Is Opal Free? Free Plan vs Pro, Prices and Trial (2026)

Opal has a permanent free plan, but most of what people install it for is in Opal Pro. Free gets you one Rule, app blocking, basic timers and today's Opal Score. Pro is $99.99 a year, $19.99 a month, or $399 for lifetime on Opal's pricing page (October 2026), with a free trial first.

Below: what each plan includes, what the App Store actually charges, how trials and refunds work, and the genuinely free alternatives.

Quick answer

• Free: 1 Rule, app blocking, basic timers, today's score.
• Pro: Hard Mode, unlimited Rules, Allow Only, score history.
• Price: $99.99/yr, $19.99/mo, $399 lifetime (website). Varies by country.
• Free alternatives: Apple Screen Time, ScreenZen.

What does Opal's free plan include?

Opal's pricing page (opal.so now redirects to opalapp.com) calls the free tier "Free, forever" on iOS, Android and Mac:

• 1 Rule: a schedule, a time limit or an open limit
• App Blocking
• Basic Timers & Soundscapes
• Opal Score (today only)

The single Rule is the real limit. It can block social apps from 9 to 5 or cap them at an hour a day, but not both, and not a bedtime block on top.

You may see an older help article describing the free version as three recurring Focus Sessions. That predates the "Rules" naming; trust the pricing page and check what the app shows after install.

What do you get with Opal Pro?

Every Pro plan has the same features:

• Hard Mode: "No way out. You can't turn Opal off," in Opal's words. You can't cancel a session or take a break.
• Unlimited Rules
• Advanced Timers & Soundscapes
• Allow Only: block everything except the apps you choose
• Opal Score with History

Hard Mode is the big one. On the free plan nothing stops you ending a block early, so if strictness is why you want Opal, you want Pro.

How much does Opal cost?

Opal's own pricing page, October 2026, in US dollars:

Monthly works out to $239.88 a year, more than double the yearly plan. It only makes sense as a short test.

What does the App Store charge?

The US listing ("Free · In-App Purchases", iOS 18.0 or later) shows more price points than the website: Yearly $99.99, Monthly $19.99, Weekly $4.99 and $9.99, Opal Student Weekly $9.99, and an "Opal Pro Subscription" at $49.99 with no period stated.

Apple lists every price an app can sell, so some of these are presumably paywall offers. What counts is the price on screen when you tap subscribe. The $399 lifetime plan isn't in the App Store list, so as far as we can see it's website-only.

Is it the same price everywhere?

No. On the same day the yearly plan was £99.99 in the UK and €99.99 in France and Germany, and France showed monthly options at €19.99, €21.99 and €22.99. Check your own App Store.

How do the trial, cancellation and refunds work?

Trials. In the app, the trial runs through Apple for the number of days shown on screen, then charges the full yearly price. On the website you enter payment details first, and it defaults to annual. Either way, Opal says to cancel at least 24 hours before the trial ends; you then drop back to the free plan.

Deleting the app does not cancel the subscription. Cancel where you paid:

• iPhone app (Apple): Settings → [your name] → Subscriptions → Opal → Cancel Subscription. For a refund, use reportaproblem.apple.com → Request a refund. Apple says to allow 24 to 48 hours, and eligibility varies by country. Opal can't refund these.
• Website (Stripe): cancel in the Stripe customer portal (the email often lands in spam). These have a 30-day money-back guarantee.
• Google Play: cancel and request refunds in Google Play.

Are there free alternatives to Opal?

Two that are actually free:

• Apple Screen Time. App Limits and Downtime give you unlimited limits and schedules for nothing, already more than Opal's one free Rule. The catch is enforcement: without a passcode, the limit screen offers Ignore Limit in one tap. Here's how to make it firmer.
• ScreenZen. Free on the App Store (iOS 16.4+), with optional tips from $5 to $40. It adds a pause before a distracting app opens: gentle friction, not a lock. Compared in ScreenZen alternatives.

For cheaper paid apps like Jomo, see Opal alternatives and our Jomo alternative page. Need a computer blocker too? Read Opal vs Freedom.

When is paying for a blocker worth it?

Start free. If Screen Time or ScreenZen changes your habits, you're done.

Paying makes sense when free tools fail one way: you get past them when you want to. That's a strictness problem, and it's what Opal's Hard Mode charges for.

It's also where Detox fits. It isn't free (paid, with a free trial, for iPhone and iPad). Its strict mode locks a block while it's active, can stop you deleting the app during a strict block, and limits emergency unblocks to one a day. Its main limit counts continuous use rather than a daily total, so quick checks stay fine.

The bottom line

Opal is free in a limited way: one Rule, app blocking and today's score. The strict features cost $99.99 a year, $19.99 a month or $399 lifetime on Opal's site, with a free trial and local prices that vary. Cancel 24 hours before the trial ends, through Apple if you subscribed on your iPhone. And if a nudge is enough, Screen Time and ScreenZen do it for free.