Compare
PeerPause vs Opal
Opal is the more complete focus tool, and its Deep Focus sessions are a real lock. PeerPause is for the moments outside a session, when you’d otherwise unblock the app yourself.
We make PeerPause, so weigh this accordingly. Prices and features checked ; see Opal’s own page for the latest.
The short answer
Pick Opal if…
- You want scheduled blocks and timed focus sessions for planned work or study.
- You also want blocking on a Mac or an Android phone.
- You like detailed reports and a daily score.
- You don’t want to involve anyone else.
Pick PeerPause if…
- You keep unblocking apps yourself outside a focus session.
- You want a daily allowance per app rather than sessions.
- You’d rather a friend decide than a timer.
Side by side
| Opal | PeerPause | |
|---|---|---|
| How it stops you | Rules that block apps and websites on a schedule, focus sessions and daily app limits | A daily limit or schedule that locks the app, with no Ignore button |
| When you want more time | Unblock from inside Opal after a waiting-room delay. In Deep Focus, not until the session ends | Ask your Time Buddy for 15 minutes to an hour, with a note |
| Who decides | You (in Deep Focus, the timer) | Your Time Buddy, a friend you choose. Changing or removing a limit needs their OK too |
| Works on | iPhone, Mac and Android | iPhone |
| Price | Free tier; $19.99/month, $99.99/year or $399.99 lifetime | Free to be a Time Buddy; Pro subscription to limit your own apps |
Prices are US App Store or official-site prices as of October 2026.
Where Opal is ahead
Deep Focus is a real lock
Opal’s App Store listing says Deep Focus “won’t let you cancel or bypass at all.” For an exam week or a deadline block, that’s exactly what you want, and no one else has to be involved. Deep Focus is part of the paid plan.
More places, more polish
Opal runs on iPhone, Mac and Android, blocks websites as well as apps, and has detailed reports with a daily score. It’s an Editors’ Choice on the App Store with a 4.7 rating.
Where PeerPause is different
The lock holds outside a session
Outside Deep Focus, Opal lets you unblock an app after a waiting room. That’s friction, but if you’re wide awake and determined at 11pm, it’s a short queue before Instagram. A PeerPause limit has no unblock button at all, any time of day.
Getting past the limit means asking a person
When you hit your limit there’s nothing to tap through. You send your Time Buddy a request for 15 minutes to an hour, with a note if you like, and they accept or deny it from wherever they are. Typing “just one more reel” to a real person is often enough to make you put the phone down.
You can’t quietly undo it at 1am
Changing or removing a limit needs your buddy’s OK as well, so the tired version of you can’t overrule the calm one. Your buddy sees only the app name, the time you asked for and your note: never your messages, photos or what you do inside an app.
The trade-off: it needs a friend who replies
PeerPause only works as well as your Time Buddy. If they never answer, you wait; if they say yes to everything, the limit means nothing. Pick someone who will reply and who will say no when you don’t have a good reason. Being a buddy costs nothing; limiting your own apps needs PeerPause Pro.
Questions people ask
Is PeerPause a good Opal alternative?
If your problem is unblocking apps yourself outside focus sessions, yes: at a PeerPause limit only your Time Buddy can give you more time. If you mainly want scheduled focus sessions, reports or blocking on a Mac, Opal does more.
Can you bypass Opal?
Outside Deep Focus, yes: Opal lets you unblock apps after a waiting-room delay you can make longer. Deep Focus is the mode Opal says you can’t cancel or bypass, and it needs the paid plan.
Can I use Opal and PeerPause together?
Yes. Some people use Opal’s Deep Focus for planned work blocks and a PeerPause daily limit, held by a friend, for the evenings.
How much does PeerPause cost?
Being someone’s Time Buddy is always free. Setting limits on your own apps needs PeerPause Pro, a subscription through the App Store. The app shows the price for your country before you subscribe.
Friends keep you off your phone
PeerPause locks your apps. Only your Time Buddy can give you more time.