An Opal alternative you pay for once

Opal is one of the best-known screen time apps, and it's good at what it does. It's also a subscription: $19.99 a month or $99.99 a year for the full version. Latch takes a different approach. Your apps stay locked until you scan a key you keep somewhere else, and Latch Pro is $9.99 once.

We make Latch, so read this with that in mind. Opal details come from Opal's App Store listing and opalapp.com, as of September 2026, and link to their sources.

Our verdict

For your phone, Latch is the better deal and the harder lock to talk yourself out of

Opal's full version costs $99.99 a year. Latch Pro is $9.99 once. And with Latch, the way back into your apps is a walk to a key in another room, not a setting on the phone you're trying to put down. Opal is the better pick if you also need to block your Mac, or you want its detailed focus stats.

See how it works

Latch vs Opal at a glance

Prices in US dollars from Opal's US App Store listing. Opal is a trademark of its owner; Latch isn't affiliated with Opal.

What it costs over time

Opal's monthly plan is $19.99, and a weekly plan is $4.99. Latch keys cost a few cents for a sticker or nothing for a printed QR code.

What Opal does well

Opal has put a lot of care into the experience. Sessions look good, the stats are detailed, and there's a Mac app, so you can block distractions on your computer as well as your phone. Hard Mode, in Opal's own words, leaves "no way out", which is useful for anyone who knows they'll talk themselves out of a softer block. It's on sale now, and 89,000 App Store ratings averaging 4.7 stars say plenty of people are happy with it.

Where Latch is different

You pay once

Opal's full version is a subscription. At $99.99 a year that's about $200 over two years and $500 over five. Latch Pro costs $9.99, one time, and it doesn't renew. The free version of Latch covers one key, three profiles and two places, which is enough for a single routine like bedtime.

The way out is physical

Most blocking apps put the off switch on the phone. That means the decision to unlock happens in the same place and the same second as the urge. Latch moves it: your apps open when you scan your key, and your key lives on the fridge, in the car or at your desk at work. Getting up and walking there takes long enough to ask whether you want the app at all. For most people, most of the time, that pause is enough.

The key can be a few-cent NFC sticker, a QR code you print, or a number of steps between 500 and 20,000. If you'd like it ready to go, the Latch Key Kit is three stickers and three QR keys for $7.99.

It locks when your day changes

Both apps can lock on a schedule. Latch can also lock when you arrive at the office or the gym and unlock when you leave, lock while you're driving, and lock from a sentence: "Siri, Latch my phone".

Emergencies are built in

With Latch, Break glass lets you open your apps for 5 to 15 minutes, three times a month, without your key. They lock again on their own. It's for the phone call you must take, and it doesn't end your session.

What you'd give up

Latch doesn't have a Mac app, and its stats are simpler than Opal's: locked time by day, week, month and all time, your streak, and how often you reached for a blocked app. If blocking your laptop matters to you, Opal covers that and Latch doesn't. Latch also isn't out yet.

Which should you choose?

Common questions

Pay once, walk to unlock

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

Latch vs Brick

Last updated September 28, 2026.