Opal alternatives: the price table from Opal's own page, and what a no-trial blocker looks like
Opal Pro is $99.99 a year, $19.99 a month or $399 for life, and both subscriptions start with a trial that converts. That is the whole reason most people search for an alternative. Below is Opal's pricing page as a table, what its free plan actually includes, six alternatives described from their own pages, and why one of them (ours) refuses to run a trial at all.
The short answer
- Opal's free plan is one rule. Pro is $99.99 a year (free week first), $19.99 a month (3 free days first), or $399 lifetime. The App Store also lists a $4.99 weekly plan.
- Hard Mode, which Opal describes as "No way out. You can't turn Opal off.", is Pro only.
- Cheaper enforcing alternatives: Jomo $29.99 a year, Unbudge $29.99 a year, Freedom $39.99 a year on the App Store. Free: ScreenZen, and Apple's own Downtime.
- Only ScreenZen, Brick and Unbudge on this list have no trial that converts.
Prices are as displayed on Opal's pricing page (opalapp.com/pricing) and the US App Store on 2026-09-12. Opal's site redirected from opal.so to opalapp.com on that date. Subscription prices change; read the page before paying.
Opal's pricing page, as a table
This is the plan grid from Opal's own pricing page, plus the in-app purchase list from its US App Store page. The two do not fully match, which is normal for App Store listings that carry old or regional plans.
| Plan | Price (pricing page) | Trial | Includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | "$0/month", free forever | None | iOS, Android and Mac; "1 Rule" (schedule, time limit or open limit); basic timers and soundscapes; app blocking; Opal Score for today only |
| Opal Pro, annual | "$99.99 billed annually" ("$8.29/month") | "Start Free Week" | Hard Mode ("No way out. You can't turn Opal off."); unlimited rules; advanced timers and soundscapes; Allow Only; Opal Score with history |
| Opal Pro, monthly | "$19.99/month" | "Start Free 3 Days" | Same as annual |
| Opal Pro, lifetime | "$399/forever", one-time | None stated | Same as annual |
| Teams Pro | Contact for pricing | Not stated | Everything in Pro, single invoice, account manager |
| Student | "up to 50% off Opal Pro", by application | Not stated | Pro |
| US App Store in-app purchase list (2026-09-12) | Price |
|---|---|
| Weekly Plan | $4.99 |
| Monthly Plan | $19.99 |
| Yearly Plan | $99.99 |
| Opal Student Weekly | $9.99 |
| Opal Pro Subscription | $49.99 (period not shown in the list) |
Annual: $99.99
Monthly, 12 months: $19.99 × 12 = $239.88
Weekly (App Store), 52 weeks: $4.99 × 52 = $259.48
→ The weekly plan is the most expensive way to hold Opal for a year, by $159 over annual.
On mechanism, Opal's App Store description says sessions can include a break: "Choose the app you want to use, write your intention, and set a timer." It describes Deep Focus as "the maximum level of protection — you can't bypass or cancel", available to premium subscribers, and adjustable focus difficulty. It does not state a minimum block length or what happens if you delete the app.
Why the trial is the thing to look at
A trial that converts is a bet the company makes that you will forget. For most users that is fine. For the users an app blocker is built for, people who install a blocker because impulse control is the problem, it is the same trap the blocker is meant to stop, moved to the payment screen. Two questions decide whether a trial is safe for you: do you cancel trials on time, and is the fastest way past the block to pay? If the answer to the first is no and the second is yes, pick from the no-trial column below, whatever the feature list says.
Six alternatives, from their own pages
| App | Price | Trial that converts | Enforcement in its own words | Compared with Opal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unbudge | Free for 3 apps and 1 schedule; Pro $29.99/year or $3.99/month | No. "No weekly plan, no trial that turns into a charge." | Schedule blocks; 15-minute break that relocks on its own; Strict mode (Pro) removes breaks; shield names the schedule and unlock time; tells you when the block is not up | About 30% of Opal's annual price. Schedules only, no soundscapes, no score. Proves the block with a 15-minute test before any payment screen |
| Jomo | Free tier; Plus $5.99/month, $29.99/year, $99.99 lifetime | Not stated on the pages we opened | "Block distracting apps your way: at set times, after a limit, or until you take action"; lock the block so it cannot be disabled, or "you can always unlock if you really need to" | Same annual price as Unbudge; lifetime at a quarter of Opal's |
| Freedom | Free plan; Premium $8.99/month, $39.99/year on the App Store, Forever $199 list | Yes, "Free 7-day trial" before the annual plan | Sessions and schedules; Locked Mode "prevents quitting so you stay committed"; syncs across phones, tablets and computers | Closest to Opal's cross-device pitch at 40% of the annual price; also runs a trial |
| ScreenZen | Free. "ScreenZen is completely free." Tips $5 to $40 | No (nothing to convert to) | Pause and prompts before unlocking; limited unlocks per day; lock mode; password-protected settings | Free where Opal's free plan is one rule; friction-first rather than session-first |
| Brick | App free; device $59; "No subscriptions or monthly fees" | No | Block and unblock by tapping the phone on the physical Brick; "five emergency unbricks" | One-time cost below Opal's annual; the off switch is a physical object you can leave at home |
| Apple Downtime | Free, built in | No | With Block at Downtime on, apps "can't be opened during downtime—they appear dimmed with an hourglass icon" (Apple's iOS 26 guide) | A hard window at no cost. Grey hourglass, no break, and Block at Downtime is only offered once a Screen Time passcode is set |
One Sec is deliberately not on this list because it is a pause rather than a block; if that is what you want, it is compared with its own alternatives in One Sec alternatives. The full eight-app table with the "survives deleting" and "minimum block" columns is in Best app blocker for ADHD on iPhone in 2026.
Two limits every alternative shares with Opal
Whatever you switch to, two Apple rules follow you.
- Adults can delete any blocker. Apple's Family Controls documentation says authorizing an app "prevents the child user from deleting the app that provides parental controls." That protection is for child users authorized by a parent; an adult's phone keeps the delete button. The setting that removes it is Screen Time › Content & Privacy Restrictions › iTunes & App Store Purchases › Deleting Apps › Don't Allow, with the passcode held by someone else. Path and wording in Deleting the app bypasses your blocker.
- No block shorter than 15 minutes. Apple's Device Activity framework rejects too-short intervals with the documented
intervalTooShorterror. On an iPhone 14 running iOS 26.5, on 2026-08-09, we measured 5- and 10-minute schedules rejected and 15 and 20 minutes accepted. Opal's "set a timer" break and any competitor's break are bound by the same floor for the parts that are real shields.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Opal cost per year?
On Opal's pricing page, checked 2026-09-12, Opal Pro is $99.99 billed annually (shown as $8.29 a month), $19.99 a month, or $399 as a one-time lifetime purchase. The annual plan starts with a free week and the monthly plan with 3 free days, both of which convert to the paid plan. The US App Store listing also shows a $4.99 weekly plan and student pricing.
Is there a free version of Opal?
Yes. Opal's pricing page lists a free plan at $0 a month with one rule (a schedule, time limit or open limit), basic timers and soundscapes, app blocking, and the Opal Score for today only. Hard Mode, unlimited rules, Allow Only and score history are Pro.
Which Opal alternative has no free trial that converts?
Three on this list. ScreenZen is free with optional tips, so there is nothing to convert to. Brick is a $59 physical device with a free app and no subscription. Unbudge is free for 3 apps and 1 schedule and states on its site that it runs no weekly plan and no trial that turns into a charge; Pro is $29.99 a year or $3.99 a month.
Unbudge: why it has no trial
Unbudge's order is the reverse of a trial: block one app for 15 minutes, watch it hold, then decide. The free tier is not a countdown; it is 3 apps and 1 schedule for as long as you want, and "Continue free" stays on the payment screen. Pro is $29.99 a year or $3.99 a month, cancelled in iPhone Settings like any subscription. There is no weekly plan.
Unbudge
ADHD app blocker for iPhone. Schedules, 15-minute breaks that relock on their own, no free trial that turns into a charge
Free for 3 apps and 1 schedule · Pro $29.99/year or $3.99/month, no trial · No account, no ads, data stays on the phone · How Unbudge works
Related guides
- Best app blocker for ADHD on iPhone in 2026 — eight apps compared by their exits.
- One Sec alternatives — friction pause vs hard block.
- App blocker for ADHD: what actually works on iPhone — the honest checklist before you pay.
- Deleting the app bypasses your blocker. Here is the fix
Sources
All checked on 2026-09-12.
- Opal, pricing page — plans, prices, trials, feature split
- App Store, "Opal: Screen Time Control" — in-app purchase list, description
- App Store, "Jomo - Screen Time Blocker" and Jomo site
- App Store, "Freedom: Screen Time Control" and Freedom pricing page
- App Store, "ScreenZen- Screen Time Control" and ScreenZen site
- App Store, "Brick - Ditch Distractions" and Brick site
- App Store, "Unbudge: ADHD App Blocker" and Unbudge site
- Apple, iPhone User Guide (iOS 26), "Set schedules with Screen Time on iPhone" — Block at Downtime
- Apple Developer Documentation, "Family Controls"
- Apple Developer Documentation, "DeviceActivityCenter.MonitoringError" — intervalTooShort
- KANAU WORKS device log, iPhone 14 on iOS 26.5, 2026-08-09: schedules of 5 and 10 minutes rejected with intervalTooShort, 15 and 20 minutes accepted.