The 7 Best Brick Alternatives for iPhone and Android

The best Brick alternative depends on how you fail: the Autonomous Key is the cheapest finished device, Foqos is the only genuinely free option, and Bloom is the most durable one-time card. All seven below lock distracting apps behind physical friction you cannot cancel on impulse, which is the one thing Screen Time and app timers cannot do, because they sit on the same phone as the temptation. People look for Brick alternatives because Brick costs about $59, stays in one fixed place, and locks hard.

Brick alternatives compared

The cheapest finished device on this list costs less than a sixth of what Brick does, and one of the physical options is a yearly subscription rather than a purchase. That spread matters more than any feature difference.

The best Brick alternatives, ranked

1. Autonomous Key, best low-cost device

Autonomous Key

Fix your doomscrolling.

$9

The Autonomous Key is the cheapest finished device on this list, and it is the alternative Autonomous makes. It is a passive NFC key measuring 3.1 x 1.5 x 0.1 inches, thin enough to hang on a keyring, paired with an app that keeps your chosen apps locked by default. The Key's only job is to unlock them. Each scan opens a window of up to 60 minutes, after which the apps close again until you scan for another.

The default-locked model is the part worth understanding. With a tap-to-lock switch, forgetting to flip it back on leaves you unblocked indefinitely. With the Autonomous Key, doing nothing returns you to blocked. It runs on Android 8 and above through native NFC and iOS 15 and above on iPhone, with no battery and no subscription, in five colours with an optional name or logo.

Key Intelligence is the other differentiator. It tracks how often you unlock, how much unlocked time you are actually spending, and which apps keep pulling you back, then tells you about it in language that does not flatter you. Seeing that five of your unlocks landed between 7pm and 10pm is more useful than a weekly screen time number you have learned to ignore.

Keep in mind: it is the newest product here and has a shorter public review record than Brick's two years. If a long track record is what makes you comfortable spending money, that is a fair reason to pay more elsewhere. Brick vs the Autonomous Key comes down to unlock model and hardware shape rather than the NFC mechanism, which is identical on both.

2. Foqos, best free Brick alternative

Foqos is the best free alternative to Brick and the only genuinely free option here. It is an open-source iPhone app that turns any NFC tag or printed QR code into an app lock, so your only cost is a tag at under a dollar, or nothing at all if you print a code. You assign a tag to a blocking profile, tap to start a session, and tap to end it. Timer sessions, scheduled profiles and physical-unlock rules are all built in.

Foqos is iOS only, and its maintainers say so plainly rather than shipping a weak Android port. They point Android users toward Switchly and toward Lock, a free open-source NFC blocker, rather than pretending to serve both platforms.

Keep in mind: you assemble the setup yourself. That suits people comfortable configuring tags and frustrates people who wanted something in a box. As a no-cost test of whether physical friction works for you at all, it is still the obvious starting point.

3. Bloom, best one-time card

Bloom is the best one-time card alternative to Brick. It is a stainless steel NFC card at about $39, sized for a wallet or a desk, with a free app published on both the App Store and Google Play. That second listing matters, because Android support here is documented rather than anecdotal.

Bloom is less absolute than Brick by design. It allows a limited number of short breaks inside a focus session without the card, plus scheduled focus windows, a child mode, and up to three emergency exits.

Keep in mind: that flexibility is both the reason to pick it and the reason not to. If your problem is that you negotiate with yourself, a blocker with a built-in negotiating window may not be the one for you.

4. Unpluq, best portable keychain tag

Unpluq is the best portable alternative to Brick. The tag is small, clips to a keychain with an included carabiner, and works on iPhone from iOS 16 and on most Android devices. It also supports location-based barriers, so chosen apps can unlock automatically in specific places. No other option here does that.

Keep in mind: the cost structure is easy to misread. The tag itself is about $27, but it does not function without an Unpluq subscription starting around $35 a year, and bundles renew annually. Over two years it costs more than any one-time device on this list. If portability and location rules matter more than avoiding a recurring charge, it earns the money.

5. Blok, best system-level blocking

Blok has the strictest technical implementation here and the highest long-term cost. It pairs a physical NFC device, sold as a card, keychain or magnet, with an app built on Apple's Screen Time stack, so blocked apps are genuinely unavailable rather than hidden behind a nudge. It runs on iPhone and Android.

Keep in mind: Blok is sold as a yearly plan that bundles the device with an app subscription, not as a one-time purchase. That makes it the most expensive physical option here over any period longer than a year. Pick it if system-level enforcement is what you care about and a subscription does not bother you.

6. Focus Bear, best with habit structure

Focus Bear is the best alternative for people who want structure on top of blocking. It is a software tool that pairs distraction blocking with habit and routine guidance, so it pushes you from blocked toward actually starting the task. It runs on phone and desktop on a subscription.

Keep in mind: because it is software, it is easier to override than any physical key here. The routine-building layer is the trade, and it is something no NFC device offers.

7. Opal and Freedom, best software-only options

Opal and Freedom are the best software-only alternatives to Brick. Both schedule and delay apps across your devices and sync settings, which is convenient and fully cross-platform. Freedom is the one researchers reach for when they need to enforce a block in a controlled study, which is a reasonable signal of how well it holds.

Keep in mind: the off switch lives on the same phone as the temptation, so both rely on willpower at the exact moment willpower is lowest. Both are subscription tools, and they suit people who want lighter guardrails and accept easy overrides.

How to choose a Brick alternative

The right Brick alternative depends on your platform, whether you will accept a subscription, and how much you trust yourself with a negotiating window.

• Choose Foqos if you are on iPhone and want to test physical friction for free before spending anything.
• Choose the Autonomous Key if you want the lowest one-time cost with equal support on iPhone and Android.
• Choose Bloom if you want a durable one-time card and are comfortable with built-in breaks.
• Choose Unpluq if portability and location rules matter more than avoiding a yearly charge.
• Choose Blok if system-level enforcement is your priority and a subscription is fine.
• Choose Focus Bear, Opal or Freedom if you want software-only guardrails and accept that they are easier to override.

Whichever you pick, the object only works if you are willing to put it somewhere you cannot casually reach. That decision does more work than any feature on this page.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best Brick alternative?

The best Brick alternative depends on what you are optimising for. Foqos is best if you want a free option and use an iPhone, the Autonomous Key is best for the lowest one-time device cost with equal iPhone and Android support, and Unpluq is best if you want a tag that travels on a keychain.

What are the best alternatives to Brick for Android?

The Autonomous Key, Bloom and Unpluq are the best Android alternatives to Brick, since all three ship supported Android apps rather than ports. Blok also runs on Android on a subscription. Foqos is iOS only, and Brick's own Android version is reported to trail its iPhone one.

Is there a free alternative to Brick?

Yes. Foqos is a free, open-source iPhone app that turns any NFC tag or printed QR code into an app lock, with no subscription. You supply a tag costing under a dollar, or print a code for nothing. It is iOS only, so Android users have fewer free options.

What is the cheapest Brick alternative?

Foqos is cheapest overall, since the app is free and a compatible NFC tag costs under a dollar. The Autonomous Key is the cheapest finished device, at a fraction of Brick's roughly $59 price. Neither charges a subscription, which is where the real long-term cost difference between these tools sits.

Which Brick alternative is hardest to bypass?

The hardest to bypass are physical blockers you can put out of reach: Brick, the Autonomous Key, Bloom in child mode, and Blok's system-level blocking. The Autonomous Key adds a default-locked state, so doing nothing leaves you blocked rather than unblocked, which matters if your failure mode is forgetting.

Do Brick alternatives need a subscription?

Some do. Foqos, Bloom and the Autonomous Key are one-time costs with no recurring fee. Unpluq requires a subscription to use its tag, Blok is sold as a yearly plan including the device, and Focus Bear, Opal and Freedom are subscription software. One-time devices usually cost less over two years.

Are physical Brick alternatives better than Screen Time?

For people who already override Screen Time, usually yes. A physical blocker needs a real object to unlock apps, so you cannot cancel the block on impulse. Screen Time and app timers live on the same phone as the temptation, which makes them easy to dismiss in a weak moment.

Conclusion

Physical friction works because it moves the decision off the device that is causing the problem. Which Brick alternative you pick matters less than whether you are honest about how you fail: if you cave, buy distance; if you forget, buy a tool that stays locked by default; if you are not sure yet, start with a free NFC tag and find out before spending anything. Intention on its own is what all of these tools exist to compensate for.