AppBlock vs. BlockSite: An Honest Comparison

AppBlock and BlockSite show up in the same searches because they solve overlapping problems — block distracting apps, block distracting websites, add enough friction that you don’t just tap through. Both are free to start. Both save their real strictness for a paid tier. And neither one, once you look closely at what “accountability” means in their own marketing, actually puts a second person in the loop the way a mutual lock does. Here’s the honest comparison, checked against both apps’ current listings.

Quick comparison

Platforms and everyday use

BlockSite is the broader tool by design — it syncs a blocklist across iOS, Android, and desktop browser extensions for Chrome, Safari, and Edge, so a site you block on your laptop is blocked on your phone too. That matters if most of your distraction happens across devices, not just on one phone.

AppBlock covers iOS and Android but doesn’t touch the browser directly — it’s app-first, with scheduled rules, location-based profiles, and Pomodoro-style work sessions layered on top. If your problem is specific apps rather than specific websites, AppBlock’s rule engine is more built-out for that use case.

Strict modes — what actually gates the bypass

Both apps market a “you can’t get around this” feature, and both put it behind Premium.

AppBlock’s Strict Mode is described in its own App Store listing as “preventing yourself from bypassing restrictions,” and App Store reviews back that up in practice for the in-app toggle — one reviewer wrote “you literally cannot bypass it no matter what.” What Strict Mode doesn’t touch is the OS-level path every iOS blocker shares: revoking an app’s Screen Time access from Settings → Apps → [App] works regardless of what’s happening inside AppBlock itself, unless a partner separately holds your device’s Lock Screen Time Settings passcode (the free iOS 26.4 setting that closes that gap).

BlockSite’s equivalent is Password Protection, a Premium feature that requires a password before you can turn blocking off. It’s the same idea — gate the toggle, not just the block itself — but user reviews on its App Store listing describe cases of turning the block off without the password prompt appearing consistently. That’s a reported limitation, not something we could reproduce or confirm ourselves this session; if the strict feature is the reason you’d pay for either app, it’s worth testing on your own device against your own use case before committing to a year of Premium.

Pricing

AppBlock’s Premium runs ~$4.99/month or ~$29.99/year on its current App Store listing (some regions show additional yearly tiers around $44.99–$59.99, likely family or promotional variants). BlockSite’s own pricing page lists its Unlimited plan at roughly $10.99/month or $47.88/year (a 6-month plan at $6.99/month is also offered); its App Store listing shows a wider spread, from $3.99 to $14.99 monthly depending on plan length and region. Neither is unreasonable for what it unlocks, but neither is free once the anti-bypass or accountability layer is the reason you’re buying in.

Where LockPact fits

Both AppBlock and BlockSite solve “block this app or site” well, and both charge for the version of that which is actually hard to get around. Neither gives you a real second person in the unlock path by default — AppBlock’s Approval Access comes closest, but it’s one-way, email-based, and Premium-only. LockPact’s mutual lock is free from the start: you and your partner each hold the other’s key, with bypass notification built in, no paid tier gating the part that matters.

Get LockPact on the App Store →

The accountability question — where both fall short

This is worth being precise about, because “accountability” gets used loosely in this space. AppBlock’s Approval Access (Premium, part of Strict Mode) is the real thing to compare against a partner-based lock: you name one approver, they get an email when you request an unlock, and they decide. It’s a genuine one-way accountability relationship — but it is one-way. There’s no symmetrical version where your approver is also locked and you’re also approving their requests, short of both of you separately configuring and paying for it.

BlockSite has nothing in this category at all. Its closest social feature is a Slack integration that blocks distracting messages during a focus session — useful for a coworking context, but it’s blocking a notification source, not putting a person in your unlock path.

Neither app is built around the idea that the person best positioned to stop you from quietly disabling your own restriction is someone who cares whether you do — which is the entire premise LockPact is built on, for free, with no approver-only, one-way, or Premium-gated version of it.

Sources checked 2026-09-08: AppBlock — App Store listing (Strict Mode, Premium $4.99/mo or $29.99/yr) · AppBlock’s Approval Access page · BlockSite — App Store listing (Password Protection Premium, pricing tiers $3.99–$14.99/mo, $19.99–$47.90/yr) · blocksite.co (platform coverage, Focus Mode, Slack integration, own Unlimited-plan pricing).

Not verified on a physical device this session: whether BlockSite’s password-prompt inconsistency (reported in App Store reviews) reproduces on a current iOS build — that needs a device check.

LockPact is free, mutual, and doesn’t paywall the part where your partner holds the key. Get it on the App Store.

Related reading: AppBlock vs. LockPact · Best Free App Blockers for iPhone (2026)