Mirror vs Opal: which app fits your day?

Choose Opal if you want scheduled focus with timers, soundscapes and a broader device range. Consider Mirror if you want iPhone rules a friend can hold, with a lower annual price than Opal Pro’s listed annual plan.

We make Mirror. This comparison uses official product information and developer-reported App Store labels, rather than a hands-on test of the other apps.

Features, prices and privacy checked October 15, 2026.

Scroll the table horizontally to see both options.

Start with the kind of rule you need

A screen time app has to fit the moment when you usually reach for your phone. You might need a block during work, a daily allowance for social apps, or a pause that makes you notice an automatic tap. Write down that moment before choosing a plan. A long feature list is less useful than a rule you understand and keep using.

Opal describes scheduled blocks, time and opening limits, focus reports, and Focus integration in its official listing. Those tools give you several ways to organise a workday. Its timers and soundscapes may also appeal if you want a focus session to include something you actively start and follow. The pricing page separates its free and Pro features.

Mirror brings a pause, app limits and schedules together with a daily screen time goal. Before a selected app opens, Close is the main action. Continue gives access for the minutes you chose. That combination may suit you if the problem starts with an automatic app opening, then continues into a longer session.

Decide how much freedom to keep during a block

Opal’s schedule documentation describes a Hard Mode option with no unblocks allowed. That is a meaningful option to investigate if you want your focus period to run without a break. This comparison does not independently verify every bypass or failure case. Treat claims about an impossible-to-cancel block as product descriptions, then check the exact settings you intend to use.

Mirror offers several commitment controls. A trusted person can type a Friend’s Key on your phone; loosening a rule needs the key, while tightening it does not. If you cannot reach them, removing the key has a 24-hour wait. No Take-Backs keeps a held app blocked until the block ends. Lock In commits to your rules for 3, 7 or 14 days.

Choose the lightest commitment that addresses your problem. If you need an app for travel, family contact or work, consider that before starting a strict block. Mirror does not promise that every iOS restriction is impossible to bypass. You should understand how a commitment ends before relying on it.

Compare the purchase you would actually make

The table uses the current advertised individual plans. Opal’s US App Store lists monthly and yearly purchases, while its website also advertises lifetime access. A web purchase and an App Store subscription can have different offers and cancellation arrangements. Read the checkout you are using rather than assuming every displayed price applies everywhere.

Mirror’s yearly subscription costs less than Opal Pro’s listed yearly subscription. That is a price comparison, not evidence that Mirror will work better for you. Mirror also requires Premium after setup; its yearly trial is the way to try the paid experience before continuing. Opal has a continuing free tier, which makes it worth checking before you buy either app.

There is a source mismatch to know about. Opal’s current pricing page lists one free Rule, while its schedule help page describes three. We have used the pricing page in the table. Check the actual free allowance offered in your app before building your routine around that number.

Read privacy labels as disclosures

Opal’s App Store label lists identifiers under tracking, several categories linked to identity, and diagnostics not linked to identity. Mirror’s label says Data Not Collected. These are developer-reported labels, not a hands-on audit of either app’s network activity. The categories also do not establish that a developer receives your complete Screen Time history.

If privacy affects your choice, read the label in full and consider the features you will enable. Mirror keeps its screen time data on your phone and uses the app without an account. Its approach may fit someone who wants personal iPhone controls without a shared profile. Avoid judging another product’s entire data model from one category in a comparison table.

Choose Opal for its wider focus setup

Consider Opal if its timers, soundscapes and listed device options matter to your routine. For example, someone who wants to explore focus tools on a phone and Mac should investigate Opal’s platform-specific features. Mirror is designed for iPhone and does not offer a dedicated Mac release. A lower iPhone subscription price does not replace a desktop feature you need.

Choose Mirror for its commitment choices on iPhone

Consider Mirror if a friend-held key addresses the point where you normally loosen a rule. Its daily goal and work or bedtime schedules let you plan both a total allowance and times to put chosen apps away. Review the Mirror features and prices before deciding whether those controls justify a subscription for your own routine.

If you switch, write down your selected apps, times and exceptions first. Set them up again in Mirror and confirm the behaviour with a short rule before making a multi-day commitment. This comparison does not promise an automatic import of Opal settings or history. Check any existing subscription separately; installing another app does not cancel it.