Comparing Opal?
Focus is a session.
Staying away is forever.
Opal helps you focus. You run sessions that quiet distractions while you work. Sworn helps you stay away — the category you've sworn off is simply gone, all the time, with someone in your corner if you want one.
Free malware and ad blocking, always. Other categories and partner alerts: 7-day free trial, then $7/month.
The real difference
Two apps, two different jobs.
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01
Opal helps you focus.
Opal is built for deep work. You start a focus session on the spot or on a schedule, and distracting apps and sites step aside so you can concentrate. Its focus modes, streaks, and gentle gamification have earned it a large and devoted following, and deservedly so. It's genuinely excellent at what it does.
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02
Sworn helps you stay away.
Sworn is built for the thing you've decided to leave behind. Pick a category (pornography, gambling, and more) and it simply stops loading, across every app on your phone, all the time. There's no session to start and no timer to end. If you want, one optional partner is in your corner. They only ever see a count of blocked attempts and the category, never a URL.
Neither is “better” for everyone. If you want a focus timer for deep work, Opal is superb. If you want a category gone for good, with someone in your corner, that’s what Sworn is for.
Side by side
Sworn vs Opal.
| Sworn | Opal | |
|---|---|---|
| What it's for | Staying away from something long-term (porn, gambling, and more) | Focusing during work or study blocks |
| How blocking works | Always on for the categories you pick | Time-boxed focus sessions you start or schedule |
| Accountability partner | Yes, optional. A partner is emailed if you turn it off | Not its focus. Sessions are self-directed |
| If you disable protection | Your partner gets a heads-up | You can end a session yourself |
| What a partner sees | A count and the category — never a URL | — |
| No VPN | Yes — one DNS setting | Uses an on-device blocking mechanism |
| Setup | One setting, about 3 minutes | In-app, per your focus setup |
| Price | $7/mo · $84/yr | About $100/yr |
| Platforms | iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Linux, Chromebook | iOS, Android |
Comparison compiled June 2026 from Opal’s own published materials; plans and features can change, so check their site for the latest. We’re not affiliated with Opal; all names belong to their owners.
Use both, or switch
Many people run both.
These aren’t rivals so much as different tools. Plenty of people happily keep Opal for focused work and add Sworn for the one category they’ve sworn off for good. Here’s all it takes to set Sworn up.
- Install Sworn and pick what to block. Malware blocking is on by default; ad/tracker blocking is free too, one toggle away. Add pornography, gambling, social media, shopping, gaming, or VPN/proxy blocking with a 7-day free trial, then $7/month.
- Turn on the one setting. Sworn walks you through a single Settings screen. No VPN, no management profile, no browser extension. Banking, Maps, and everything else keep working; the blocked category just stops loading everywhere.
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(Optional) Add a partner.
They get an invite to confirm, and at most one reminder. After that
they only ever see a count
and the category —
3 blocked attempts in the last 24 hours
. Never a URL and never your history. They’re also emailed if you turn the filter off. You can use Sworn entirely solo, too.
Focus with Opal.
Stay away with Sworn.
Free to start. Three minutes to set up.
On a computer too? Set up the phone first, then add Windows, Mac, Linux or Chromebook to the same account.