Checked September 2026
What app blockers cost.
A year of the best-known screen-time apps, cheapest first. Every price links to where it came from — and prices change, so check before you buy.
Screen Time / Digital Wellbeing
Free
Built into iPhone and Android
Limits end with a button on your own screen unless someone else sets the passcode. Apple Support
one sec
About $19.99 / yr
Friction: a pause before an app opens
Free for one app. A 2023 PNAS study found 57% fewer app openings after six weeks. Blok review
Jomo
$29.99 / yr
Blocking sessions and limits
Student plan $14.99 a year; lifetime $99.99. No monthly plan. jomo.so/pricing
Freedom
$3.33 / mo, billed yearly
Blocking across phone and computer
About $40 a year; $8.99 month to month. freedom.to/pricing
ClearSpace
$44.99–79.99 / yr
Friction: an effort before an app opens
The range spans its premium plans. Screen Time Index
Second Key
$59.99 / yr
Blocking; a partner approves early unlocks
$19 a year for waiting-list members. Pro for two $89.99 a year; holding a key is always free. Second Key facts
Opal
About $99.99 / yr
Blocking sessions and focus analytics
Deep Focus sessions can’t be ended early; normal sessions can be ended any time. Blok review
Covenant Eyes
$198 / yr
Accountability: a partner sees reports
Built around a partner who reviews reports of your activity. Obex review
| App | Price | What it does | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screen Time / Digital Wellbeing | Free | Built into iPhone and Android | Limits end with a button on your own screen unless someone else sets the passcode. Apple Support |
| one sec | About $19.99 / yr | Friction: a pause before an app opens | Free for one app. A 2023 PNAS study found 57% fewer app openings after six weeks. Blok review |
| Jomo | $29.99 / yr | Blocking sessions and limits | Student plan $14.99 a year; lifetime $99.99. No monthly plan. jomo.so/pricing |
| Freedom | $3.33 / mo, billed yearly | Blocking across phone and computer | About $40 a year; $8.99 month to month. freedom.to/pricing |
| ClearSpace | $44.99–79.99 / yr | Friction: an effort before an app opens | The range spans its premium plans. Screen Time Index |
| Second Key | $59.99 / yr | Blocking; a partner approves early unlocks | $19 a year for waiting-list members. Pro for two $89.99 a year; holding a key is always free. Second Key facts |
| Opal | About $99.99 / yr | Blocking sessions and focus analytics | Deep Focus sessions can’t be ended early; normal sessions can be ended any time. Blok review |
| Covenant Eyes | $198 / yr | Accountability: a partner sees reports | Built around a partner who reviews reports of your activity. Obex review |
What the price buys.
The cheaper end is mostly friction — a pause, a breath, an effort — after which you can still open the app. The expensive end is mostly about who can end a block: nobody, as with Opal’s Deep Focus, or another person, as with Covenant Eyes’ reports. Second Key sits between them on price and gives the early exit to someone you choose.
Questions.
- How much does Opal cost?
- About $99.99 a year for Opal Pro, according to independent reviews checked in September 2026.
- What’s the cheapest app blocker?
- Apple’s Screen Time and Android’s Digital Wellbeing are free and built in. Among paid apps, one sec (about $19.99 a year) and Jomo ($29.99 a year) are at the low end.
- Why do app blockers cost so much?
- Most earn from a small number of paying users, so they charge for a subscription rather than showing ads. Blockers that are hard to switch off tend to charge the most, because that is the part people pay for.
Prices are for one person, in US dollars, as published or reported in September 2026. Spotted one that’s changed? Tell us at hello@secondkey.link.