Comparison · Updated August 2026
Five options a Mac user actually chooses between — and what each one's free tier really covers.
FocusDragon, SelfControl, macOS Screen Time, Cold Turkey and Freedom. Prices and features as published in August 2026.
Core blocker free forever · v1.22.4 · macOS 14+ · universal binary · Apple-notarised
Searching for a free website blocker for Mac turns up three quite different kinds of free. There is genuinely free software with no commercial model behind it — SelfControl is the classic example. There is free-because-it-is-already-on-your-Mac, which is Screen Time. And there is the free tier of a paid product, where the interesting question is always which specific feature was held back.
That third question is the one worth asking carefully, because the feature held back is rarely the blocking itself. It is almost always the part that stops you turning the block off: scheduling, so you cannot “just not start it today”, and locked mode, so you cannot end it at 11pm. A blocker without those is a to-do list that says stop it.
So the table below rates each option on four things: what the free tier actually gives you, whether it reaches apps as well as websites, how hard the block is to escape once it is running, and what it costs to go beyond free. If you want the long-form version of how blocking works underneath all of this, the website blocker for Mac explainer covers the enforcement layers in detail.
Every cell describes the free tier unless the last column says otherwise. Prices as published in August 2026 — check the vendor before you buy, because they move.
| Tool | What the free tier covers | Blocks apps too? | How hard is it to escape? | Beyond free (Aug 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FocusDragon | Unlimited blocks, all 10 lock types, Safari + Chrome/Chromium + Firefox extensions, system-level enforcement | Yes | Blocks survive quitting the app, force-quitting the daemon and dragging the app to the Trash mid-block; timers ignore the system date | Pro, $4.99 one-time |
| SelfControl | One block list, one timer up to 24 hours, enforced in macOS firewall rules so every browser is covered | No — network destinations only | A running block survives a restart and even deleting the app; no pause, no early exit. Documented workaround: changing the system clock | Nothing to buy — free and open source |
| macOS Screen Time | Adult-site filter, a manual Never Allow list, app limits | Yes — via app limits | Low: can be switched back off in System Settings, and web filtering is inconsistent between browsers | Built into macOS |
| Cold Turkey (free tier) | Website blocking | No — the free tier blocks websites only | 2026 reviews report delayed or missed blocking on macOS and easier circumvention than the Windows build | Pro, $39 one-time, 30-day refund |
| Freedom (free tier) | Basic blocking and cross-device sync; no scheduling, no locked mode | Yes — Freedom blocks sites and apps on macOS | No locked mode on the free tier, so a block can be ended whenever you choose to end it | $8.99/mo, $39.99/yr or $99.50 lifetime |
We make one of these five, so read the table as a table and not as a verdict. The honest summary: SelfControl is the best thing in this list at the one job it does; Screen Time is already installed and costs nothing to try; Freedom is the one to look at if you want the same block on non-Apple devices; Cold Turkey has a long track record, mostly on Windows; and FocusDragon is built around blocks that hold after you change your mind.
SelfControl deserves its reputation. It is free and open source with nothing to upgrade to, and instead of a browser extension it modifies macOS firewall rules — so the block covers every browser and every app on the machine without you configuring anything per-browser. Once a block is running it is genuinely difficult to stop: it survives a restart, and it survives deleting the application. There is no pause button and no early exit, which is exactly the point.
The limits are real too. There is no scheduling, so every block is one you start by hand on the day. It cannot block applications, only network destinations. The maximum timer is 24 hours. And the project documents one workaround in its own FAQ: because the countdown follows your Mac's clock, changing the system date can end a block early.
Choose it if you want one hard block for one working day, you are happy to start it manually, and you never want to think about a licence.
Screen Time ships with macOS, costs nothing, and can do more than most people realise: it will filter adult sites, hold a manual Never Allow list of specific domains, and put daily time limits on apps. Setting it up takes about two minutes and there is nothing to install.
What it will not do is hold. The whole configuration lives in System Settings, and whoever is sitting at the Mac can switch it back off — which, when the block matters, is you. Its web filtering is also reported to behave inconsistently from one browser to another, so a site blocked in Safari is not reliably blocked everywhere. Treat it as a filter for casual drift, not a commitment device.
Choose it if you want basic filtering today without installing anything. The step-by-step is in our guide to blocking websites on a Mac, alongside the hosts-file and app routes.
Cold Turkey's free tier blocks websites and stops there; app blocking and the rest of the feature set sit behind Cold Turkey Pro, a $39 one-time purchase with a 30-day refund window, where one key covers your own computers (as of August 2026). One-time pricing is a genuine advantage over the subscription blockers, and the product has years of development behind it.
The caveat is platform-specific and worth taking seriously if you are on a Mac. Multiple 2026 reviews report reliability problems with the macOS build in particular — delayed or missed blocking, and easier circumvention than on Windows. One review puts it directly in its title: unbeatable on Windows, risky on Mac.
Choose it if you are mainly a Windows user with a Mac on the side, and test the Mac blocking properly inside the 30-day refund window.
Freedom blocks sites and apps on macOS and syncs the same blocks to iOS, Windows and Android, which is the reason to pick it: none of the other options here reach a Windows PC or an Android phone. Pricing is a subscription — $8.99 a month or $39.99 a year — with a $99.50 lifetime licence as the alternative, as of August 2026. There is a 7-day trial, though some sources describe it as a limited number of sessions rather than a period of days.
The free tier is where it gets thin. You get basic blocking and cross-device sync, but no scheduling and no locked mode — so blocks do not start themselves, and nothing stops you ending one. As a way to try the product it is fine. As a permanent free blocker it is missing the parts that make blocking work.
Choose it if your distractions live on several devices and at least one of them is not an Apple device.
Our own entry, so weigh it accordingly. The core blocker is free forever and the free tier is not trimmed to make Pro look better: unlimited blocks, all 10 lock types, extensions for Safari, Chrome/Chromium browsers and Firefox, and system-level enforcement that does not depend on which browser you open.
The design goal is the failure mode the other options handle unevenly — the moment you decide to undo your own decision. Blocks survive quitting the app, force-quitting the background daemon, and dragging the app to the Trash mid-block, because a root daemon restores it. Timers are measured against a clock that changing the system date cannot move, which is the specific workaround SelfControl documents against itself.
Choose it if your problem is not knowing which sites to block but staying blocked once you have. It needs macOS 14 or later, ships as a universal binary, and is Developer ID signed and Apple-notarised.
A comparison of free tools written by someone who sells one should be explicit about the paid part, so: FocusDragon Pro is $4.99, paid once. It is not a subscription and nothing renews. It adds locked mode, Bulletproof Strictness and full statistics.
The trial runs 7 days and takes a card up front. If you do nothing, a single $4.99 charge lands on day 7. If you cancel before then, nothing is charged. After you have paid there is a 14-day refund window. Full terms are on the pricing page.
Everything in the free column of the table above stays free with no time limit and no nag to upgrade. If you never buy Pro, you still get unlimited blocks and every lock type.
SelfControl. Free, open source, covers every browser, and once the timer starts there is no button that ends it. Just remember it maxes out at 24 hours and cannot schedule itself for tomorrow.
Screen Time. It is already on your Mac. If you find yourself switching it off in System Settings within the week, that is useful information about what you actually need.
Freedom, on a paid plan — the free tier lacks scheduling and locked mode. It is the only option here that reaches Windows and Android as well as macOS.
FocusDragon. Ten lock types to match the friction to the temptation, enforcement that survives quitting, force-quitting and deleting the app, and timers a system-clock change cannot shorten. Free to use for as long as you want.
More on the full FAQ page.
It depends on how long the block has to hold. For a single stretch of deep work today, SelfControl is excellent and completely free — set a timer up to 24 hours and there is genuinely no way out of it short of changing your Mac's clock. For blocks that recur, that need to survive you quitting or deleting the app, or that you want to configure differently per site, a dedicated blocker with a real free tier is a better fit. FocusDragon's core blocker is free forever: unlimited blocks, all 10 lock types, Safari, Chrome/Chromium and Firefox extensions, and system-level enforcement.
For light filtering, yes. Screen Time is built into macOS, costs nothing, and will block adult sites, hold a manual Never Allow list and put time limits on apps. Its weaknesses are that it can be switched back off in System Settings by whoever is sitting at the Mac — which is you, at the exact moment you least want it to be possible — and that its web filtering behaves inconsistently from browser to browser. It is a filter, not a commitment device.
Cold Turkey's free tier blocks websites only; app blocking and the rest sit behind Cold Turkey Pro, which is a $39 one-time purchase with a 30-day refund window and a key that covers your own computers (prices as of August 2026). The bigger caveat is platform-specific: multiple 2026 reviews report reliability problems with Cold Turkey specifically on macOS — delayed or missed blocking and easier circumvention than the Windows build. It is a well-regarded product on Windows; on a Mac it is worth testing hard before you trust it.
Yes, but a deliberately limited one. Freedom's free tier gives you basic blocking and cross-device sync, without scheduling and without locked mode — the two features that make a blocker hard to switch off. Freedom also offers a 7-day trial, though some sources describe the trial as a limited number of sessions rather than a period of days. Paid plans are $8.99/month, $39.99/year or $99.50 for a lifetime licence, as of August 2026.
Three things, all by design. It cannot schedule anything — every block is started by hand. It cannot block apps, only network destinations. And its maximum timer is 24 hours, with no pause and no early exit once it starts. There is also one documented workaround: because the countdown is tied to your Mac's clock, changing the system date can end a block early. Within those limits it is superb, and it is free and open source with no upsell of any kind.
The blocker is free forever — unlimited blocks, all 10 lock types, the Safari, Chrome/Chromium and Firefox extensions, and system-level enforcement. Pro is a one-time $4.99 that adds locked mode, Bulletproof Strictness and full statistics. It is not a subscription and nothing renews. There is a 7-day trial that requires a card up front, a single $4.99 charge on day 7 unless you cancel first, and 14 days to ask for a refund.
With some of them, yes. SelfControl documents this as a known workaround: its countdown follows the system clock, so moving the date forward can end a block early. FocusDragon measures block timers against a clock that changing the system date cannot move, so setting your Mac to next Tuesday does not shorten anything. If clock-tampering is a bypass you know you will reach for, test it before you rely on a blocker.
Not all of them. Anything that works purely as a browser extension stops at the browser it is installed in, and switching to another browser is a two-click bypass. SelfControl avoids this entirely by editing macOS firewall rules, so it covers every browser and every app on the machine. macOS Screen Time's web filtering is reported to behave inconsistently between browsers. FocusDragon ships extensions for Safari, Chrome/Chromium browsers and Firefox and backs them with system-level enforcement, so a different browser is not a different rulebook.
It requires macOS 14 or later, ships as a universal binary for Apple Silicon and Intel, and is signed with an Apple Developer ID and notarised by Apple before release — so Gatekeeper opens it without the unidentified-developer warning.
Unlimited blocks, all 10 lock types, every extension — free, with no time limit. If it does not beat what you are using, you have lost a download.
v1.22.4 · macOS 14+ · Apple Silicon & Intel · Pro is $4.99 once, if you ever want it