The 5 Best SelfControl Alternatives in 2026

Key takeaways

• Mac only: SelfControl does not have a version for PC, Linux or iOS.
• Best for a PC: Ascension, with blocks that cannot be edited or removed.
• Best one-time price: Cold Turkey, $45 once for your PC and Mac computers.
• Best for a phone and computer together: Freedom, which runs one session across all your devices.
• Best free option: LeechBlock NG, a browser extension that can be removed.
• Outdated port: SelfRestraint, the PC version many pages still recommend, has not been updated since 2014.

Feature comparison

1. Ascension

Platforms: PC only (iOS and Mac in development)

Price: 15-day free trial, then $12.99/month or $50 one-time

Ascension is a powerful website blocker and screen time tracker designed to improve digital habits and productivity. It blocks distracting content on the web and tracks your digital usage automatically to give insights on how one can improve.

Key features

• Uninstall protection
• Deep analytics (reports, goal tracking, time projections)
• Premade block lists (adult content, gambling, social media)

Limitations: PC only (iOS and Mac in development).

Best for: people who want a SelfControl style block on a PC that is hard to bypass.

2. Cold Turkey

Platforms: PC, Mac

Price: Free version, Pro $45 once for all your personal computers

Cold Turkey is a website and app blocker with strong bypass prevention. It blocks websites, games and desktop applications on schedules or timers, and its Frozen Turkey mode can block the entire computer for a set period.

Key features

• Free version with website blocking and timed blocks
• Blocks desktop apps as well as websites (Pro)
• One licence covers every PC and Mac you own

Limitations: schedules and protected blocks need Pro, and there is no phone app.

Best for: people who used SelfControl on a Mac and now need a PC blocked too, for one payment.

3. FocusMe

Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux, Android

Price: 14-day free trial, then $15.95/month, $119.40/year or $449 lifetime

FocusMe is a distraction-blocking application designed to improve focus and productivity. It blocks websites and desktop applications using timers, schedules or daily allowances. It is best known for being highly customisable and very hard to bypass once a plan is running.

Key features

• Forced Mode: a running plan cannot be paused or edited
• Optional uninstall protection
• Schedules, daily allowances and launch limits on the same site

Limitations: the most expensive option here, and a steep learning curve.

Best for: people who want SelfControl's strictness with fine control over time.

4. Freedom

Platforms: PC, Mac, iOS, Android, Chromebook

Price: Free plan, then $8.99/month, $3.33/month billed yearly, or $99.50 once

Freedom is a website and app blocker that syncs one blocking session across all your devices at once. One session blocks sites, apps or the entire internet on your phone and computer together.

Key features

• Syncs sessions across a PC, a Mac and a phone
• Locked Mode: a session cannot be quit once it starts (Premium)
• Recurring schedules (Premium)

Limitations: the free plan has no scheduling or Locked Mode, and Locked Mode is a setting you turn on.

Best for: people who want one blocker on a Mac, a PC and a phone.

5. LeechBlock NG

Platforms: Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Brave, Opera, Vivaldi

Price: Free (open source)

LeechBlock NG is a free browser extension built to cut the time lost to distracting websites, such as social media, news or video sites. It can block them outright or cap how long you can use them, with up to 30 groups of sites, each on its own schedule.

Key features

• Up to 30 block sets, each with its own schedule
• Lockdown: blocks sites immediately for a chosen period
• Password or random code to protect the settings

Limitations: works in one browser at a time, and it can be removed like any extension.

Best for: people who want a free SelfControl alternative in any major browser and accept that it can be removed.

Frequently asked questions