Brick Alternatives: Block Apps Without the $59 Puck (2026)

Brick alternatives: quick answer

The best Brick alternatives in 2026 are Habit Doom (habit-gated blocking, free tier, no hardware), Unpluq (a physical tag with schedules, subscription based), One Sec (a breathing pause, software only), Opal (scheduled focus sessions with analytics), and Foqos (a free open-source NFC blocker). Each solves a different version of the problem. Pick by how you actually fail, not by feature count.

Why people look for Brick alternatives:

• Price: the Brick device runs around $59, which is a real spend for what is, at heart, an NFC tag.
• Physical friction: a tag only helps if you leave it behind. Carry it and the block is one tap away.
• No free version: the block depends on buying the hardware.
• Manual, not productive: tapping to unlock is a choice you can make any time. Some people want the block tied to finishing something first.

Below: five alternatives worth testing, with current pricing and what each one actually does differently.

What Brick does (and what it does not)

Brick is a small NFC puck, about the size of your palm, with a magnet on the back so it sticks to a fridge or a desk. You set up a "mode" in the Brick app (which apps to block), then tap your phone to the puck to lock them. They stay locked until you walk back and tap again. The device is a passive NFC tag, so there is no battery and nothing to charge, and it is a one-time purchase with no subscription. It works on iOS 16.2 and up.

That design is the whole pitch: the friction is physical. Leave the Brick at home and you cannot unlock your apps until you are back, which is genuinely useful for people who want a hard boundary between locations.

What Brick does not do:

• It does not have a free tier. The block is tied to the hardware.
• It does not track habits or tie unlocking to finished work.
• It does not stop you carrying the tag with you, which defeats the point for anyone who will.
• It does not run schedules on its own. Blocking is manual, by tap.

Most people searching for a Brick alternative want to fix one of those four things. The five apps below each cover at least one.

The 5 best Brick alternatives in 2026

1. Habit Doom: best for turning the block into earned screen time

Brick makes you tap a puck; Habit Doom makes you finish your habits. Apps stay locked by default and open once the work is done, whether that is reading, exercising, or studying. The friction is still there, but it points at something productive rather than a manual tap you can undo the moment you feel like it. The payoff over Brick is twofold: there is no hardware to buy, carry, or lose, and there is no tag you can defeat by simply keeping it in your pocket. Habit tracking is built in, so unlocking is a behavioral loop instead of a physical ritual.

The enforcement runs on the Apple Screen Time API, the same layer serious blockers rely on, and the lock is tamper-resistant, surviving uninstall, force-quit, and system clock changes. Its free Anti-Cheat feature confirms the habit actually happened: check one off and the camera opens for a real-time photo, matched against the habit by an AI model running entirely on your iPhone in under half a second, with the photos never leaving the device. Brick has nothing comparable because it does not track what you did, only whether you tapped the puck. The habit tracker you cannot cheat breakdown goes deeper.

The free tier covers three habits, app blocking, custom alarms, streaks, and Anti-Cheat. Unlimited habits cost $2.99 a month, $19.99 a year with a 3-day trial, or $49.99 once. Switch if you want the block tied to finished work, or you would rather not buy and carry a physical device.

Download Habit Doom

2. Unpluq: best if you want the tag ritual with schedules

Unpluq is the closest hardware peer to Brick. It is a physical NFC tag you scan to open blocked apps, with the same "make it slightly annoying to unlock" philosophy. Where it goes further than Brick is scheduling: you can set custom windows (work hours, evenings, weekends) so apps block automatically, and it offers several unlock barriers beyond scanning the tag, like shaking the phone or tapping a sequence of buttons.

The tradeoff is the money. Unpluq runs on a subscription: about $79 for the tag with the first year of Unpluq+ included, then roughly $35 per year after that. Brick is a one-time buy. So if you like the physical tag but want built-in schedules, Unpluq is the pick. If you hate recurring fees, this is exactly where Brick wins and Unpluq does not. Choose it if you want the tag but also want automatic schedules and do not mind an annual fee.

Visit Unpluq

3. One Sec: best software-only friction

No hardware, no hard block: One Sec works purely on friction. Tap Instagram and it slides a breathing pause into the moment, then checks whether you actually meant to continue. Compared to Brick you gain portability and awareness in one go, with nothing to carry and a running count of how often you chose not to open the app after the pause, a concrete read on your impulse control over time.

The catch is the one every friction app carries. Once the pause ends you can proceed, and there is no physical wall the way leaving a Brick at home is a wall. For anyone who needs a genuine boundary during set hours, that makes it gentler than Brick. It runs free with limits, or $3.99 a month, or $14.99 a year for premium. Reach for it if you found the hardware fiddly and want awareness rather than a physical block.

Visit One Sec

4. Opal: best for scheduled focus sessions

Where Brick is manual and location-based, Opal is automatic and clock-based. It blocks distracting apps during scheduled focus sessions and reports back with polished analytics on where your time went, no hardware and no tap required. You set the windows ("Deep Work 9 to 12"), pick the apps, and Opal enforces the schedule on its own. That automation and data is exactly what Brick leaves out, and it fits people who want reporting sitting alongside their blocking. The cost is the catch: at $19.99 a month or $99.99 a year it is the priciest option here, with a limited free tier, so you are paying for polish and analytics rather than a hard physical boundary. Choose it if you want scheduled sessions and trends instead of a manual, location-based tap.

Visit Opal

5. Foqos: best free take on Brick's model

Foqos is a free, open-source app blocker that uses the same NFC tap idea as Brick: you scan a tag to start and stop a blocking profile. Because it is open source and free, you supply your own NFC tags (cheap stickers work), which makes it the closest thing to "Brick, but without the $59." It is the honest answer to anyone searching for a free Brick alternative that keeps the physical-tap ritual.

The tradeoff is polish and support. You are trading a finished product and a warranty for free and open. If you are technical enough to buy your own tags and set them up, Foqos does the core job Brick does at no cost. Go with it if you like the tap-a-tag model but want it free and do not mind a little setup.

Visit Foqos

Habit Doom

Lock distracting apps until your habits are done. No sign-in required.

★★★★★ 5.0 on the App Store

Download Free

Quick comparison: Brick vs alternatives

Is there a free alternative to Brick?

Yes, and there are two honest paths depending on what you liked about Brick.

If you want the block without the hardware: Habit Doom's free tier covers up to 3 habits, real app blocking through the Apple Screen Time API, custom alarms, and streaks, with no card required. The lock is tamper-resistant, holding through uninstall, force-quit, and clock changes, which is the part most free blockers skip. Instead of tapping a puck, you unlock by finishing your habits, so there is nothing to carry and nothing to lose.

If you want to keep the tap-a-tag ritual for free: Foqos is open source and free. You buy your own NFC stickers (a few dollars) and set up profiles, then tap to block and unblock the same way Brick works. You trade Brick's finished hardware and support for zero cost.

What is not really free: Brick itself has no free version, since the block depends on the device. iOS Screen Time is free and works as a backup layer, but its Ignore Limit button defeats the block in one tap for the person who set it.

Which alternative fits which Brick user?

If you left Brick over the price: Habit Doom (free tier) or Foqos (free, bring your own tags).

If you liked the physical tag but wanted schedules: Unpluq, as long as the subscription does not bother you.

If carrying the puck was the annoying part: Habit Doom, One Sec, or Opal, all software only.

If you want the block tied to finished work, not a manual tap: Habit Doom is the only option here that gates your apps behind completed habits.

If you want scheduling and analytics: Opal for the polish, Unpluq if you still want a tag in the loop.

Disclosure: Habit Doom is our app. We have tried to give every alternative on this list a fair read, but factor that in. Brick is a genuinely good product for people who want a tangible object and hate subscriptions. The best alternative is the one that fits how you actually fail, not the one with the longest feature list. For broader context, see the best iPhone app blockers of 2026 or the task-based app blockers roundup.

The honest take

Brick works because it makes the block physical: leave the puck behind and your apps are gone until you are back. That is a real, clever boundary. But a physical object is also the weakness. It costs $59, you have to carry it or leave it on purpose, and the moment you slip it in your pocket the whole thing collapses. The alternatives here remove the object in different ways. Habit Doom ties the unlock to finished habits, Unpluq keeps the tag but adds schedules, One Sec and Opal drop the hardware entirely, and Foqos rebuilds Brick's model for free. Pick one. Use it for two weeks. If it does not stick, try the next. Cycling between blockers without committing is the slowest path to less time on your phone.