# PhoneStop vs Brick

A $59 magnet you tap to lock and tap to unlock. The most effective answer, if you leave it in another room.

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

## The short version

Buy Brick if you have already tried three apps, defeated all three, and know
that the missing ingredient is physical distance. Install PhoneStop first if you have not measured your week
yet — it is free, and the number may be the only intervention you need.

| | PhoneStop | Brick |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Platforms | Android | iPhone and Android (needs recent OS versions) |
| Price | Free | $59 one-time for the puck; the app is free |
| At the limit | Full-screen stop, then a reset and a one-tap lock | Your chosen apps are gone until you physically tap the phone on the puck |
| Warns before the limit | Yes — 60, 30 and 10 minutes left | No |
| Enforcement | Foreground service + display-over-apps overlay | A passive NFC tag plus the OS blocking APIs |
| Blocks individual apps | No — whole-phone budget | Yes — the apps disappear entirely while you are bricked |
| Account needed | No | Yes |
| Data leaves the phone | No | Account |

## How each app stops you

Brick's insight is a good one: make the undo physical. Software you can
argue with; a puck in a kitchen drawer requires you to stand up.

PhoneStop makes a different bet — that most overuse is not a decision you would defend, just a session nobody
ended. So it does not remove anything. It counts, warns, and then at zero puts a full screen in front of you
with a lock button on it. If your honest self-assessment is that you will defeat any software, Brick is the
better buy. If your honest self-assessment is that you just lose track, a budget is closer to the problem.

![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-640.411574cd.webp)

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

## Where Brick is the better choice

- **The strongest friction here**, by a distance, when the puck is out of reach.
- **One-time cost.** No subscription.
- **It works on both platforms.**
- **The apps genuinely disappear**, notifications included.

## Where PhoneStop is the better choice

- **Free, and nothing to carry.**
- **It handles the whole day**, not one bricked block.
- **It measures.** Brick has no opinion about how much is too much; PhoneStop's entire model is a number.
- **You can always get out honestly** — extend the window in one tap and the app says so plainly, instead of
  making you walk to a drawer.

## What PhoneStop does at the limit

The whole product is three moments. Warnings arrive as the budget empties, inside whatever app you are in:

> **PhoneStop — 30 minutes left**
> Half an hour of budget to go. A good moment to pick where it goes. [PAUSE]
>
> **PhoneStop — Time's up**
> You are out of budget for today. Take a minute, then lock the phone. [PAUSE]

Then, at zero, the screen is taken over: a fifteen-second breath or twenty squats, and a button that locks the
phone. If you genuinely need it, one tap extends the window and says so honestly, because an intervention you
cannot escape is one you uninstall.

*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

### Does Brick work on Android?

Yes. Brick's app supports both iPhone and Android on recent OS versions, and the puck itself is a passive NFC tag with no battery.

### Is there a free alternative to Brick?

Any NFC tag can trigger an automation, and several free apps approximate the effect in software. See [Brick alternatives](https://phonestop.app/alternatives/brick).

### Can I use Brick and a screen time budget together?

Yes, and it is a sensible pairing: Brick for the evenings you want gone entirely, a budget for the ordinary days in between.

## Keep reading

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