A Brick alternative whose key costs cents

Brick and Latch work the same way: your apps stay locked until you tap your phone on something physical. Brick is a $59 device. With Latch, that something is a few-cent NFC sticker, a QR code you print, or a walk.

We make Latch, so read this with that in mind. Brick details come from getbrick.com and Brick's help pages, as of September 2026, and each one links to its source.

Our verdict

For most people, Latch does what Brick does for a fraction of the price

Both lock your apps until you tap something physical. With Latch that something costs a few cents or nothing, so you can keep a key at home, at work and in the car instead of paying $59 for each. It adds a steps key, locking by place and while driving, and three emergency unlocks every month. Brick is still a good choice if you want a single object to give as a gift, or you need something today.

Get a key kit · $7.99

Latch vs Brick at a glance

Prices in US dollars. Brick is a trademark of its owner; Latch isn't affiliated with Brick.

What Brick does well

Brick deserves credit for the idea. It turned "put your phone somewhere else" into a physical object, and a solid block on the kitchen counter is a strong reminder in a way a sticker isn't. It needs no batteries or charging, it works with more than one phone, and it comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Brick's site also says it's eligible for HSA and FSA spending in the US. And it's on sale now, with a large base of users behind it.

If you like the idea of a single dedicated object, or you want to give one as a gift, Brick is a reasonable choice.

Where Latch is different

The key is cheap, so you can have several

A Latch key is whatever you tap or scan. Any NTAG213, NTAG215 or NTAG216 NFC sticker works, and they cost a few cents each online. A printed QR code costs nothing. That changes how you use it: one key on the fridge for evenings, one at your desk at work, one in the car's glovebox. With Brick, each of those places is another $59, so three keys come to $177. With Latch it's $9.99 for Pro plus a few stickers or sheets of paper.

There's also a steps key. Choose a number between 500 and 20,000 and your apps open once you've walked that far. It helps on days when the sticker is at home and you're not.

Losing the key isn't a crisis

If you lose a Brick, you use emergency unbricks, and there are five for the life of your account. After that you ask Brick to reset them or buy another one. If you lose a Latch QR key, you print a new one from the key's page and the old code stops working. A lost sticker gets replaced with another sticker that costs a few cents.

Emergencies are planned for every month

Latch has Break glass: three times a month you can open your apps for 5 to 15 minutes without your key, after saying why. When the time's up, they lock again on their own, and the count refills at the start of each month. It's meant for the call you have to take or the ticket you have to show, without ending your whole session.

It can lock without you

Both apps have modes and schedules. Latch can also lock when you arrive at a place, like the office or the gym, and unlock when you leave. It can lock while you're driving and unlock after you park. You can also lock with a sentence: "Siri, Latch my phone" on iPhone or "Hey Google, Latch my phone" on Android.

Commitment mode and daily limits

Latch Pro adds commitment mode, which keeps you locked for a set time (30 minutes up to 8 hours) so that not even your key opens it early. Daily limits give an app a few minutes a day while you're unlocked, and once they're used up, only that app is blocked. Scanning your key gives it one more round, so more time always costs a walk.

No account

Latch has no sign-up. On iPhone, your choices stay in Apple's Screen Time and your keys sync through your own iCloud. Brick asks for an email address to create an account when you set it up.

Setting each one up

With Brick, you order the device and wait for it to arrive. Then you install the app, create an account with your email, choose the apps to block, and tap your phone on the Brick to lock.

With Latch, you install the app and allow Screen Time access (on Android, the accessibility service). Latch comes with Work, Social and Bedtime profiles filled in, so you mostly just pick your own apps. Then you add a key: hold your phone to an NFC sticker and Latch writes the key and locks the sticker with a password, or print a QR code and scan the paper once, or choose a number of steps. Put the key somewhere you'd have to get up for, and slide the latch. If you print a QR code, the whole thing takes a few minutes and nothing has to be shipped.

What several keys cost

Brick at $59 each; the Brick site offers free shipping on orders of two or more. NFC stickers cost a few cents each online, or $7.99 for the Latch Key Kit with three stickers and three QR keys.

If you already own a Brick

If it's working for you, keep using it. The reasons people look for an alternative tend to be specific: they want a key at work as well as at home, they've used up their emergency unbricks, or they'd like the phone to lock on its own when they get to the office. Latch covers those cases. You can set it up alongside the routine you already have, start with the free version and one printed key, and only buy Pro if you want more keys or the automatic locks.

Which should you choose?

Common questions

Try the cheaper key

Latch is out now on the App Store for iPhone and iPad, and on Google Play (Android 9 and later). The key kit ships now.

Get a key kit · $7.99

Last updated September 28, 2026. See also: the short comparison, the phone habit check.