Spark vs Opal
Opal is the most polished of the software blockers compared here, and it costs $99.99 a year. Its strictest mode is Pro-only and still includes an Emergency Pass usable once a week that cancels every running block instantly — because everything it enforces rests on a permission you granted and can revoke. Spark's app is free with no subscription, the key is a single payment rather than a renewing term, and the unlock depends on that physical key rather than on a decision you make in the moment.
Every figure below was read from Opal’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 | Opal | Spark |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $99.99/yr, $19.99/mo, or $399 lifetime | Free app, no subscription; the key is a one-time purchase |
| Platforms | iPhone, Mac, Android | iOS and Android |
| What gates the unlock | A setting you control | A key that must be in the room |
| Escape hatch | Emergency Pass, once a week, cancels everything | 5 lifetime emergency unlocks |
| Hard block available? | Pro only, and still weekly-escapable | Yes, by default |
| Analytics | Extensive — Focus Score, reports, streaks | Basic |
| Needs a second person? | For a true hard block, yes | No |
Opal
How Opal works
Opal is a freemium screen-time and app-blocking app built on Apple's Screen Time API, available for iPhone, Mac and Android, sold as a subscription with an optional lifetime tier.
Opal holds Screen Time permission and applies shields to apps and domains you select, via timed Sessions, daily Time Limits and per-app Open Limits. Each has a difficulty setting, the strictest of which is Pro-only and cannot be broken early — except with an Emergency Pass, usable once a week, which cancels everything running.
Platforms
iPhone (iOS 18.0+), macOS 13+, and Android.
Pricing
Free tier with 1 rule. Pro is $99.99 a year, or $19.99 a month, or $399 as a one-time lifetime purchase. Students get up to 50% off. A 30-day money-back guarantee applies to purchases made through their site, not through the App Store.
How hard it is to get around
Moderate on its own. You can revoke Opal's Screen Time permission in iOS Settings, or burn the weekly Emergency Pass. The genuinely hard layer is Apple's own Lock Screen Time Settings passcode — which Opal's documentation recommends having a trusted person set, since knowing the code defeats it.
The difference that matters
Opal's own advice is the argument for a physical key
The most interesting thing in Opal's documentation is their recommendation for people who need a genuinely hard block: have a friend or family member set the Apple Screen Time passcode so you do not know it. That is sound advice, and it concedes the structural point — software running on a phone you administer cannot hold a line against you without someone else holding a credential.
A physical key is the same idea with the social cost removed. Instead of asking another person to hold a secret and be available whenever you need it changed, you leave an object in another room. Nobody has to be involved, nothing has to be negotiated, and the credential cannot be talked out of you.
That is the whole comparison. On features, analytics and polish, Opal is ahead, and it would be silly to claim otherwise. On the specific question of whether the block survives a bad Tuesday without recruiting a friend, a key in the hallway is a different category of answer — and it is bought once rather than renewed every year.
To be fair
When Opal is the better choice
Of the products compared here, Opal is the most polished on iPhone and goes deeper into Apple's Screen Time API than almost anyone — allow lists, per-app daily limits, per-app open limits, Focus Filter and Shortcuts integration, plus genuinely good analytics that make people want to open the app.
Choose Opal if
- You are iPhone-first and want a beautiful daily-driver app with real analytics, streaks and per-app open limits that go well beyond on/off blocking.
- You refuse to carry an extra physical object. That is a legitimate preference and no key-based product will satisfy it.
- You want deep Apple-ecosystem automation through Shortcuts and Focus Filters.
- You are willing to hand your phone to someone you trust to set the Screen Time passcode, which gets Opal close to a true hard block with no hardware.
Documented limitations
- The strict mode is Pro-only and still ships with a once-a-week Emergency Pass that cancels every running block.
- Everything rests on a Screen Time permission you granted, which you can revoke in Settings unless a separate Apple passcode is set by someone else.
- Data and Screen Time do not sync between devices; each device is independent.
- $99.99 a year, $19.99 a month, or $399 lifetime — the most expensive option in this comparison set.
Sources: www.opal.so · apps.apple.com
Questions
Opal, answered
Is there a free alternative to Opal?
Spark's app is free with no subscription — the key is the only thing you ever pay for, and only once. On iPhone, Foqos is free and open source. Apple's built-in Screen Time is also free, and worth exhausting before paying for anything.
Can you bypass Opal?
Yes, in two documented ways: revoke its Screen Time permission in iOS Settings, or use the Emergency Pass, which is available once a week and cancels all running blocks. Opal's own guidance is to have someone else set the Apple Screen Time passcode if you need a harder block.
Is Opal worth $99 a year?
If you value the analytics and the interface, and a weekly escape hatch is not the thing defeating you, it is a strong product. If you keep breaking blocks in the moment, more software features will not address the reason.
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.
Read the comparisonunpluq alternativeSpark vs Unpluq
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 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 comparisoncold turkey alternativeSpark vs Cold Turkey
Cold Turkey has the hardest locks in the category — reboot to unlock, 40-day delays — but it is desktop only. Where each one belongs.
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.