installs) | Free; paid upgrade | Blocks, schedules, Strict Mode | 4.7 (247K) |
| Drill Sergeant | Android; iPhone launching | $6.99, first 7 days free | A checkpoint: 10 push-ups or a report of real work | Too new to have one |
Why people look beyond Opal
Price is the obvious one: $19.99 a month is about three times the others here. In Opal's 50 most recent App Store reviews, read on 18 October 2026, the unhappy ones mostly complained about blocks that fail or don't lock again after a break (about 18 mentions), a setup that's hard to follow (about 9), and the paywall (9)[7]. Opal still does a lot well: polished reports, focus sessions, and a Deep Focus mode you can't end early.
The alternatives, one by one
ScreenZen: the free one
Free and funded by tips, with the highest rating here. It puts a pause in front of the apps you choose, can limit how many times you open them, and has blackout schedules. If price is why you're leaving Opal, start here.
one sec: the researched one
A breathing pause before your chosen apps. It's the app behind a 280-person study in which a short pause cut how often people opened their social apps by 57% over six weeks[8]. Free for one app; Pro for more.
Jomo and ClearSpace: the gentler iPhone picks
Jomo is built around schedules; ClearSpace around a mindful pause, with an exercise option its users like. Both cost a third of Opal.
AppBlock: the Android heavyweight
More than 10 million installs and a Strict Mode that can lock its own settings and uninstall. If you're on Android and want hard blocks, it's the default pick.
Drill Sergeant: earn it back
The others decide when you can use an app. Drill Sergeant decides what it costs: open Instagram or TikTok and Captain Jack wants 10 push-ups or a report of an hour's work for 10 minutes, or you get back to work. He also turns your goals into daily objectives and ranks you against your friends. On Android now, iPhone launching.
Twenty dollars a month to be told no. I will do it for seven, and you get stronger.
How to choose
- You want it free: ScreenZen.
- You want a gentle pause that's proven to work: one sec.
- You're on Android and want hard blocks: AppBlock.
- You want the scroll to cost effort, and your goals to get done: Drill Sergeant.
Also worth reading: whether any blocker is impossible to turn off and the best app blockers for Android.
Questions people ask
Is there a free alternative to Opal?
Yes. ScreenZen is free and supported by donations, on iPhone and Android, with a 4.9 rating from about 52,000 App Store reviews. Your phone's own Screen Time (iPhone) and Digital Wellbeing (Android) are free too, but easy to ignore without a passcode.
How much does Opal cost?
On the US App Store, Opal Pro was $19.99 a month or $99.99 a year when we checked on 18 October 2026. There is a free tier with fewer features.
What is the best Opal alternative for Android?
AppBlock is the biggest, with more than 10 million installs on Google Play and a Strict Mode. one sec and ScreenZen also run on Android. Drill Sergeant is on Android if you want to unlock apps with push-ups or real work.
Which Opal alternative is strictest?
On Android, AppBlock's Strict Mode can lock its own settings and block uninstalling. On iPhone, the strongest setup is a Screen Time passcode someone else holds; Opal's own Deep Focus mode, which can't be ended early, is one of the strictest options on iPhone.
Sources
- Opal: Screen Time Control, US App Store listing.
- ScreenZen, US App Store listing.
- one sec, US App Store listing.
- Jomo - Screen Time Blocker, App Store listing.
- ClearSpace: Reduce Screen Time, US App Store listing.
- AppBlock - Block Apps & Sites, Google Play listing.
- Apple public review feed, Opal (latest 50 reviews, read 18 October 2026).
- Grüning, Riedel & Lorenz-Spreen (2023). Directing smartphone use through the self-nudge app one sec. PNAS 120(8).