Physical faff or
a simpler block?

Choose Unpluq if you want to shape the friction yourself. It gives you digital barriers, a QR-code option, an optional NFC Tag, scheduled rules, Safari website blocking, a free starter tier, and Android support. It is the more configurable product.

Choose Fella if you want fewer access decisions. Pick distracting apps, start a manual session or let a routine start one on schedule, and get one five-minute Emergency Unlock during that session. Fella then blocks the selected apps again automatically. No proprietary object is required.

The real difference is not whether either app blocks. Both do. The decision is whether you want intentional friction before access, or a narrower rule with fewer mechanisms to choose from.

Pricing shown is from the current US listings and Fella's current English offer. App Store prices and terms can vary by region and can change. The Unpluq Tag is a separate optional product, not a requirement for using Unpluq.

Unpluq follows a blocked app → intentional barrier → access flow. When a schedule is active, selected apps are blocked. To regain access, complete the barrier attached to that schedule: shake the phone, tap buttons, scroll through blank space, scan a QR code, use a random challenge, or scan the optional NFC Tag. You can also adjust how long apps remain available afterward.

That configurability is a legitimate advantage. A tag left across the room can turn a reflex into a deliberate trip. A QR code placed somewhere inconvenient can do something similar without proprietary hardware. Different schedules can carry different rules.

Fella follows a session → blocked apps → one controlled exception flow. Choose the distracting apps and either start a session yourself or create a routine that starts sessions automatically. During an active session, selected apps stay unavailable unless you use that session's single five-minute Emergency Unlock. When it ends, Fella reapplies the block automatically.

Fella has fewer moving parts, but it is not featureless. It supports manual sessions, scheduled routines, basic session and focus statistics, goals, streaks, and achievements. It does not offer Unpluq's menu of access barriers, an NFC object, Android support, or Safari website blocking.

You do not need the Unpluq Tag to use Unpluq. The free app includes digital barriers, and Premium adds more choices. The NFC Tag is an optional stronger barrier: place it away from your phone, then physically retrieve and scan it when access feels worth the effort.

Choose the Tag when distance interrupts autopilot. It can be better than another on-screen prompt for someone who responds to a physical ritual. The tradeoff is practical: the object has to be bought, placed, carried, and available when needed.

Fella requires no proprietary hardware. The rule lives on the iPhone through Apple's Screen Time frameworks. That makes Fella a cleaner Unpluq alternative for someone who specifically wants software-only blocking, but it does not recreate the physical distance that makes the Tag valuable.

Fella gives each active blocking session one five-minute Emergency Unlock. Use it for something necessary inside a blocked app. The selected apps become available for five minutes, then Fella blocks them again automatically. A later, separate session receives its own single unlock.

Unpluq documents Emergency Mode as five minutes, once per day. It provides temporary full access and lets you change the barrier assigned to a schedule. Unpluq also lets the user disable Emergency Mode completely. Outside that exception, access comes through the configured barrier.

Neither rule is universally harder. An Unpluq Tag or QR code placed far away can create substantial physical friction. Fella's constraint is predictable and software-based. Pick the exception model you are less likely to turn into routine access.

Fella is not an all-day-only blocker. You can run a temporary manual session or create routines that start sessions automatically on chosen days and times. Each active session follows the same Emergency Unlock rule.

Unpluq's free tier includes one schedule. It can run continuously or at a chosen daily time. Premium expands this to multiple schedules, more blocked apps, and more barrier types, making Unpluq the better choice when you want different access rituals for different parts of your week.

The distinction is configuration depth, not schedules versus no schedules. Fella uses routines to automate its narrower session model. Unpluq puts schedules at the centre of a more configurable barrier system.

Unpluq has the better free entry point. Its current free tier blocks up to two apps on one schedule and includes two digital barriers. The US App Store lists Premium at $6.99 per month or $59.99 per year.

Fella has no ongoing free tier. The current US offer is $9.99 monthly, billed immediately with no trial, or $34.99 annually after a seven-day free trial. Unpluq is cheaper month to month; Fella is cheaper annually.

Do not choose on subscription price alone. Unpluq earns its higher annual price if configurable or physical friction is what keeps you intentional. Fella makes more sense if those extra mechanisms are exactly what you do not want to manage. See Fella's current pricing before subscribing.

You want a physical ritual. The optional NFC Tag gives you a tangible object to place away from the phone. Fella has no equivalent.

You want configurable ways back in. Shake, tap, scroll, QR, random, and Tag barriers let you tune the kind of friction. Fella deliberately does not offer that menu.

You need Android or Safari website blocking. Unpluq supports Android, with some platform-specific differences, and can block websites visited in Safari on iPhone. Fella is iPhone-only and focuses on apps rather than web filtering.

You want to start free or inspect broader progress data. Unpluq's limited free tier is useful on its own, and screen-time progress is central to the product. Fella has lightweight statistics, goals, streaks, and achievements, not a full analytics product.

You want software-only enforcement. Nothing proprietary has to be bought, carried, placed, or scanned. Fella runs through Apple's on-device Screen Time frameworks.

You want fewer barrier decisions. Fella asks which apps and when the session should run. It does not ask you to choose an access ritual or tune its difficulty for each schedule.

You prefer one predictable emergency rule. Every active session receives one five-minute Emergency Unlock, then the block returns automatically. Read the exact behaviour in Fella's Emergency Unlock guide.

You are buying annually. At current US prices, Fella's $34.99 annual subscription is lower than Unpluq Premium's $59.99 annual subscription, and Fella's annual plan includes a seven-day trial.

Unpluq is the stronger choice for configurable friction. Its free tier, Android support, Safari website blocking, barrier selection, multiple Premium schedules, and optional NFC Tag make it the more versatile product. If a physical ritual or a deliberately inconvenient challenge changes your behaviour, use that advantage.

Fella is the stronger choice for a narrower software rule. It gives you manual or scheduled app-blocking sessions, one controlled emergency window per session, automatic reblocking, and no proprietary object. If you want fewer mechanisms between setup and enforcement, Fella is the cleaner fit.

Neither psychology wins for everyone. Unpluq makes access deliberate by adding a chosen action. Fella makes access scarce by limiting the exception. Decide which model removes your own most common loophole.