Spark vs Unpluq
Unpluq and Spark both put a physical object between you and a distracting app, but they are built on opposite economics and opposite philosophies. The Unpluq Tag only functions with a paid Premium subscription, and its model is friction-then-access: pass a barrier and you are through. Spark's app is free with no subscription and the key is a one-time purchase, and its model is that unlocking requires the key to be present, not that it requires an effort.
Every figure below was read from Unpluq’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 | Unpluq | Spark |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Mandatory — Tag is inert without it | None — the app is free |
| Hardware | $26.50 Tag (NFC), useless alone | Bluetooth key, sold separately — one-time purchase |
| Model | Friction — pass a barrier, then access | Presence — the key must be nearby |
| Free tier | 2 apps, 1 schedule | The app is free outright, no account needed |
| Blocking style | Scheduled, always-on | Session-based, locked in one tap |
| Works offline | Not verified | Yes — locking and unlocking are local |
| Family product | Yes | No |
Unpluq
How Unpluq works
Unpluq is a patented NFC keyfob that acts as a physical barrier for a scheduled app blocker, and which only works while you hold a paid Unpluq Premium subscription.
You set schedules for when chosen apps are blocked. To open a blocked app during a block you pass a barrier — tapping the Tag, or a digital alternative such as shaking the phone for five seconds, tapping seven buttons, scanning a QR code, or walking on Android. The model is friction, not lockout.
Platforms
iPhone 8 and later, and Android devices with NFC. The app requires iOS 16.0 or later. iPads are not supported.
Pricing
A subscription is mandatory — the Tag does not function without Unpluq Premium. Prepaid terms bought on their site run $29.00 for 3 months, $47.00 for 6 months with the Tag, and $82.00 for 12 months with the Tag. Subscribing inside the app costs more: $6.99 per month or $59.99 per year. The Tag alone is $26.50 and is inert without a subscription. A free tier blocks your two most distracting apps on one schedule.
How hard it is to get around
Deliberately soft, because the philosophy is friction rather than lockout. There is a lost-tag mode limited to five uses for the lifetime of the account, and an emergency mode that grants full access for five minutes — during which you can change your barrier type, so emergency mode can be used to permanently downgrade your own barrier. Several digital barriers are trivially repeatable.
The difference that matters
A barrier you can pass versus a key you must fetch
Unpluq's design assumes that a moment of deliberate effort is enough: shake the phone, tap the tag, scan the code, and you are through. For a lot of people that is exactly right, and it has the pleasant property that you are never actually stuck.
Spark assumes the opposite — that any effort you can perform where you are sitting will eventually be performed. So the requirement is not effort, it is presence: the key has to be within Bluetooth range, and if you left it in the kitchen the only route through is walking to the kitchen.
The subscription difference follows from that. Unpluq's Tag is a credential for a service, so it stops working when the service does. Spark's key is a credential your phone checks locally, so blocking keeps working with no account, no network and nothing to renew. You buy the key once, in rupees with a GST invoice; there is no term to expire and nothing that can be switched off remotely.
To be fair
When Unpluq is the better choice
Unpluq is the most behaviourally sophisticated option in this category. It has a genuine free tier, a real range of barriers so the system degrades gracefully when you forget the tag rather than trapping you, per-time-window schedules, contact whitelisting so important people can still reach you, and a separate family product — depth of blocking policy the pure hardware products do not attempt.
Choose Unpluq if
- You want scheduled, always-on blocking rather than session-based blocking.
- You need a fallback for the times you genuinely do not have the key — if you are a parent on call or you travel, a hard lockout is a risk rather than a useful constraint.
- You need contact whitelisting so specific people can always reach you.
- You need a family or parental-control product, which we do not offer.
Documented limitations
- The subscription is mandatory: the $26.50 Tag does nothing without Premium.
- Subscribing in-app costs materially more than the prepaid terms on their site.
- The free tier is capped at two apps and one schedule.
- Emergency mode grants five minutes of full access during which the barrier type itself can be changed.
- iPads are not supported.
Sources: www.unpluq.com · www.unpluq.com
Questions
Unpluq, answered
Does the Unpluq Tag work without a subscription?
No. Unpluq's own FAQ states the Tag only works with Unpluq Premium, so the standalone Tag is inert on its own.
Is there a free alternative to Unpluq?
Spark's app is free with no subscription — the key is the only thing you buy, once — and Foqos is a free open-source iPhone app that works with commodity NFC tags. Unpluq's own free tier covers two apps on one schedule.
What is the difference between a barrier and a key?
A barrier is an effort — shake, tap, scan — that you can perform wherever you are. A key is a presence requirement: the object has to be in the room. Barriers are more forgiving; presence is harder to talk yourself past.
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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.