Is Opal Free? Free Plan vs Pro, Prices and Trial (2026)

Opal is free to download, and it has a permanent free plan, but most of what people install it for is in Opal Pro. As of October 2026, the free plan gives you one Rule (a schedule, time limit or open limit), app blocking, basic timers and today's Opal Score. Pro costs $99.99 a year, $19.99 a month, or $399 once for lifetime on Opal's own pricing page, with a free trial first. Prices vary by country.

Below: exactly what each plan includes, what the App Store actually charges, how the trial and refunds work, and the free options if you'd rather not pay.

What does Opal's free plan include?

Opal's pricing page (opal.so now redirects to opalapp.com) calls the free tier "Free, forever" at $0, on iOS, Android and Mac. It lists:

• 1 Rule: a schedule, a time limit or an open limit
• App Blocking
• Basic Timers & Soundscapes
• Opal Score (today only)

The single Rule is the real constraint. One Rule can block your social apps from 9 to 5, or cap them at an hour a day, but not both, and not a separate bedtime block too.

One older detail you may see quoted: Opal's help center article "Why pay for Opal" still describes the free version as including three recurring Focus Sessions plus unlimited sessions you start on the spot. That wording predates the current "Rules" naming. The pricing page is the more recent source, so trust "1 Rule", and check what the app shows you after you install it.

What do you get with Opal Pro?

Every Pro plan (yearly, monthly, lifetime) lists the same features:

• Hard Mode: Opal describes it as "No way out. You can't turn Opal off." The help center calls the same idea the "No way, I'm hardcore" option, which stops you cancelling a session or taking a break.
• Unlimited Rules
• Advanced Timers & Soundscapes
• Allow Only: block everything except the apps you choose
• Opal Score with History

Hard Mode is the big one. On the free plan, nothing stops you ending a block early. If strictness is why you want Opal, you're looking at Pro.

How much does Opal cost?

Here is what Opal's own pricing page shows, as of October 2026, in US dollars:

The monthly plan costs $239.88 over a year, more than double the yearly plan. If you're going to pay, monthly only makes sense as a short test.

What does the App Store charge?

The App Store listing ("Free · In-App Purchases", requires iOS 18.0 or later) shows a longer list than the website. In the US it includes:

• Yearly Plan: $99.99 (listed three times)
• Monthly Plan: $19.99 (listed three times)
• Weekly Plan: $4.99 and $9.99
• Opal Student Weekly: $9.99
• Opal Pro Subscription: $49.99 (the listing doesn't say for what period)

Apple lists every price point an app can sell, not just the one you'll see, so the weekly plans and the $49.99 item are presumably offers some people get on the paywall. What matters is the price on the screen when you tap subscribe. The $399 lifetime plan doesn't appear in the App Store's in-app purchase list, so as far as we can see, lifetime is a website (Stripe) purchase.

Does Opal cost the same in every country?

No. App Store prices are set per region. On the same day the yearly plan was £99.99 in the UK and €99.99 in France and Germany. Monthly plans varied more: France lists monthly options at €19.99, €21.99 and €22.99. Check the price in your own App Store before you subscribe.

How does the Opal free trial work?

Opal's help center describes two routes:

• Trial in the iPhone app. It runs through Apple. It lasts "a set number of days" shown on the trial screen, and then you're charged the full yearly price.
• Trial on the website. You enter payment details first. It unlocks everything in Pro, defaults to the annual subscription when it ends, and bills you the full yearly price unless you cancel.

In both cases Opal says to cancel at least 24 hours before the trial ends. If you do, your account goes back to the free, locked-down version and you keep using it.

How do I cancel Opal and get a refund?

Deleting the app does not cancel your subscription. Opal's help center says this explicitly. How you cancel depends on where you paid.

If you subscribed in the iPhone app (Apple):

1. Open Settings → [your name] → Subscriptions.
2. Tap Opal.
3. Tap Cancel Subscription (you may need to scroll). If there's no button and you see an expiry date instead, it's already cancelled.

For a refund, go to reportaproblem.apple.com, sign in with the Apple Account that paid, choose I'd like to → Request a refund, pick a reason and select the Opal charge. Apple says to allow 24 to 48 hours for an answer, and eligibility varies by country. Opal can't refund App Store purchases. Its pricing FAQ says those "can't be refunded by Opal directly".

If you paid on Opal's website (Stripe): cancel from the Stripe customer portal (the cancellation email often lands in spam). Website purchases have Opal's 30-day money-back guarantee.

If you paid through Google Play: cancel and request any refund in Google Play.

Are there free alternatives to Opal?

Yes, two that are actually free, with clear trade-offs.

Apple Screen Time is built into every iPhone. Settings → Screen Time → App Limits sets daily limits per app or category, and Downtime blocks apps on a schedule. You get unlimited limits and schedules at no cost, which already beats Opal's one free Rule on quantity. The catch is enforcement: without a passcode, the limit screen offers Ignore Limit in one tap, and with a passcode you set yourself, you just type it in. Our guide to removing "Ignore Limit" in Screen Time shows how to make it firmer.

ScreenZen is free on the App Store (iOS 16.4 or later). Its only in-app purchases are optional tips from $5 to $40. It works by adding a pause before a distracting app opens, so it's gentle friction rather than a hard lock. If that's all you need, it's hard to beat on price. We compare it with stricter options in ScreenZen alternatives.

For cheaper paid apps, like Jomo, and a wider comparison, see our Opal alternatives roundup and our Jomo review and alternative. If you also need to block a computer, Opal vs Freedom covers that.

When is paying for a blocker worth it?

Start free. If Screen Time's limits or ScreenZen's pause actually change how you use your phone, you're done, and you don't need Opal Pro.

Paying makes sense when the free tools fail in one specific way: you get past them when you want to. That's a strictness problem, not a feature problem, and it's what Opal's Hard Mode and other strict blockers charge for.

That's also where Detox fits. It's not free: it's paid, with a free trial, for iPhone and iPad only. It's built for blocks that hold. Its strict mode stops you editing or deleting a block while it's active, it can stop you deleting the Detox app itself during a strict block, and emergency unblocks are capped at one per 24 hours. Its anti-doomscroll limit also counts continuous use rather than a daily total, so quick checks stay fine and Detox only steps in when you've been scrolling too long.

The bottom line

Opal is free in a limited way: one Rule, app blocking and today's score, forever. The features that make it strict, mainly Hard Mode and unlimited Rules, cost $99.99 a year, $19.99 a month or $399 lifetime on Opal's site as of October 2026, with a free trial and local prices that vary. Cancel at least 24 hours before the trial ends, through Apple if you subscribed on your iPhone. And if you only need a nudge, Apple Screen Time and ScreenZen do it for free.