Unpluq alternatives in 2026
Unpluq is a physical key for your distracting apps. The most deliberate unlock in the category, on a subscription. Here is what to use instead, depending on why you are leaving.
Why people look for an alternative to Unpluq
Unpluq's idea is sound and the execution is careful. The objections are almost entirely about cost and about where the tag ends up.
- You pay twice. Hardware first, then a subscription to keep the hardware working. Stop paying and the tag becomes a keyring ornament.
- The friction is wherever the tag is. In a drawer it is genuinely powerful. Clipped to the keys in your pocket, it is a two-second gesture, and two-second gestures stop registering after a fortnight.
- iPhone limits how many apps you can shield, so a large blocklist behaves differently across the two platforms.
- It is still a blocklist. Unpluq decides what opens. It has nothing to say about a four-hour evening spent in apps you never thought to block.
- One more object to lose, and it needs an account, which some people are specifically trying to avoid.
| App | Platforms | Price | At the limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| PhoneStop | Android | Free | A full-screen stop, a reset, then a one-tap lock |
| 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 |
| AppBlock | Android, iPhone | Usable free tier; premium by month, year or a one-time payment | Blocks the profile's apps and sites, and Strict Mode refuses to be turned off |
| ScreenZen | iPhone, iPad, Android | Free, donation-supported | Shows a pause screen and can refuse the open once you pass your cap |
| minimalist phone | Android (it is a launcher; iPhone does not allow them) | Seven-day trial, then a subscription or a one-time purchase (around $25 for lifetime) | Nothing by default — it changes what the phone looks like, not what it allows |
| Opal | iPhone and iPad (an Android build exists but trails the iOS app) | Free tier, subscription for the real features (around $100/year) | Blocks the apps in your session; Deep Focus makes the block hard to lift |
The alternatives
1. PhoneStop
Android · Free
The free software answer with no hardware at all: one daily budget, warnings at 60, 30 and 10 minutes, and a full-screen stop with a one-tap lock.
2. Brick
iPhone and Android (needs recent OS versions) · $59 one-time for the puck; the app is free
The other physical key, and the simpler one. $59 once, no subscription, all-or-nothing sessions.
3. AppBlock
Android, iPhone · Usable free tier; premium by month, year or a one-time payment
The software route to the same strictness: profiles, schedules, and a strict mode you cannot turn off in the moment.
4. ScreenZen
iPhone, iPad, Android · Free, donation-supported
Free, and soft where Unpluq is hard — a pause screen and open limits rather than a locked door.
5. minimalist phone
Android (it is a launcher; iPhone does not allow them) · Seven-day trial, then a subscription or a one-time purchase (around $25 for lifetime)
Attacks the reach instead of the app. A grey text-only home screen, so there is no icon pulling at you in the first place.
6. Opal
iPhone and iPad (an Android build exists but trails the iOS app) · Free tier, subscription for the real features (around $100/year)
The polished iPhone software option, where Deep Focus plays the part the tag plays here.
Disclosure: we make PhoneStop, so treat our own entry with the scepticism it deserves. Everything else here is written from public information and hands-on use; 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, and get stopped when it does.
Android. No account, no ads, no data leaves your phone. An iPhone version is coming soon.
Questions people ask
Is there a cheaper alternative to the Unpluq Tag?
A blank NFC tag costs a few pounds and can trigger a focus mode through your phone's own automation app. It is fiddlier, it is not supported by anyone, and it is most of the effect for a fraction of the price.
Unpluq or Brick — which is better?
Brick if you want whole-phone sessions and a one-time cost with no subscription. Unpluq if you want per-app rules, schedules and a software fallback for when the tag is not with you. Both depend entirely on you leaving the object somewhere inconvenient.