# AppBlock alternatives in 2026

AppBlock is the serious Android blocker. Profiles, schedules, and a strict mode that will not let you out. Here is what to use instead, depending on why you are leaving.

*Source: https://phonestop.app/alternatives/appblock · Last checked August 2026 · PhoneStop — A daily screen time budget that stops you. A free Android app.*

## Why people look for an alternative to AppBlock

AppBlock is the strongest pure blocker on Android. People still leave it, and
the reasons are consistent.

- **It is a configuration project.** Profiles, conditions, schedules, blocklists — it is powerful in the way a
  spreadsheet is powerful, and it wants an afternoon.
- **Strict Mode is all or nothing.** Either you can turn it off, in which case you will, or you cannot, in which
  case you are locked out of something you genuinely needed at some point.
- **The good parts are paid.**
- **It blocks apps, so it never tells you how much of the day you spent.** You can be inside your rules all day
  and still be on the phone for seven hours.

| App | Platforms | Price | At the limit |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| PhoneStop | Android | Free | A full-screen stop, a reset, then a one-tap lock |
| ScreenZen | iPhone, iPad, Android | Free, donation-supported | Shows a pause screen and can refuse the open once you pass your cap |
| StayFree | Android, iPhone, Chrome | Free with a premium tier | An overlay warning, and a block screen on the app you set a limit for |
| Digital Wellbeing | Android (built in) | Free | The icon greys out and a Time's up screen appears — with a button to dismiss it for the day |
| Freedom | iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, Windows, Chrome | Subscription, with a lifetime option (around $100) | Blocks the sites and apps on your list for the scheduled session |
| Brick | iPhone and Android (needs recent OS versions) | $59 one-time for the puck; the app is free | Your chosen apps are gone until you physically tap the phone on the puck |

## The alternatives

### 1. PhoneStop

*Android · Free*

Free, no configuration, and it measures the whole phone instead of policing a list. The full-screen stop is the enforcement.

### 2. ScreenZen

*iPhone, iPad, Android · Free, donation-supported*

Free and much lighter to set up: a pause screen and an open limit per app, without profiles.

[PhoneStop vs ScreenZen](https://phonestop.app/vs/screenzen)

### 3. StayFree

*Android, iPhone, Chrome · Free with a premium tier*

If you want to see the damage before you decide what to block — the best free Android tracking.

[PhoneStop vs StayFree](https://phonestop.app/vs/stayfree)

### 4. Digital Wellbeing

*Android (built in) · Free*

Free and already installed. Weaker, dismissible, and enough for a first week of honesty.

[PhoneStop vs Digital Wellbeing](https://phonestop.app/vs/digital-wellbeing)

### 5. Freedom

*iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, Windows, Chrome · Subscription, with a lifetime option (around $100)*

When the problem is not only the phone — one session locks the laptop as well.

[PhoneStop vs Freedom](https://phonestop.app/vs/freedom)

### 6. Brick

*iPhone and Android (needs recent OS versions) · $59 one-time for the puck; the app is free*

The physical version of Strict Mode: apps come back when you tap a puck you left in another room.

[PhoneStop vs Brick](https://phonestop.app/vs/brick)

![The PhoneStop over-limit takeover screen.](https://phonestop.app/assets/takeover-dark-640.411574cd.webp)

*The full-screen stop, 57 minutes over budget*

![The PhoneStop home screen: one ring, draining as you use the phone.](https://phonestop.app/assets/home-dark-640.a10347c8.webp)

*1h 20m left of a 3h budget*

*Disclosure: we make PhoneStop. Prices and platforms were checked in August 2026 and change often — check the vendor before you pay.*

**PhoneStop** is a free Android app: set a daily screen time budget, get warned before it runs out, get stopped when it does. https://phonestop.app/

## Questions people ask

### What is a simpler alternative to AppBlock?

ScreenZen, if you want per-app limits without profiles, and PhoneStop if you want no configuration at all — one number for the day and nothing else to decide.

### Is there an app blocker without an accessibility service?

For blocking websites, no. For everything else, PhoneStop uses usage access and an overlay instead, and Digital Wellbeing is part of the OS so it needs nothing granted.

## Keep reading

- [PhoneStop vs AppBlock](https://phonestop.app/vs/appblock)
- [Why blocking one app does not lower your screen time](https://phonestop.app/why-blocking-apps-does-not-work)
- [The best free screen time apps](https://phonestop.app/best/free-screen-time-apps)