Noff vs Opal: a physical tag instead of a subscription
If you want a physical stop on iPhone and you want to pay once, Noff fits better. It blocks apps with Apple's Screen Time and unlocks them with any NFC tag you paired. The price is €9.99 once, no subscription. Opal is a software screen-time app: you set rules, or you start a session and lock in until the timer ends. No NFC tag, card or device is mentioned on Opal's home page, pricing page or App Store listing. Opal Pro, on the prices checked 28 October 2026, is a subscription or a $399 one-time plan on the website. Those prices can change. There is no euro price stated for that one-time plan.
On this page
The short answer
- Choose Noff if you have an iPhone on iOS 16 or later, you want the unlock to be a tag you can leave in another room, and you want €9.99 once, no subscription, with no account.
- Choose Opal if you want schedules, time limits and allow-only rules, or you need the same blocker on Android or Mac and you are willing to pay Pro for the strict options.
Noff vs Opal at a glance
| Opal | Noff | |
|---|---|---|
| What you pay | A basic plan you don't pay for. Pro on the US App Store is $99.99/year or $19.99/month. The website also lists $239/year and $399 once | €9.99 once, no subscription |
| Hardware | No tag or device is offered. Unlocking stays in the app | Any compatible NFC sticker, card or keychain |
| Platforms | iPhone, Mac and Android | iPhone only. No Android, no Mac |
| Minimum OS | iOS 18 or later. Android and Mac minimums are not stated | iOS 16 or later |
| Way back in | A Waiting Room countdown, or Hard Mode with no early exit | Tap the NFC tag you paired |
| Rules | Sessions, schedules, time limits, open limits, allow-only | Focus profiles and session lengths. No schedules or time limits are listed |
| Emergency | One Emergency Pass per week on Hard Mode, for one hour | 3 emergency unlocks per month, plus 24-hour Recovery if the tag is missing mid-session |
| Account | Pro across devices needs an account. Whether the basic plan needs one is not stated | No account |
| Privacy label | Identifiers used to track you. Purchases, contact info, user content, identifiers and usage data linked to you | Data Not Collected |
| Languages | 10, including Spanish. Catalan is not in the list | English, Spanish and Catalan |
| Offline | Opal says the app works on your phone and browsing data stays there | Core functionality does not need an internet connection |
Where Noff is better
€9.99 once against a Pro subscription is the whole argument for a lot of people. On the US App Store, Opal's yearly plan is $99.99 and the monthly plan is $19.99. The website shows $8.29/month billed as $99.99 a year, $19.99/month billed as $239 a year, and $399 once. The Spanish App Store shows a yearly plan at €99.99, another yearly plan at €79.99, monthly prices of €19.99, €21.99 and €22.99, and weekly prices of €4.99 and €9.99. The US listing also shows weekly prices of $4.99 and $9.99 and a $49.99 Pro subscription. No one-time plan appears in the US or Spanish in-app list. The $399 plan is on the website only, and Opal does not state a euro price for it. Noff's only price on noff.app is €9.99 once, no subscription. This page does not state a US dollar price for Noff.
The unlock is a different kind of friction. Opal's normal session sends you through a Waiting Room, then you choose which apps to open and for how long, or you leave early. Hard Mode, on Pro, does not allow that: no unblocks, no leaving early, and one Emergency Pass per week that cancels sessions for one hour. If that pass is already used, Opal's help says support cannot force-end the session. Noff's ordinary exit is the tag. You put it where you have to walk. If the tag is gone during a session, Recovery waits 24 hours and cannot be skipped. You also get 3 emergency unlocks a month. Neither number is "more discipline". They are different doors.
Privacy is a clean difference on the label. Noff's US and Spanish listings say Data Not Collected. The privacy policy says the app does not require an account, does not use analytics SDKs, ad networks or trackers, and does not need a connection for the core flow. Opal's label lists identifiers used to track you, and links purchases, contact info, user content, identifiers and usage data to you. Opal's own help says the app works on your phone, personal browsing data does not leave the device, and Opal does not sell personal data. Crash data is kept after you delete the app. Both statements are Opal's. Pro on more than one device needs an Opal account. Whether the basic plan works fully without an account is not stated on its official pages.
Noff runs on iOS 16 or later. Opal requires iOS 18 or later. Noff is in English, Spanish and Catalan. Opal's listing is English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Chinese and Spanish. Catalan is not among them. Optional safeguards in Noff can block app deletion and new installs during focus, and they stay on through emergency pauses and Recovery.
Where Opal is better
Opal is the deeper rule engine, and Noff does not pretend to be one. Noff's pages list no schedules and no time limits. The product is a Focus session you start, with a length of Infinite, 30 minutes, 1 hour or 2 hours, ended by the tag.
Opal, including on the basic plan you don't pay for, is built around rules: sessions, schedules, time limits, open limits, timers, a vacation mode, Shortcuts and a Focus filter. Pro adds unlimited rules, Allow Only, Hard Mode, and score history. The pricing page and the help centre do not state the same number of starter-plan rules, so that count is not treated as settled here. You can block apps and websites, categories such as Social Media, and adult websites. Anti-bypass options go past Hard Mode: uninstall protection, a Screen Time passcode, a 4-digit Opal PIN, and hiding Opal behind a passcode.
It also runs on Android and Mac, not only iPhone. Android and Mac minimum versions are not stated. The rating base is very large. Noff's US listing has not received enough ratings to show an average, and the Spanish listing has only a few. Ten languages against Noff's three. If your problem is a weekly schedule across a phone and a laptop, Opal is the product that documents that job. Noff is the product that documents a tag.
How to start with Noff
- Get an NFC tag. NTAG213, 215 and 216 are safe choices. The short list is recommended NFC tags.
- Install Noff and allow Screen Time when asked.
- Pair the tag. Choose apps, categories or websites. Start a session and leave the tag out of arm's reach.
- Turn Opal's blocks off once Noff is doing the job you wanted, so two Screen Time apps are not fighting.
The steps in full are how to block apps on iPhone with an NFC tag. The same comparison for the other blockers: Noff vs Brick, Noff vs one sec, Noff vs Bloom.
FAQ
Is there a physical key in Opal?
Not on the pages read on 28 October 2026. The home page, the pricing page and the App Store listing do not mention an NFC tag, card or device. Noff's unlock is the NFC tag you pair.
How much is Opal compared with Noff?
Noff is €9.99 once, no subscription. On the Spanish App Store, Opal Pro yearly is €99.99 or €79.99. On the US App Store it is $99.99 a year or $19.99 a month, and the website lists $399 once. No euro lifetime price is stated. Prices can change.
Does Noff do schedules and time limits?
Noff's pages do not list them. Noff is built around Focus sessions and the tag, not around a rule calendar. Opal's help documents schedules, time limits and open limits.
Does either app need an account?
Noff does not. Opal needs an account for Pro across devices. Whether the basic plan needs one is not stated on its official pages.
Will Noff run on my Android phone or my Mac?
No. Noff is iPhone only, iOS 16 or later. Opal is on iPhone, Mac and Android, and the iPhone app requires iOS 18 or later.
Sources
Checked 28 October 2026. Prices can change. - Opal home (rules, sessions, iPhone/Mac/Android): opal.so - Pricing, including the $399 plan: opalapp.com/pricing - Sessions, Waiting Room, Hard Mode, Emergency Pass: how to use sessions - What Pro adds: why subscribe - Foolproof options: make Opal foolproof - Data: what Opal does with data - App Store listing (iOS 18, languages, privacy, in-app prices): https://apps.apple.com/us/app/opal-screen-time-control/id1497465230 and https://apps.apple.com/es/app/opal-tiempo-de-pantalla-focus/id1497465230 - Noff: https://noff.app/ and https://noff.app/privacy - Noff App Store listing: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/noff/id6759967974 and https://apps.apple.com/es/app/noff/id6759967974