The short verdict. Choose Brick if you want physical distance between you and your apps: a device you leave in another room, a one-time purchase with no subscription listed, Android support, and a Strict Mode that Brick says stops you deleting the app. Choose Bricked if you don’t want to buy or carry hardware, you’d rather give yourself a daily budget than an on/off switch, and you want each unlock to be possible but slow, short and deliberate. Both are good ideas. They put the friction in different places.
Bricked vs Brick at a glance
| Brick (as of Nov 2026) | Bricked | |
|---|---|---|
| Price (US) | Brick device $59; Brick Night $129; bundle $169. App is a free download, no in-app purchases listed | Free plan. Bricked+ $2.90/week, $39.90/year (7-day free trial) or $59.99 lifetime |
| How blocking starts | Tap your phone to the Brick, press and hold in the app, or set a schedule. Brick Night uses Bluetooth to block apps when you enter your bedroom | A daily limit that fills a brick as you use your apps, schedules (bedtime, mornings, work), and Slide to brick for instant focus sessions |
| How you unlock | Tap your phone to the Brick again. Five Emergency Unbricks included; more on request | 5-minute peeks. Bricked+: press and hold, 3 s rising to 60 s. Free: a wait, none rising to 5 min |
| Strictness | Physical separation. Strict Mode is built to prevent deleting the app or changing settings | Friction, not a prison. You can raise your limit or delete the app. Strict mode removes early exit from focus sessions |
| Account and data | App Store label lists data linked to you, including email, identifiers and usage data | No account, no ads, no third-party trackers. Limits, schedules and stats stay on your iPhone |
| Platforms | iPhone (iOS 18+) and Android (12+); one device works with any number of phones | iPhone only, iOS 17+ |
Prices and features change. Check Brick’s FAQ and App Store listing before you buy.
The real difference: where the friction lives
Brick’s whole design is distance. Brick describes it as creating “physical separation, requiring a rescan to exit”. If the device is in the kitchen and you’re in bed at 1 a.m., getting your apps back means getting up. For a lot of people, that walk is exactly what works.
Bricked keeps the friction on the phone, at the moment you reach for it. When your daily limit runs out or a schedule starts, the apps you picked turn to brick. Apple’s own shield covers them. There’s no one-tap Ignore, and each unlock that day costs a little more than the last:
- On Bricked+, the hold gets longer with each unlock that day: 3 seconds, then 5, 10, 15, 30 and 60.
- On the free plan, you wait instead: no wait for the first unlock, then 30 seconds, 1 minute, 3 minutes and 5 minutes.
- Every unlock is a 5-minute peek. Then the brick comes back on its own. There’s no “unlock for the rest of the day”.
One small detail: Brick also uses a press-and-hold, but to start a session from the app without the device. In Bricked, the hold is how you get out, and it costs a little more every time.
A budget for the day vs sessions you start
Brick is built around sessions and modes. You tap to start, tap to end, and you can set up custom modes (Brick’s FAQ mentions up to 10, such as work, family, sleep and gym) and schedules.
Bricked is built around a daily budget. Say 60 minutes across Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. As you use them, a glass brick on Bricked’s Home screen fills with clay: “22 MIN LEFT”. When it’s full, the apps lock until midnight. You never have to remember to start anything, which matters on the days you didn’t plan to scroll.
Bricked also has the session side. Slide to brick locks your apps right away for 25 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours or until tonight. And schedules lock apps at bedtime or during work hours even if you still have minutes left. On Bricked+ you can give one app its own tighter limit, like 15 minutes for social media.
Price over time
Brick is a one-time hardware purchase: $59 for the Brick on Brick’s store as of November 2026, or $129 for Brick Night. The App Store listing shows no in-app purchases, and Brick says the device includes full app access.
Bricked costs nothing to start. The free plan covers up to 3 apps or categories, 1 schedule and unlocking with the escalating wait. Bricked+ adds unlimited apps, multiple schedules, per-app limits, the hold-to-unlock and strict mode, for $39.90 a year or $59.99 once in the US. See pricing for the full breakdown.
Honestly, if you plan to use either for years, the lifetime price of Bricked+ and the price of a Brick are close. The difference is whether you’d rather pay for an object or for software, and whether you want to start for free.
When Brick is worth it
We’d point you to Brick if:
- Physical distance is what works for you. If you know any on-phone unlock will eventually become a reflex, a device in another room is a stronger barrier than any hold.
- You want the app to resist deletion. Brick says its Strict Mode prevents deleting the app or changing settings to unbrick. Bricked doesn’t block deletion.
- You use Android, or several phones. Brick supports Android 12+ and iPhone, and one device works with as many phones as you like. Bricked is iPhone only.
- You want a gift, or HSA/FSA. A physical product is easier to give. Brick’s site says HSA/FSA funds are accepted for qualified customers through Truemed.
- You want the bedroom handled automatically. Brick Night blocks apps over Bluetooth when you walk into your bedroom.
Where Bricked fits better
Bricked is the better match if:
- You don’t want another thing to carry or lose. The off switch lives in your phone, so you can’t leave it at the office.
- You need occasional access. A boarding pass, a message from your boss, a recipe. A 5-minute peek handles that without an emergency pass or a walk across the house.
- You’d rather budget than ban. A daily limit lets you use your apps on purpose, then stops you when the minutes are gone.
- You care about data. Bricked has no account and no sign-up. Your limits, schedules, streaks and stats stay on your iPhone. Purchases go through Apple. Read the privacy page.
- You like seeing progress. Scroll-free time earns brick tiers, from Clay to Diamond, plus a day streak and weekly stats.
The honest limit: Bricked is friction at the moment of weakness, not a lock nobody can open. If you’re determined, you can raise your limit or delete the app. That’s covered in more detail on strict mode.
Can you use both?
You could. Some people like a hardware switch for evenings and a daily budget for the rest of the day. We haven’t tested how the two apps behave together on one phone, so if you try it, start with different apps in each.
If you’re still weighing options, our Opal alternatives guide compares more iPhone blockers side by side, and the Brick alternatives post covers other ways to block apps without a device.