Spark vs Cold Turkey
These two barely compete: Cold Turkey is Windows and macOS only and does nothing about a phone, while Spark is phone only. If your distraction happens on a computer, Cold Turkey has the strongest locks anyone sells and it is a one-time purchase. If it happens on a phone, Cold Turkey cannot help you at all, and the vendor says so.
Every figure below was read from Cold Turkey’s own site or store listing on 24 Jul 2026. Prices change — check the source links before deciding.
At a glance
Side by side
| Dimension | Cold Turkey | Spark |
|---|---|---|
| Devices | Windows and macOS only | iOS and Android only |
| Phone blocking | None | Yes |
| Price | ~$45 one-time, localised | Free app; the key is a one-time purchase |
| Subscription | None | None |
| Hardest lock | Restart, 40-day delay, 5,000-character retype | The key is in another room |
| Escape hatch | None in locked modes | 5 lifetime emergency unlocks |
| Data storage | Local | Local — blocking needs no account |
Cold Turkey
How Cold Turkey works
Cold Turkey is a Windows and macOS website and application blocker sold as a one-time purchase with no subscription.
A native desktop app plus browser extensions. You build blocklists and app blocks, then optionally lock them with mechanisms that can be combined: a timer, retyping up to 5,000 random characters, a delay countdown of up to 40 days, a required restart, or a password held by someone else. Block Strictness closes known workarounds — blocking the task manager, the system clock, and macOS Screen Time settings.
Platforms
Windows and macOS only. The vendor states plainly that Linux, ChromeOS, Android and iOS are not supported, and that mobile devices are not supported because of OS limitations.
Pricing
One-time purchase, no subscription, with free lifetime updates. Around $45 USD for Blocker Pro, though the price is localised by country. A free tier covers website blocking, exceptions, timed blocks and statistics; a 7-day trial of Pro features is available in-app. 30-day refund guarantee.
How hard it is to get around
The hardest of anything here on desktop, and the only one whose strict modes have no built-in weekly escape. A locked block cannot be ended early — no emergency pass, no support override. The residual weaknesses are structural: website blocking relies on browser extensions, and a determined user with a second device is unconstrained. There is a 10-minute break available in exchange for a charity donation, which can be disabled.
The difference that matters
Different screens, same principle
Cold Turkey is the clearest proof in this whole category that the principle works. Its strongest locks — reboot the machine, wait out a 40-day countdown, retype 5,000 random characters — are effective precisely because they cost something the impatient version of you cannot spend. That is the same idea as leaving a key in another room, implemented in software on a machine where the OS permits it.
The limitation is not the design, it is the platform. Phones do not let an app impose a reboot requirement or block the settings screen the way a desktop does, and Cold Turkey does not try — they state outright that mobile is unsupported.
So the honest answer is that these are complements, not competitors. If both your laptop and your phone are problems, Cold Turkey on the laptop and a key for the phone is a better combination than either alone. Both are bought once: Cold Turkey's licence is a one-time payment, and Spark's app is free with the key sold on its own, in rupees with a GST invoice, no subscription on either side.
To be fair
When Cold Turkey is the better choice
Cold Turkey has the strongest and most creative lock mechanics of any consumer blocker, it charges once and never again with free lifetime updates, it stores data locally rather than in a vendor cloud, and its Block Strictness panel explicitly hunts down the classic workarounds — task manager, system clock, macOS Screen Time settings, inactive tabs and embedded video.
Choose Cold Turkey if
- Your distraction happens on a computer. Nothing here competes with it there.
- You want the hardest possible lock for a single one-time payment.
- You are done with subscriptions and want usage statistics stored locally.
- You need granular desktop control — a specific subreddit, a YouTube channel, a search keyword, a folder of games.
Documented limitations
- Desktop only — no iOS, Android, Linux or ChromeOS support at all, so it does nothing about phone use.
- Website blocking depends on browser extensions being present in each browser.
- No cross-device syncing; each computer is configured separately.
- The free version is limited to website blocking, exceptions, timed blocks and statistics.
Sources: getcoldturkey.com · getcoldturkey.com
Questions
Cold Turkey, answered
Does Cold Turkey work on iPhone or Android?
No. The vendor states that mobile devices are not supported because of operating-system limitations, and that a licence covers Windows and macOS only.
What is the strongest app blocker?
It depends on the screen. On a desktop, Cold Turkey's locked modes are the hardest thing sold to consumers. On a phone, no software lock is absolute, so the strongest available approach is to make the unlock depend on a physical object you can leave elsewhere.
Compare something else
The other six
Spark vs Brick
Brick is a $59 NFC device that blocks distracting apps. Spark is a free app plus a Bluetooth key. The real differences, and when Brick is better.
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Unpluq's Tag needs a Premium subscription to work at all. Spark's app is free and the key is bought once. What each enforces, and when Unpluq fits better.
Read the comparisonfoqos alternativeSpark vs Foqos
Foqos is a free open-source iPhone blocker that works with any NFC tag. Where it genuinely wins, where a Bluetooth key differs, and who should pick which.
Read the comparisonopal alternativeSpark vs Opal
Opal is a polished screen-time app for iPhone at $99.99 a year. Where its hard block is hard, where it is soft, and when it is the better choice.
Read the comparisonfreedom app alternativeSpark vs Freedom
Freedom blocks across Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android in one session. If your problem is a laptop, it wins. If it is a phone, the comparison changes.
Read the comparisonscreen time not workingSpark vs Apple Screen Time
Screen Time is free, built in, and enough for a lot of people. Here is exactly why it fails when you administer it yourself, and the two ways to fix that.
Read the comparisonFacts checked 24 Jul 2026
Locking is free. Unlocking costs you a walk.
Blocking has no subscription and needs no account — one tap, offline, with Bluetooth switched off. The key is the only thing you buy, and it is the only thing standing between a bad moment and your feed.