Spark vs Freedom
If your distraction lives on a laptop as much as a phone, Freedom is the better tool and this page will not pretend otherwise — it is the only product here that blocks Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android and Chromebook in a single synchronised session. Spark is phone-only, and it is different on the phone: the unlock needs a physical key rather than a Locked Mode you can end once every seven days, and the app has no subscription — the key is bought once.
Every figure below was read from Freedom’s own site or store listing on 2 Sept 2026. Prices change — check the source links before deciding. What this page says about Spark was last corrected on 13 Sept 2026.
Locked Mode, with an End Session once a week
A key left in another room, held to the phone to unlock
At a glance
Side by side
| Dimension | Freedom | Spark |
|---|---|---|
| Devices | Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, Chromebook | iOS 17+ and Android 12+ only — not in the app stores yet |
| Desktop blocking | Yes, first-class | No |
| Price | $8.99/mo, ~$39.99/yr, or $199 forever | Free app, no subscription; the key is a one-time purchase |
| What gates the unlock | Locked Mode — a software state | Holding the phone against a key you left elsewhere |
| Escape hatch | End Session once every 7 days | 5 emergency unlocks for life; hidden in Strict mode |
| Account | Yes — sessions run across signed-in devices | Yes — to pair the key; settings sync to Spark's servers |
| Free tier | 2-hour sessions, no Locked Mode | None — the app is free, but locks nothing until a Spark is paired |
Freedom
How Freedom works
Freedom is a cross-platform app and website blocker that syncs one blocking session across Mac, Windows, iOS, Android and Chromebook simultaneously.
Sessions are orchestrated server-side and propagate to every signed-in device. On desktop a background app blocks websites and applications. On iOS it uses Apple's Screen Time controls for apps and a local VPN profile for system-wide website filtering. Locked Mode prevents editing the blocklist or logging out during a session.
Platforms
macOS 11+, Windows 7+, iOS 16.1+, Android 5.1+, Chromebook and Linux via browser extension, plus extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Opera.
Pricing
Free tier with real limits. Premium is $8.99 a month, or a yearly plan listed at $3.33 a month with a 7-day trial (the App Store lists the annual charge at $39.99). Freedom Forever is a one-time licence with a list price of $199, frequently discounted.
How hard it is to get around
Moderate. Locked Mode is a real commitment device — it survives quitting the app, cannot be disabled mid-session, and support refuses to override it — but it is bounded by a once-every-seven-days End Session escape and a one-minute grace window, and it must be armed on each device separately. Freedom's own documentation notes that on iOS, revoking its Screen Time permission in Settings defeats app blocking unless an Apple passcode is set.
The difference that matters
Breadth versus depth, and they are not competing for the same job
Freedom's advantage is genuine and hard to replicate: closing the laptop and picking up the phone does not defeat it, because the same session is running on both. For a knowledge worker whose main leak is browser tabs at 3pm, that is the whole problem solved, and no phone-only product can match it.
The trade is in how the lock is held. Locked Mode is stubborn, but it has a documented weekly release and has to be armed per device — a device you forgot is a device you can edit from.
Spark does one surface and makes the unlock physical there. If your problem is genuinely spread across screens, buy Freedom. If your problem is the phone in your hand at 11pm, the question is what gates the unlock, and a key in another room gates it differently from a setting — with nothing to renew, and one payment for the key rather than a monthly one. Both need an account: Freedom to run sessions across your devices, Spark to pair the key and sync your settings to its servers.
To be fair
When Freedom is the better choice
Freedom is the only product here that genuinely blocks everywhere at once — one session applies simultaneously to Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android and Chromebook — and on iOS it correctly combines Screen Time for apps with a local VPN for system-wide website filtering, the widest enforcement surface of anything in this comparison.
Choose Freedom if
- Your distraction is not confined to one device, and especially if you work on a computer all day.
- You need real desktop application and website blocking, not just phone blocking.
- You want scheduled recurring focus routines that run themselves across every screen you own.
- You need Chromebook or Linux coverage.
Documented limitations
- The free tier allows no session longer than 2 hours, no recurring or scheduled sessions and no Locked Mode.
- Locked Mode has a once-every-seven-days End Session escape plus a one-minute grace window at the start.
- Locked Mode must be enabled separately on each device.
- On iOS, revoking Freedom's Screen Time permission in Settings defeats app blocking unless an Apple passcode is set — as it does for any Screen Time–based blocker, Spark included.
- Blocking depends on their servers reaching each device.
Sources
Questions
Freedom, answered
Does Freedom block apps on a computer?
Yes. Desktop application and website blocking on Mac and Windows is one of its main strengths, and no phone-only product offers an equivalent.
Can you get out of Freedom's Locked Mode?
It cannot be disabled during a session and support will not end it for you, but there is a documented End Session option usable once every seven days, plus a one-minute grace window at the start of a locked session.
Should I use Freedom or a physical key?
Both, if your problem spans devices. Freedom for the laptop, a key for the phone. They are not mutually exclusive, and layered friction beats one wall.
Read next
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Read the comparisonFacts checked 2 Sept 2026 · Spark’s side corrected 13 Sept 2026
Locking is one tap. Unlocking costs you a walk.
No subscription. Buy a Spark once and sign in to pair it; after that, locking is one tap, even offline. Unlocking means fetching the key and holding your phone against it — which turns a bad moment into a walk.