Looking for an Opal alternative? Stillock vs Opal, compared

If Opal's price is what puts you off, Stillock is a cheaper alternative for iPhone and iPad that keeps strict blocking. Stillock Pro costs $4.99 a month or $24.99 a year; Opal Pro costs $99.99 a year (checked November 5, 2026). Stillock needs no account and can keep a session locked until you scan an NFC tag. If you need Android or Mac, stay with Opal.

Disclosure: We make Stillock. Prices and features of other apps were checked on November 5, 2026 and link to their sources; tell us if something is out of date.

Where Opal is strong

Opal is a well-established app blocker, and it is fair to start with what it does well. All facts below were checked on November 5, 2026.

• A large user base. Opal's App Store listing shows 4.7 stars from about 91,000 ratings. That is one of the largest rating counts in the category.
• More than one platform. Opal runs on iPhone, Android and Mac (opalapp.com). Stillock is iPhone and iPad only.
• A mature product. Opal launched on Product Hunt in January 2021 and has since built a polished design, a help center, a community forum and a long library of guides. Its paid plan includes Hard Mode for sessions you can't turn off.
• Open about platform problems. Opal published a page on iOS 26 issues with Apple's Screen Time API, the framework every iPhone blocker relies on.
• A student discount. Opal's pricing page offers students up to 50% off.

If those things matter most to you, Opal is a sound choice, and its price is what you pay for them. For a wider overview of the category, see how iPhone app blockers work and how to choose one.

Opal vs Stillock: side-by-side comparison

The Opal column comes from Opal's pricing page and its US App Store listing, both checked on November 5, 2026. The prices are US prices and differ by country.

Sources: Opal pricing, Opal on the App Store, Stillock on the App Store.

The biggest gap is price. Over a year, Opal Pro costs $75 more than Stillock Pro. Paid monthly, Opal costs about four times as much ($19.99 against $4.99). Opal does offer something Stillock doesn't: a $399 lifetime plan. Its App Store listing also shows weekly plans at $4.99 and $9.99.

Opal's own users have raised the price. A thread called "Pricing is too High" on Opal's community forum has replies from April 2024 to February 2026. In June 2024, a member of the Opal team wrote that they are "not planning on bringing the price down" and pointed to other options. In January 2025, a user who liked the app wrote that "the pricing is hard to justify".

Free plan vs free plan

Both apps have a free tier, and they are built differently.

Opal's free plan includes one rule, according to its pricing page (checked November 5, 2026). Hard Mode and the rest of Opal Pro need a subscription.

Stillock's free version includes:

• unlimited focus sessions, from 5 minutes to 3 hours
• one block group of apps, categories and websites
• Pomodoro cycles with short breaks
• challenges, such as No-Scroll November
• your day streak
• one "5 more minutes" a day

Stillock Free does not include schedules, daily limits, strict mode or Tag to unlock. Those are in Pro. If you mainly want timed focus sessions, the free version covers that with no session cap. If you want a strict lock without paying anything, neither free plan gives you that, and Foqos (below) is the app to look at.

Strict modes: Opal Hard Mode vs Stillock strict mode

Opal's strict option is Hard Mode. Its pricing page lists it in the paid plan and describes it as a mode in which you can't turn Opal off (checked November 5, 2026).

Stillock has two layers, both in Pro:

• Strict mode: once a session starts, you cannot end it early in the app. It ends when the timer runs out.
• Tag to unlock: the only way to end a session early is to scan an NFC tag you registered, ideally one you keep in another room. Any ordinary NFC tag works. There is no proprietary hardware to buy.

Every session and schedule still ends on its own when its time is up, even if you lose your tag. For recurring blocks, strict schedules work the same way: they cannot be switched off or edited while they run. Our guide to NFC app blockers on iPhone covers tag setup step by step.

iPads have no NFC reader, so scanning a tag needs an iPhone. On an iPad the Tag to unlock switch is still shown, but no tag can be registered there, so a tag-locked session can only run on an iPhone.

Limitation: No iPhone app blocker can be made impossible to undo, and that includes Opal and Stillock. iOS always lets you turn off an app's Screen Time access in Settings or delete the app. Freedom's support documentation reports that since iOS 26.4, a Screen Time passcode, once set, is required to turn off Screen Time access for any third-party app (support.freedom.to). Read more in what an app blocker can and can't stop.

Privacy and accounts

Like every iPhone blocker, both apps block through Apple's Screen Time framework. They handle your data differently.

Stillock has no account, no servers, no analytics, no ads and no tracking. Its App Store privacy label reads "Data Not Collected". iOS hands the app the apps you choose as encrypted tokens, so neither Stillock nor its developer can see which apps you block. Purchases go through Apple.

Opal's App Store privacy label lists "Data Used to Track You: Identifiers", and it lists purchases, contact info, user content, identifiers and usage data as linked to you (checked November 5, 2026). Its pricing page opens with a prompt to sign in to your Opal account. We could not confirm whether the free plan requires an account, so we don't claim that it does.

A privacy label is the developer's own declaration to Apple. It tells you what is collected, not how carefully it is handled, but it is the most direct comparison you can make before you install.

Who should pick Opal and who should pick Stillock

Pick Opal if:

• you need the same blocker on Android or a Mac
• you want an app with years of history and a large community
• you are a student and the discount brings the price within reach
• you would rather pay once: Opal has a lifetime plan, Stillock doesn't

Pick Stillock if:

• you want strict blocking for $24.99 a year rather than $99.99
• you want an NFC tag in another room to be the only early exit
• you don't want an account, and you want a "Data Not Collected" label
• you use an iPad
• you want the app in a language Opal's listing doesn't include, such as Turkish, Arabic, Hindi or Korean

Stillock is free to download, and the yearly Pro plan starts with a 7-day free trial, so you can try strict mode and Tag to unlock before you pay.

Other Opal alternatives worth a look

Stillock is not the only option. These are the alternatives we would suggest to a friend, with facts checked on November 5, 2026.

• one sec: a pause, not a block. It shows a short breathing exercise before an app opens. Free covers one app; Pro is $6.99 a month, $19.99 a year or $99.99 lifetime. It has 4.8 stars from about 24,000 ratings and runs on iPad (App Store). See our one sec comparison.
• ScreenZen: free, with optional tips. It shows a delay screen before apps open, has 4.9 stars from about 53,000 ratings and runs on iPad (App Store).
• Foqos: free and open source. It unlocks with any NFC tag or a QR code, its label reads "Data Not Collected", and it has 4.9 stars from about 5,700 ratings (App Store, GitHub). It is iPhone only, English only and needs iOS 17.6 or later. Daily per-app limits and Pomodoro are not in its feature list on GitHub.
• Apple Screen Time: free and built into every iPhone. App Limits, Downtime and Content & Privacy Restrictions cover a lot, but "Ignore Limit" is always one tap away on your own limits. Our comparison of Stillock and Screen Time explains when Screen Time is enough.

FAQ

Is Opal free?

Opal has a free plan with one rule. Hard Mode and the other Pro features cost $19.99 a month, $99.99 a year or $399 lifetime in the US, according to Opal's pricing page on November 5, 2026.

What is a cheaper alternative to Opal?

Stillock Pro costs $4.99 a month or $24.99 a year in the US and includes strict mode and Tag to unlock. If you want to pay nothing, ScreenZen and Foqos are free, and Apple's Screen Time is built into every iPhone.

Does Stillock work on Android or Mac?

No. Stillock runs on iPhone and iPad with iOS 17 or iPadOS 17 or later. If you need Android or Mac, Opal covers those platforms.

Do I need an account to use Stillock?

No. Stillock has no account, no servers and no analytics, and its App Store privacy label reads "Data Not Collected". Purchases go through Apple.

Can I get around Stillock's strict mode?

Not from inside the app: a strict session can't be ended early, and with Tag to unlock the only early exit is scanning your tag. iOS still lets you turn off Stillock's Screen Time access in Settings or delete the app, as it does for every iPhone blocker.