Comparison
Warden vs Opal
The best-known focus app in the category, an Apple Design Award finalist, on iPhone, Mac and Android with focus sessions, scores and streaks.
What Opal does better
Start with the honest part.
These are real advantages and several of them Warden has no answer to. If one of them is what you need, buy theirs.
- Genuinely excellent design, and years of iteration behind it
- iPhone, Mac and Android rather than iPhone alone
- Deep Focus makes a session much harder to end early
- A large body of content, a community, and a long track record
The difference
One decision, moved.
Every lock in Opal is still a lock you hold. Deep Focus raises the cost of quitting — more taps, a wait, a fee — but the person who decides is the same person who wants out. Warden moves that decision to somebody else entirely, which is a difference in kind rather than in difficulty.
Side by side
The rows that actually differ.
| Warden | Opal | |
|---|---|---|
| Who can unlock early | One person you chose | You |
| Platforms | iPhone | iPhone, Mac, Android |
| Hardest lock | A person | Deep Focus |
| Real usage figures | Yes, on your phone only | Yes |
| Anyone else can see | Your streak, nothing more | Nothing by default |
| Cost | Free to try | Free tier, paid Pro |
Choose Opal if
You want desktop and Android coverage, you like a scored, gamified system, or you would rather not involve another person in your phone habits at all.
Choose Warden if
You have tried raising the friction and got good at paying it. The only thing left to try is not being the one who decides.
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