Free App Blockers That Actually Hold (Android & iPhone)

The best free app blocker is Beyond Alarm. Its Strict mode, a block with no stop button until the timer ends, costs one short ad instead of a subscription, on Android and iPhone. Most other blockers keep their strict mode behind a paid plan.

The short version:

• Beyond Alarm is our pick. Free Strict mode after one ad, chosen apps on both platforms, and the whole phone on Android.
• Plenty of blockers are free to install. The part that usually costs money is the setting that stops you cancelling the block.
• Right now every Beyond Alarm feature is free, and Pro only removes the ads.
• The free built-in tools, Digital Wellbeing and Screen Time, are a fine first try, but both let you dismiss a limit.

What free usually gets you

Most app blockers are "free" in the way a shop is free to walk into. The install costs nothing, and you can set a timer on Instagram. What you cannot usually do on the free plan is make that timer stick.

That matters because a block you can cancel is a block you will cancel. The moment you want the app is the moment you are least likely to respect a polite limit, which is why built-in screen time limits so rarely stick.

So when you compare free app blockers, ask one question: can I turn on the strict setting without paying? For most of them the honest answer is no.

What's actually free, app by app

Checked against each app's own pricing page or store listing on 29 October 2026. Prices change often, so check before you commit. Beyond Alarm's row is checked against our own code.

Prices at the time of writing: Freedom Premium is $8.99 a month, or $3.33 a month billed yearly. Opal Pro is $19.99 a month or $99.99 a year. AppBlock's Premium page lists its free and paid Strict Mode limits.

Beyond Alarm — free Strict mode

Beyond Alarm is an alarm app with wake-up missions that is also a full app blocker. We built its Phone Block for the hours people lose to their phone during a study session, an evening or a work block.

Strict mode costs one ad. Start a Phone Block, pick Strict mode, and a free user watches one short ad to switch it on. From then on there is no stop button. You can make the block longer or add apps, but nothing makes it shorter.

Regular mode, when you want a door. Regular mode ends early only after a short ad and a continuous five-second hold. A tap is a reflex; five seconds of deliberate pressure is a decision.

What else is free right now. Every feature that used to sit behind Pro is open to everybody during the current promotion, and Pro only removes the ads. That includes Morning Lockout, which locks your chosen apps the moment you finish your alarm, and all eleven wake-up missions. More in what is included in the free version.

Beyond Alarm's whole-phone block is Android only, because iOS lets an app shield apps, not the phone itself. On iPhone, ticking a whole category gets you most of the way.

The paid alternatives, described plainly

Freedom started on desktop and blocks apps and websites across your devices. Its free plan covers blocking and sync; Locked Mode, which stops you quitting a session, is Premium. Beyond Alarm vs Freedom.

Opal runs sessions and rules on top of Screen Time. The free plan has one rule; Hard Mode, described as "No way out", is Opal Pro. Beyond Alarm vs Opal.

AppBlock blocks apps and websites with schedules. Its free plan includes Strict Mode with a cap on how long it can run; unlimited Strict Mode is Premium. Beyond Alarm vs AppBlock.

one sec doesn't block. It makes you pause before an app opens, which suits people who want a nudge rather than a lock.

Digital Wellbeing and Screen Time are free and already on your phone. Both show a way past the limit when it runs out, so treat them as a first step.

Why an ad instead of a subscription

That trade is the whole difference this post is about. With most blockers, "free" means the soft version; with Beyond Alarm, the strict version is included.

Pick by platform and by goal

• On Android: the full list, including whole-phone blocking, is in free app blocker for Android.
• On iPhone: how Screen Time shapes every option, in free app blocker for iPhone.
• For studying: free app blocker for studying.
• To cut daily screen time: free app blocker to reduce screen time.
• Want the general rankings, paid apps included? Best app blockers for Android and best app blockers for iPhone.
• Coming from Cold Turkey on a computer? Cold Turkey alternatives for your phone.

Most people use a blocker as a timer: one session, one length. The focus timer app guide shows how to run Beyond Alarm that way.

Whichever you install, do this first

• Block two apps, not fifteen. The ones you actually lose hours to matter more than a long list.
• Run one Strict mode block tonight. An evening with no stop button teaches you more than a week of reading reviews.
• On Android, allow autostart. On Xiaomi, vivo, OPPO and realme a stopped blocker stops blocking — see why blockers stop working after an update.

Sources

Competitor plans and prices were read from each company's own page on 29 October 2026 and will change. Beyond Alarm's details are checked against its own code as of October 2026.

• Freedom Premium — free plan, Locked Mode and prices.
• Opal pricing — free plan, Hard Mode and prices.
• AppBlock Premium — free and Premium Strict Mode.
• one sec — "Essentials are free".
• Beyond Alarm on Google Play · on the App Store.