AppBlock vs BlockSite: The Comparison Neither Vendor Wrote (2026)
AppBlock and BlockSite both block apps and websites on iPhone and Android, and the honest difference is emphasis. AppBlock is the stronger commitment tool: schedules, a Strict Mode you cannot talk your way out of, and one clear price. BlockSite is the stronger web filter: keyword and category blocking across browsers. AppBlock and BlockSite sit on the same Apple framework, so neither blocks harder than the other on an iPhone.
Full disclosure: we make Sparky, a screen time app built on a different model, so we compete with both and sell neither. That stake cuts both ways, and it is exactly why this page exists. Search this question today and the top answers are AppBlock’s blog and BlockSite’s blog reviewing themselves.
Can you trust the comparisons already ranking for this query?
Not as written. BlockSite’s own comparison post describes AppBlock as “primarily designed for Android” with limited iOS functionality. AppBlock’s live App Store listing is a full iPhone app built on Apple’s Screen Time framework, schedules and Strict Mode included. We checked every claim below against both apps’ own listings and pricing pages on August 10, 2026, and linked each one so you can recheck them the day you read this.
What is the real difference between AppBlock and BlockSite?
AppBlock, by MobileSoft s.r.o., is a toolbox of ways to block: Quick Block for an instant lock, time and location schedules, an Open Limit soft cap, and a Strict Mode that locks its own settings behind a PIN, a partner’s approval, or a cooldown timer. BlockSite, by BlockSite LP, grew out of a browser extension and it shows in the good sense: its iOS app blocks websites by keyword and by preset category across Safari, Chrome, and Firefox, using what it calls an inner VPN to filter traffic, alongside regular app blocking and schedules.
So the choice is about your actual failure mode. If your problem is opening apps, AppBlock has more distinct tools for it. If your problem is drifting into websites, news, shopping, adult content, anything a keyword list can name, BlockSite’s filter is the part AppBlock does not match.
What do AppBlock and BlockSite cost in 2026?
AppBlock publishes one ladder on its pricing page: $4.99 a month, $29.99 a year, or $89.99 once for lifetime, with a 7-day trial. BlockSite’s US iOS listing shows eight in-app purchase price points: monthly subscriptions at $3.99, $9.99, $10.99, and $14.99, annual at $23.99, $38.99, and $47.90, plus a $19.99 one-time unlock. Which of those eight you see depends on the paywall you land on, which makes the real price hard to state and worth checking before you commit.
Both free tiers function. AppBlock’s free tier caps the tools: Quick Block runs up to 4 hours at a time on iOS and schedules are limited to a few. BlockSite’s free tier keeps the basic blocklist and schedule and holds keyword blocking, category blocking, and password protection for Premium.
Which one blocks better on an iPhone?
Neither, and the reason matters. On iOS, AppBlock and BlockSite both enforce app blocks through Apple’s Screen Time framework, so their hard stopping power is identical, and so is their shared escape hatch: deleting the app or revoking its Screen Time permission lifts every block it was enforcing. Any blocker vendor implying otherwise is describing marketing, not the API.
What differs is the friction design, and friction is the part with evidence behind it. A 2023 PNAS study found people abandoned 36 percent of their app-opening attempts when a brief intervention screen appeared first. AppBlock turns that friction into commitment: its Strict Mode makes lifting a block genuinely inconvenient. BlockSite spends the same friction budget on breadth instead, covering the browser routes an app blocker alone misses.
Which one should you pick?
| Tool | Price | Standout | Weakness |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Screen Time | Free, built in | Zero setup, no third-party access | The Ignore Limit button is a reflex tap |
| AppBlock | $4.99/mo, $29.99/yr, $89.99 lifetime | Strict Mode, schedules, desktop extension | Web filtering is thinner than BlockSite’s |
| BlockSite | Eight IAP tiers, $3.99 to $47.90 | Keyword and category web filtering | Opaque pricing, no comparable Strict Mode |
| Sparky (ours) | Free to start; Pro $8.99/mo, $59.99/yr, $129.99 lifetime | App time is earned by finishing habits, not unlocked by a timer | No keyword web filter, no desktop, iPhone only |
Start with Apple’s free Screen Time limits if you have never tried anything; our App Blockers vs Time Limits guide covers when the built-in tools hold and when they collapse. Pick AppBlock when you need a block you cannot negotiate with, or your phone and laptop blocked together. Pick BlockSite when the websites are the problem and a keyword filter would name them.
Is there a third option besides blocking harder?
Blocking is one answer to the autopilot reach. The other is repricing it: earned screen time apps keep your apps reachable but make each session cost a small finished habit first. We compared that model against AppBlock’s toolbox directly in Sparky vs AppBlock, tradeoffs included. And the tradeoff here is plain: Sparky has no keyword web filter and no desktop version, so if those are your failure modes, BlockSite or AppBlock fits you better than we do.
If your problem is the reflex open rather than the marathon session, Sparky is free to start.
Sparky turns small habits into screen time you earn. Download it free on the App Store.