# Unpluq vs Brick

Both put your distracting apps behind something you have to physically tap. One asks for a yearly fee, the other for $59 once.

*Source: https://phonestop.app/compare/unpluq-vs-brick · 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 Brick if you want to pay once and be done.** A $59 puck, tap to lock, tap
to unlock, no account fee ticking over. Leave the puck in another room and your apps are genuinely gone.

**Choose Unpluq if you want the ecosystem and do not mind renting it.** The Tag is around $79 with a year
included, then roughly $35 a year, and the app around it is more configurable than Brick's.

Both work because the unlock is physical. The decision is one-time hardware versus a hardware
subscription.

| | Unpluq | Brick |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Platforms | Android and iPhone, plus a physical tag | iPhone and Android (needs recent OS versions) |
| Price | Around $79 for the Tag with a year included, then a subscription (around $35/year) | $59 one-time for the puck; the app is free |
| At the limit | Blocked apps open only for the tag, or for a deliberate in-app barrier | Your chosen apps are gone until you physically tap the phone on the puck |
| Warns before the limit | No | No |
| Enforcement | A passive NFC tag plus the OS blocking APIs | A passive NFC tag plus the OS blocking APIs |
| Blocks individual apps | Yes | Yes — the apps disappear entirely while you are bricked |
| Account needed | Yes | Yes |
| Data leaves the device | Account | Account |
| Google Play rating | 4.4 stars (1.55K) | 4.9 stars (4.15K) |

*Google Play ratings verified September 2026.*

## How each one stops you

Both are the same idea: a passive NFC tag or puck plus the operating system's
blocking APIs. Your chosen apps stay blocked until you tap the phone on the physical object, which you are
supposed to keep inconveniently far away.

Brick keeps it deliberately simple, tap on, tap off, one payment. Unpluq wraps the tag in more app-side
options and barriers, and charges a subscription to keep it running. The physics are identical; the
business models are not.

## Where Unpluq wins

- **More configurable** app-side barriers and settings.
- **A mature app** with a longer track record on both platforms.
- **The tag plus software** is a complete, supported system.

## Where Brick wins

- **$59 once**, with no subscription hanging over it.
- **Dead simple**: tap to brick, tap to unbrick.
- **The apps vanish entirely** while you are bricked.
- **Cheaper over any span longer than a year.**

## A physical key only works on the days you carry it

Hardware is the strongest block in this whole category, because standing up to fetch a
puck is a real cost. It is also the most fragile in one specific way: it does nothing on the day you leave
the tag in your bag, or the puck in the drawer you are sitting next to, or when you simply tap it back on
because you are the person who bought it. The object is the enforcement, and the object can always be
reached.

[PhoneStop](https://phonestop.app/) needs no object. It gives the whole phone a daily budget that counts down wherever you
are, warns you before it runs out, and puts a full-screen stop in front of you when it does, with a
one-tap way to sit the urge out. It is free on Android, iPhone coming, and there is nothing to remember
to carry.

![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 Brick or Unpluq cheaper?

Brick, over any period longer than the first year: it is $59 once with no subscription. Unpluq costs around $79 up front and then roughly $35 a year.

### Do both work on Android and iPhone?

Yes. Both need reasonably recent OS versions, because they rely on the platform's blocking APIs plus the physical tag.

### What happens if I lose the tag or puck?

You are locked out of your blocked apps until you get it back or reset it, which is the point, and also the risk. A budget-based tool like [PhoneStop](https://phonestop.app/) has nothing to lose.

### Is a physical blocker better than an app?

It is harder to defeat in the moment, but only if you actually keep it away from you. If you carry it, it is no stronger than a tap.

## Keep reading

- [PhoneStop vs Unpluq](https://phonestop.app/vs/unpluq)
- [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)