Is Opal free? What Opal costs and who it suits
Marcel Cruz · Updated 22 October 2026
Opal is free to download and sells paid plans. What each Opal plan costs in the US as of October 2026, the free alternatives, and who Opal suits.
Opal is free to download and sells paid plans. In the US, as of 22 October 2026, Opal costs $99.99 a year, $19.99 a month or $4.99 a week on the App Store, and its listing does not say what the free version includes. If you want a blocker that costs nothing, ScreenZen and Apple's own Screen Time are free.
What do Opal's plans cost?
| Plan | US price | Billing |
|---|---|---|
| Yearly Plan | $99.99 | once a year |
| Monthly Plan | $19.99 | once a month |
| Weekly Plan | $4.99 | once a week (a $9.99 weekly entry is listed too) |
| Opal Student Weekly | $9.99 | once a week |
| Opal Pro Subscription | $49.99 | the listing names no period |
Read on Opal's US App Store listing on 22 October 2026, in the in-app purchases section. The listing carries more than one entry for some periods, and the price you see in the app is the offer Opal shows you at the time, so check the paywall before you pay. This post quotes the listing rather than Opal's own pricing page because the listing is the page anyone can read and check.
What do you get for free?
Opal's listing marks the app as free with in-app purchases, and its description calls it "the fun, free Screen Time app". What the listing does not state is where the free version stops: which features need a plan, how many sessions you get, or whether scheduling is included.
So the honest reading is this: Opal is free to download, with paid plans, and the free version's limits are whatever the app shows you after setup. Install it, look at what stays open before the paywall, and treat that as the current answer, because it can change with Opal's offers. This post does not guess at a free tier that Opal's own page does not describe.
Is Opal worth $99.99 a year?
For some readers, yes. Opal's listing describes a session blocker: a Calendar that blocks apps automatically during working hours, sleep and routines; App Limits that block an app or website once your daily allowance is used up; Breaks, where you pick an app, write an intention and set a timer; and Deep Focus, which Opal calls its maximum level of protection, with no cancelling once a session has started. Around that sit a Focus Score, a friends leaderboard and shareable milestones. The app had 90K ratings at 4.7 on the US App Store on 14 October 2026, which is a long track record in this category.
Pick Opal if you want focus sessions that start on their own from a calendar, a firm session mode for the hours that matter most, and a mature app with a large user base behind it.
Skip it if you want a free blocker, or if the clock is the wrong trigger for you. Opal opens and closes apps on a schedule or a session timer; it does not know whether your work got done. Apps that open after today's tasks are finished are a different mechanism, covered further down.
What are the cheaper or free options?
| App | US price | How it blocks | Read on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple's Screen Time | free, built into iOS | App Limits on iOS 18; Time Allowances across entertainment, games and social media on iOS 27 | 22 October 2026 |
| ScreenZen | free; the only in-app purchases are tips of $5.00 to $40.00 | a delay before a distracting app opens that can grow with each open; an app goal with an optional block at the limit | 22 October 2026 |
| one sec | $19.99 a year (one sec pro); $6.99 a month; $99.99 once; one app is free | a short pause before a distracting app opens, then you choose | 22 October 2026 |
| Jomo | $29.99 a year (Jomo Plus); $5.99 a month; $99.99 once | blocks apps and websites for the times you set, with breaks | 22 October 2026 |
Apple's Screen Time costs nothing and is already on your iPhone. On iOS 18 you add a limit under Settings, Screen Time, App Limits, Add Limit, as Apple's iOS 18 guide walks through; on iOS 27 Apple folds the same idea into Time Allowances for entertainment, games and social media apps, described in Apple's iOS 27 guide. If you keep tapping past your own limits, that is the usual reason to look at a third-party blocker.
If a schedule is not what you want, a few apps open your apps only after your tasks are done, and this list compares how each one unlocks.
If ScreenZen is the free option you are weighing, whether ScreenZen is safe and really free covers its tips-only pricing and the Screen Time permission it asks for.
ScreenZen is the free pick. Its only in-app purchases are tips of $5.00 to $40.00 and there is no subscription, read on its US listing on 14 October 2026, when it showed 52K ratings at 4.9. It blocks with a delay before a distracting app opens, a wait you can set to grow each time you open the app, plus a per-app goal with an optional block once you reach it.
one sec is the cheap paid pick with a different mechanism: a short pause before a distracting app opens, so every open becomes a small decision instead of a reflex. Using it with one app of your choice is free; more apps need one sec pro, at $19.99 a year, $6.99 a month or $99.99 once, read on its US listing on 22 October 2026. It had 24K ratings at 4.8 on 14 October 2026.
Jomo blocks apps and websites for the times you set, with breaks when you need them, and costs $29.99 a year, $5.99 a month or $99.99 once; the yearly plan includes a 3-day free trial, read on its US listing on 22 October 2026. It had 2.5K ratings at 4.8 on 14 October 2026.
Where does Beffore fit?
Beffore is our app, so read this section as the maker's view. Beffore is a to-do list that unlocks your screen time: you add today's tasks, choose the apps to lock and how much time you want each day, and finishing tasks opens that time, a slice per finished task or all of it once the list is done (how it works walks through a whole day). Locks are defaults, never walls: every lock has a door, "Unlock for 5 min" on the block screen and "Open until midnight" on the limit's own screen, both explained on the support page. There is no account; tasks, limits and Screen Time data stay on the phone.
For the other iPhone apps that keep your apps locked until your tasks are done, and what each one costs, see apps that lock your apps until you finish tasks.
Beffore costs $29.99 a year in the US, as of October 2026, with a 3-day free trial for new subscribers, or $9.99 a week with no trial. The download is free and a subscription is required after setup. That is less than a third of Opal's yearly price, and a different trade: Opal is the better pick if you want timed focus sessions that start on a schedule, while Beffore fits if you want your apps to open because today's list is done.
Get Beffore on the App Store. Beffore needs a subscription after setup; the yearly plan starts with a 3-day free trial.
FAQ
Is there a free version of Opal?
Opal is free to download and its listing calls it a free Screen Time app, but the listing does not say which features stay free. Install it and see what is open before the paywall. The paid plans are $99.99 a year, $19.99 a month or $4.99 a week in the US, as of 22 October 2026.
Is there an app like Opal that is free?
ScreenZen is the closest free pick: its only in-app purchases are tips of $5.00 to $40.00, and it blocks with a growing delay before an app opens plus an optional block at a daily goal. Apple's Screen Time is free too and already on the phone, with App Limits on iOS 18 and Time Allowances on iOS 27.
Is one sec or Opal better?
They do different jobs. one sec adds a short pause before a distracting app opens, so each open is a small decision; Opal blocks on a schedule or a session timer. Pick one sec if you want friction on every open, Opal if you want hours where the apps are simply off. one sec is the cheaper of the two at $19.99 a year against $99.99.
Is there a better app than Opal?
Better depends on the trigger you want. For schedules and timed sessions, Opal is hard to beat on maturity. For a free blocker, ScreenZen. For a pause before each open, one sec. For apps that open when today's tasks are done, Beffore, which is our app and costs $29.99 a year in the US as of October 2026.
