Bloom alternatives
Bloom's card is good value and its app is free. The usual reasons to look further: a card in your wallet is always within reach, you want the key to live in one place at home, or you want a household to lock together instead of competing on a leaderboard.
Checked 11 November 2026. We make moss, which is first on this list for that reason and no other. The rest are in no ranked order.
Why people look past Bloom
- A card that travels with you is easy to tap.
- The friends leaderboard is competition, not a shared session.
- Child Mode is parental control, which is not what every household wants.
The full picture, including what Bloom does well: moss vs Bloom.
The alternatives
moss
moss is an iPhone app that comes with a small physical stone. You choose the apps that distract you, tap your phone on the stone, and those apps stay locked until you tap the stone again. People who live together can link their phones to share schedules and put their phones down at the same time, while each person keeps control of their own phone. Locking is free in the app, the stone is a one-time purchase, and the household features are a paid add-on.
Suits: people who want the key kept somewhere at home, and households who want to put phones down together.
Brick
Brick is a $59 magnetic puck and a free app. You choose apps, tap your phone on the Brick to block them, and tap again to unblock. It has up to 10 modes, schedules and a Strict Mode, and it works on iPhone (iOS 18 or later) and Android (12 or later). It is the product that made this category, and its app is rated 4.9 on the App Store from roughly 60,000 ratings.
Suits: You or your household use Android, or you want the most proven option.
Foqos
Foqos is a free, open source iPhone app (MIT licence) that turns any standard NFC tag, QR code or barcode into a lock for your apps. It has profiles, schedules, breaks, website blocking, a Hard Mode and Shortcuts support, and a profile can be bound to one specific tag so that no other tag stops it. There is no subscription. The App Store listing offers optional tips. It needs iOS 17.6 or later, and it has no emergency unlock.
Suits: You are comfortable buying a tag and setting it up yourself, and you only need to lock your own phone.
Blok
Blok starts and stops a block when you scan its $29 card or a product barcode you registered, such as the back of a shampoo bottle. It has modes, schedules, limited breaks, streaks and a way to compare progress with friends. There is an optional Blok Pro subscription, and emergency unlocks are sold in the app: $4.99 for one or $12.99 for three. It needs iOS 17 or later.
Suits: You want the lowest price to try the idea.
Locked
Locked (the app is called "Locked: Less Screen Time") is a magnetic NFC tag or card with a free app. On the day we checked, the tag was listed at $59.99 and on sale for $47.99. It has schedules, short breaks, streaks, a Strict Mode and website blocking, no subscription, and its site says it works on iPhone and Android. It is a small product: the App Store listing had 3 ratings when we looked.
Suits: You use Android, or you want a card as well as a tag.
Unpluq
Unpluq is a Dutch app with a yellow NFC keychain tag. Blocked apps sit behind a "distraction barrier": tapping the tag, or a digital task such as shaking the phone or tapping a pattern of buttons. The tag only works with Unpluq Premium. In Unpluq's store, a year of Premium with the tag is $80, and in the app Premium is $59.99 a year or $6.99 a month. A free tier blocks 2 apps on 1 schedule, without the tag. It works on iPhone and Android, and a separate Unpluq Family plan gives parents control of a child's phone.
Suits: You want friction, not a lock, you carry your keys everywhere, or you need to manage a child's phone.
Opal
Opal is a screen time app with no hardware. It blocks apps in sessions and on schedules, sets time and open limits, scores your focus and lets you challenge friends on a leaderboard. There is a limited free tier. Opal Pro costs $19.99 a month, $99.99 a year or $399 for life, and the strictest mode, where a session cannot be ended early, is part of Pro. Its pricing page lists iOS, Android and Mac.
Suits: You want analytics, you want your Mac covered, or you are away from home most of the day.
moss is a stone that locks the apps you choose.
Tap to lock, tap to unlock. One price, and locking needs no subscription.
