# Brick vs Foqos

Both lock your apps behind an NFC tap. Brick sells you the puck for $59; Foqos is free and open source, and works with any cheap tag you already have.

*Source: https://phonestop.app/compare/brick-vs-foqos · Last checked September 2026 · PhoneStop — A daily screen time budget that stops you. A free Android app, on Google Play at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.phonestop.*

## The short version

**Choose Foqos if you are on iPhone and want this for nothing.** It is free, open
source, and does the same job as Brick using a cheap NFC tag or even a printed QR code. There is no
account and nothing leaves your phone.

**Choose Brick if you want a finished object and cross-platform support.** It is a designed puck, it works
on iPhone and Android, and for some people paying $59 for a single tidy device beats sourcing tags and
setting up open-source software.

If you are on iPhone and comfortable with a little setup, Foqos gives you Brick's mechanism for free.

| | Brick | Foqos |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Platforms | iPhone and Android (needs recent OS versions) | iPhone (uses Apple's Screen Time API) |
| Price | $59 one-time for the puck; the app is free | Free and open source |
| At the limit | Your chosen apps are gone until you physically tap the phone on the puck | Your blocked apps stay gone until you tap an NFC tag or scan a QR code to unlock |
| Warns before the limit | No | No |
| Enforcement | A passive NFC tag plus the OS blocking APIs | Apple's Screen Time API, flipped by a cheap NFC tag or a printable QR code |
| Blocks individual apps | Yes — the apps disappear entirely while you are bricked | Yes, apps and websites, through Screen Time |
| Account needed | Yes | No |
| Data leaves the device | Account | No, everything stays on the iPhone |
| Google Play rating | 4.9 stars (4.15K) | Not on Google Play |

*Google Play ratings verified September 2026.*

## How each one stops you

Both flip a block that lives in the operating system. Foqos uses Apple's Screen
Time API and lets any NFC tag, or a QR code, act as the physical switch, so the hardware cost is a few
cents. Brick pairs its own puck with the same kind of OS-level blocking, and sells the puck as a single
polished product on both platforms.

The enforcement is the same idea; the difference is whether you buy a finished device or assemble the
free version yourself.

## Where Brick wins

- **A designed, single object** rather than a loose tag.
- **iPhone and Android**, where Foqos is iPhone-only.
- **Nothing to set up** beyond the app and the puck.
- **Support and a warranty** behind a physical product.

## Where Foqos wins

- **Free and open source**, against Brick's $59.
- **Any cheap NFC tag or a printed QR code** works.
- **No account, nothing leaves the phone.**
- **Auditable code**, for people who want to see what it does.

## The cheapest version is still an iPhone-only toggle

Foqos proves the mechanism costs almost nothing, which is worth knowing. But it is
iPhone-only, and both it and Brick are still a switch you flip for a set of apps you chose, leaving the
rest of the phone open and keeping no count of your day. If you are on Android, Foqos is not even on the
table.

[PhoneStop](https://phonestop.app/) is the Android answer, and it works differently on purpose: one daily budget for the whole
phone, drained by every app, with a warning before it runs out and a stop when it is gone. It is free,
needs no tag, and an iPhone version is coming. The saving with Foqos is real; it just does not change what
is being measured.

![A PhoneStop budget warning arriving on top of another app.](https://phonestop.app/assets/warning-dark-640.e3c6fb7e.webp)

*A warning notification at 30 minutes left*

![The PhoneStop over-limit takeover screen.](https://phonestop.app/assets/takeover-dark-640.c0f44075.webp)

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

*Disclosure: we make PhoneStop. Prices and platforms were checked in September 2026 and change often, so 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. An iPhone version is coming soon. Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.phonestop · https://phonestop.app/

## Questions people ask

### Is Foqos really a free Brick?

Close to it, on iPhone. It uses Apple's Screen Time API and any cheap NFC tag or a QR code to flip the block, with no account and no fee. Brick sells a finished puck and also runs on Android.

### Does Foqos work on Android?

No, it is iPhone-only. Brick works on both. On Android, a whole-phone budget like [PhoneStop](https://phonestop.app/) is the closest equivalent that needs no hardware.

### Is the $59 for Brick worth it over Foqos?

Only for the finished object and Android support. The blocking itself is the same idea, and Foqos does it for free on iPhone.

## Keep reading

- [PhoneStop vs Brick](https://phonestop.app/vs/brick)
- [Why blocking one app does not lower your screen time](https://phonestop.app/why-blocking-apps-does-not-work)