Comparison

Opal vs BB

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Opal

This app helps you regain control of your digital life by limiting app usage, blocking distractions, and improving focus. It provides tools and insights to reduce screen time, boost productivity, and enhance well-being.

Highlights
  • Screen time control
  • App blocker
  • Set app limits
  • Focus modes
  • Productivity reports
  • Block apps and websites
  • Mindful block screens
Features
Read full description

Achieve screen time control with the world’s most-loved screen time app! Opal is the fun, free Screen Time app to improve your focus and make the most out of every day. 5 to 6 hours. That’s the average time you’ll spend looking at your phone today, often without realizing it. It's time to fight back. With a combination of screen time control, app limits, app blockers, real time data, leaderboards and rewards, you will focus better and accomplish your dreams, just like Opal’s members. **As of August 2026, Opal has saved humanity 500 Million hours of screen time. ** Many of the world's top teams and companies trust Opal to help protect their focus. You can too. **Opal cut my screen time by 2 hours per day – Marketing at Google ** **You need this app. When I first got opal my daily screen-time was about 8 1/2 hours a day. Now it's 1 hour. ** **Opal has become an indispensable tool in my quest for productivity and mindful technology usage ** **Get Opal! - Ali Abdaal, productivity expert** BENEFITS Save 1 hour and 23 minutes per DAY from less screen time, on average. 94% of Opal members are less distracted 93% are more productive thanks to the app 90% report improved well-being Added benefits: - Better screen time control - Better productivity at work - Reduce stress, be more mindful - Supports focus challenges, including ADHD - Set daily work hours, sleep, and routines - Block apps to unplug and detox - Stay in focus when you need it most - You're happy and in control of your screen time FEATURES - #1 Screen Time Control: the most loved app for screen time control with 4.8/5. - #1 App Blocker: Instantly Block apps and websites you choose at a specific time of day throughout the week to organize your time. - Focus Difficulty: Make it hard, or make it a bit easier. Deep Focus won't let you cancel or bypass at all. - App Limits: Set daily usage limits on apps and websites to automatically block them and prevent overuse. - Mindful Block Screens: Discover quotes, puns and more every time you try to open an app or website you really shoudn't. - Blocklist & Allowlist: Easily pick any app, game or website you want to block or allow during your Blocks. - Focus Report: Measure your progress with clear metrics, actionable screen time stats, and benchmark against your peers. - Focus Score: Check your screen time and focus level at any point easily spotting Focus and Distracted time. - Calendar: Set daily working hours, sleep and routines, block apps automatically, so you don’t have to remember. - Precious Rewards: Unlock unique MileStones you can share with friends. - Leaderboard: Challenge friends to top the leaderboard, enhancing productivity, focus and keeping each other motivated. - Breaks: Choose the app you want to use, write your intention, and set a timer. - Focus Mode Integration: Sync your Opal Focus Sessions with iPhone Focus Mode to block apps. - Shortcut Integration: Connect iPhone shortcut automations to start/stop Focus Sessions based on app opens, time, location and more! - Focus Reminders: Get timely reminder notifications when you get distracted or reach a time limit. - Deep Focus: Need ultimate focus? Deep Focus is the maximum level of protection — you can’t bypass or cancel. - More Fun: Opal is guilt-free and fun. - Widget: Have Opal on your home screen! CREATE A PERSONALIZED APP BLOCK LIST Easily pick any app, game or website you want to block or allow to Block Apps. PRIVATE & SAFE We use Apple's Screen Time API in order to monitor and block apps you use. Installation is easy and takes a few seconds on your iPhone. Unlike most apps, Opal works entirely on your phone and personal browsing data never leaves your device. TERMS, PRIVACY & CONDITIONS Read on https://opal.so/terms & https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

BB

This app helps users break free from social media addiction and reduce screen time. It offers advanced blocking mechanisms to regain control over digital habits and improve mental well-being.

Highlights
  • Fight social media addiction
  • Reduce screen time
  • Multiple blocking mechanisms
  • Schedule-based blocking
  • Usage-based blocking
  • Strict Mode
  • Customizable blocking
Features
Read full description

Apps like social media use powerful psychological tricks to make you unable to stay away from them for too long. Burnout Buddy blocks these apps when you don't want to use them to help you break free and heal their impact on your mental health. * Fight social media addiction * Reduce screen time and improve your focus * Multiple blocking mechanisms * Completely free for most use cases * No account creation or shady VPNs Burnout Buddy is stronger than your iPhone's native Screen Time controls. Designed specifically with social media addiction and unhealthy work habits in mind, it offers a wider variety of blocking mechanisms and allows you to be extremely specific regarding how access to a specific group of apps and websites should be restricted. If you already use Burnout Buddy, keep an eye out for updates that add even more blocking mechanisms and customization points! MAIN FEATURES * Block indefinitely * Schedule-based blocking * Usage-based blocking * Location-based blocking (via Siri) * Focus Mode-based blocking (via Siri) * Siri-based Blocking: Build your own custom blocking conditions by integrating BB with Siri and the Shortcuts app! * Multiple Conditions: Configure multiple blocking conditions for a single group of content for maximum control of your habits. * Multiple Configurations: Want to block a certain group of apps under certain conditions but also another group under other conditions? No problem! * Strict Mode: Have the bad habit of "cheating" app blockers by snoozing them? Strict Mode bans you from updating/deleting schemas when they're active. * Starter Schemas: Plug-and-play configurations that cover the most common reasons people use Burnout Buddy for. * Widgets • Custom App Icons * Block Uninstall * Block Screen Customization • Push Notifications • • • Try Burnout Buddy for free and start taking control of your digital habits today. Want to know more and see what's coming next? Check out BB at https://burnoutbuddy.io! Questions or feedback? You can reach out to us on Twitter at @BurnoutBuddy.

Screenshots

Opal4 screens
BB4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: BB at 90% against Opal's 62%. BB also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.7) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). Opal's advantage is ratings volume (88K vs 391) and update cadence (every 5 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Opal sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days and BB sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

BB holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Opal has 88K ratings behind it against 391, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 62% of Opal's written reviews are positive against 90% of BB's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Opal ships an update every 5 days, BB every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Opal versus BB: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOpalBB
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (88K ratings)4.9 (391 ratings) — better
Positive reviews62.1% of reviews90.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings88K — better391
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#43 — better—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS18.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size303 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOpal OSBruno da Rocha e Silva

Customer experience

Opal

All ratings88,321 ratings
Positive93.3%
Neutral2.0%
Negative4.7%
Written reviews5,586 reviews
Positive62.1%
Neutral9.0%
Negative28.9%

BB

All ratings391 ratings
Positive98.0%
Neutral0.3%
Negative1.8%
Written reviews93 reviews
Positive90.3%
Neutral2.2%
Negative7.5%

User reviews

Opal

From 88K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Helps reduce screen time
  • 🚀 Effective at blocking distracting apps
  • 💡 Customizable blocking schedules
  • 🎨 Aesthetically pleasing design
  • 🔒 Difficult to bypass blocks

Room to improve

  • 💰 Expensive subscription
  • 🐛 Buggy and unreliable at times
  • 🔓 Easy to bypass blocks in some cases
  • 🤯 Can be frustrating when blocks don't work as expected
  • 🕰️ Longer wait times to take breaks

BB

From 391 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great app
  • 👍 Intuitive and effective
  • 🔒 Strict mode makes it hard to bypass
  • 💰 Reasonable one-time purchase
  • 🕰️ Helpful scheduling and time management features

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Some bugs and glitches
  • 🔍 Difficulty customizing strict mode
  • 🔒 Lack of password protection for settings

Bugs and requests

Opal

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Blocks apps that are not selected
  • Inconsistent behavior when ending focus sessions
  • Crashes when trying to manage blocked apps
  • VPN issues causing other connectivity problems

Requested features

5 requests
  • Allow more customization of blocked apps
  • Integrate with more productivity tools
  • Provide more granular time tracking and reporting
  • Offer a one-time purchase option
  • Improve stability and reduce bugs

BB

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Schemas not working as expected
  • Inconsistent app/website blocking behavior
  • Crashes and function-limiting bugs

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add option to pause schemas for a set time
  • Implement screen time tracking and analytics
  • Provide ability to block Safari and other browsers
  • Add warning before app/website gets blocked
  • Sync schemas across devices

In-app purchases

13 purchases

Opal

Subscriptions13
  • Weekly Plan3 Days trial$4.997 Days
  • Weekly Plan3 Days trial$9.997 Days
  • Opal Student Weekly3 Days trial$9.997 Days
Show 10 more
  • Monthly Plan3 Days trial2 variants$19.991 Month
  • Monthly Plan7 Days trial$19.991 Month
  • Opal Pro Subscription7 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • Yearly Plan7 Days trial$69.991 Year
  • Yearly Plan7 Days trial$89.991 Year
  • Yearly Plan7 Days trial2 variants$99.991 Year
  • Yearly Plan1 Month trial2 variants$99.991 Year
  • Opal Pro Yearly$99.991 Year
  • Yearly Plan7 Days trial$129.991 Year
  • Yearly Plan7 Days trial$179.991 Year
5 purchases

BB

One-time5
  • Kind Tip$0.99
  • Generous Tip$4.99
  • Burnout Buddy Pro$9.99
Show 2 more
  • Super Tip$9.99
  • Supreme Tip$19.99

Questions

Is Opal free?
Opal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is BB free?
BB is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Opal or BB?
BB is rated higher. Opal averages 4.7 out of 5 from 88K ratings, while BB averages 4.9 from 391 ratings.
Do Opal or BB have ads?
Neither Opal nor BB shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Opal or BB?
Opal ships an update every 5 days, and BB every 3 weeks. Most recently, Opal was updated on September 24, 2026 and BB on September 19, 2026.

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