Is Opal free? Partly. Here's the app blocker that is

By the edgi team Updated October 23, 2026 Facts checked October 23, 2026

Opal is free to download, and its free tier covers basic app blocking. Deep Focus, the session you can't end early, is part of Opal Pro, which is $99.99 a year as of October 2026. If you want a blocker that's free all the way through, edgi's Focus lock is: you set how many times a day each app opens and for how long, and a 60-second Lesson opens it.

We make edgi, and we built Focus so the price of opening TikTok is a minute you're glad you spent.

Opal's tiers from independent reviews (autonomous.ai, Make Headway, a Productivity Stack review), October 2026. Reviews disagree on exactly how many rules the free tier includes, and Opal's own release notes have changed it, so check the app's paywall for today's limit.

What's free on Opal, and what's Pro

Opal's free tier is real blocking built on Apple's Screen Time: pick apps, and they stay closed while a rule or session runs. Deep Focus is the feature people mean when they recommend Opal, and every review we read puts it behind Pro. Pro also comes monthly and as a lifetime purchase; the yearly plan is the one most people are shown.

What edgi's Focus gives you, free

Every part of edgi's lock is free, for every app you pick. Why pay $99.99 a year for Opal Pro when the lock you'll actually keep costs nothing? Each app gets its own intention, written as a sentence: "I'll open Instagram no more than 3 times a day, for 5 min each time." You choose 1 to 30 opens, 1 to 60 minutes and which days it holds, then whether a Lesson opens it once a day or on every open.

It holds where it matters. A stricter rule starts the moment you save it; a looser one waits until midnight, so an 11 p.m. change of heart becomes tomorrow's question instead of tonight's scroll.

The difference is the door. Reach for Instagram and edgi says "One lesson opens Instagram for 5 minutes." The Lesson is one idea from 105,000, and one of the best is about the reason the door is there at all:

Attention Economy When information becomes abundant, human attention becomes the scarce resource that platforms and advertisers compete to capture.

60-second Lesson

Attention Economy

Free apps are paid for your hours, and there are only 24 of them, so every app is competing with your sleep.

Play it here Read about attention economy

You guess, tap and test your way through it, a minute later the idea is a card in your collection, and Instagram opens for exactly the minutes you set. Some days you keep going in edgi and forget why you picked up the phone. One Lesson a day keeps your streak, the block screen shows it, and a month of reaching for Instagram turns into a month of cards on a Map you can see.

Comparing Opal with the other blockers? See the best free Opal alternative and Opal vs ScreenZen.

FAQ

Is Opal free? Opal is free to download, with a free tier for basic blocking. Deep Focus is Opal Pro, $99.99 a year as of October 2026.

How much is Opal Pro? $99.99 a year as of October 2026, with monthly and lifetime options too.

Is there a completely free app like Opal? Yes. edgi's Focus lock is free on iPhone: set opens and minutes for each app, and a 60-second Lesson opens it.

Is edgi free? Yes. edgi is free on iPhone, Focus included.