Compare iPhone blockers
Bail vs the rest.
Most blockers either cost money to get strict, or can be switched off when you're weakest. Here's how the popular ones actually compare, side by side.
Compare iPhone blockers
Most blockers either cost money to get strict, or can be switched off when you're weakest. Here's how the popular ones actually compare, side by side.
Side by side
Prices are the cheapest way to get each app's strictest mode.
| Bail | Opal | Brick | ScreenZen | one sec | Freedom | Bloom | Foqos | WaitToUnlock | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to get strict | Freeevery feature, no in-app purchases | $99.99 a yearstrict Hard Mode is Pro only | $59 devicebefore you can block anything | Freeoptional tips | $19.99 a yearfree covers just 1 app | $39.99 a yearLocked Mode is Premium only | ~$39 card†to buy and carry | Free appbut you buy the NFC tags yourself | $39.99to wait longer than 1 hour |
| How it blocks | Screen Time, plus a passcode nobody knows | Screen Time | Tap a puck you have to carry | A delay screen, not a blockwait, and the app opens | A breathing pause you tap through | Screen Time | Tap an NFC card + Screen Time | Tap an NFC tag or scan a QR codethat you program and set up yourself | A website, not a blockeryou set every Screen Time limit by hand |
| Can you switch it off? | Noonce the lock is set up: Screen Time asks for a passcode nobody has | Only in Hard Modeand that's behind the paywall | Only with Strict Mode on† | Lock mode only “helps prevent” uninstalling | No protection documented | Locked Mode only “makes it harder”and it's Premium | Strict mode only stops deletingnothing documented for Settings | No protection documented | Locked by the passcode |
| Ending a session early | 3 pardons a montheach after a 15-minute wait you can cancel | Sit out the Waiting Roomthe delay is the lock | 5 emergency unbricksthen you email support† | Just wait out the delay | Tap through the pause | Easier without Locked Mode | 3 emergency exits, plus 1 a month | Your own tag unlocks itkeep it nearby and it's no lock | Wait for their timerthen they reveal your passcode |
| Data linked to you | Nothingno account, nothing leaves your phone | Email, identifiers, usage, purchasesidentifiers used to track you | Email, identifiers, usage | None linked to you | None linked to you | Emailidentifiers used to track you | Email, phone, usage | None linked to you | Email accountyour encrypted passcode is stored on their server |
| Extra to buy or set up | Nothing | A subscription | A device to keep, carry and not lose | Nothing | A subscription for more than 1 app | A subscription | A card to keep, carry and not lose | NFC tags, bought and set up by you | An account |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, Android, Mac | iPhone, Android | iPhone, Android, Mac, Windows† | iPhone, Android† | iPhone, Android, Mac, Windows, Chromebook | iPhone, Android | iPhone only | iPhone, via a website |
| App Store rating | New | 4.790,031 ratings | 4.9557,736 ratings | 4.8651,957 ratings | 4.8323,723 ratings | 4.456,006 ratings | 4.83,429 ratings | 4.925,414 ratings | No app |
US prices and App Store ratings, read from each company's website and App Store page on 19 October 2026; they change. "Stops you switching it off" describes what each company says its strict mode does, not our own testing. † From third-party reviews, not the company's own pages. Trademarks belong to their owners; Bail isn't affiliated with any of them.
What people complain about
The modes that are hard to escape are often paid: Opal's Hard Mode needs Pro, Freedom's Locked Mode needs Premium.
Bail: everything is free, including the strictest part.
Blockers run on Screen Time, and whoever knows the Screen Time passcode can revoke them in Settings.
Bail: helps you set a Screen Time passcode nobody knows.
Trials that roll into a yearly charge are a recurring theme in reviews of paid blockers.
Bail: no subscription, no in-app purchases, nothing to cancel.
Some blockers have no override at all; others give a handful of unlocks, ever.
Bail: three pardons every month, each behind a 15-minute wait.
Honestly
Bail is coming to the App Store.