HomeBlogLockdown vs Spark: no early exit, or no switch on the phone
Lockdown vs Spark: no early exit, or no switch on the phone
Lockdown holds an iPhone block until the timer ends, for $24.99 a year. Spark moves the unlock off the phone for one payment. When each is right.
ComparisonPublished 6 min read
Disclosure: we make Spark. Lockdown's figures come from its App Store listing, read on 23 September 2026, where it had a 3.9 rating from 7 ratings — a new app, like ours.
Timer versus object
A timer and a physical key fail in opposite directions. A timer you cannot end is brilliant for a two-hour exam block, and useless when something genuinely urgent happens — you wait. A key can be fetched whenever you accept the cost, which means it never traps you, and it also means a determined 11 p.m. version of you can fetch it. Pick the failure you can live with.
| Lockdown | Spark | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free; premium $4.99/month or $24.99/year | One payment from ₹999 + GST |
| Platform | iPhone, iOS 17+ | iPhone iOS 17+, Android 12+ |
| Ending a block early | Not possible while the timer runs | Fetch the key; or five emergency unlocks for life |
| If you need the phone urgently | You wait | You walk |
| Anything to carry | No | Yes, deliberately |
Common questions
Is a blocker with no early exit safe?
It depends what you block. Keep calls, messages and maps out of any blocklist, on any product. A block that can trap you away from a phone call is not stricter, it is dangerous.
Which is cheaper over time?
Lockdown is free unless you want premium; at $24.99 a year it passes the price of a Spark key in the second year. Neither is expensive next to the hours involved.
Sources
- Lockdown: Block Apps & Focus — Free with $4.99 monthly or $24.99 annual premium; iOS 17+; “no early exit” during a block
The rest of the argument
Each post stands alone. If you would rather have instructions than opinions, the guides are the maintained layer.
The best app blockers in 2026, ranked by how hard they are to bypass
One ranking axis: what it takes to get back in. Physical keys, software strict modes and gentle nudges, with what each actually enforces.
11 min readComparison · 23 Sept 2026Forest vs Spark: a tree that dies, or a key you fetch
Forest is a focus timer with a Give Up button. Spark is a lock with a physical unlock. They solve different halves of the same problem.
6 min readPut the unlock in another room.
Once your Spark is paired, locking is one tap and works with Bluetooth off. Unlocking means walking to the key and holding your phone against it — which is the whole difference between deciding to stop and having to stand up. The app is free; the key is the one-time buy.