SelfControl alternatives for Mac, with a schedule

The short answer

The closest SelfControl alternative on Mac is a blocker that works at the system level like SelfControl does, but starts each block on a schedule. Cactus does that with one recurring weekly schedule. If you need several schedules, app blocking or Windows, look at Cold Turkey, Focus or Freedom. Apple's Screen Time is the free option if a whole-Mac Downtime is enough.

This page is written by Maxi, who makes Cactus. I've tried to be fair to every app on it, including SelfControl, which is still the right tool for plenty of people. Prices and features are as of October 2026.

Why people look for a SelfControl alternative

SelfControl is free, open source, and very good at one job. You pick sites, set a timer, and the block can't be stopped until the timer runs out. People who leave it usually leave for one of these reasons.

There is no recurring schedule

Every SelfControl block starts by hand. The official SelfControl FAQ answers the scheduling question with "Not within SelfControl, but this is a top feature request", and points to third-party command-line tools such as auto-selfcontrol and hammer-control.

This comes up a lot on Reddit. One r/macapps user wrote, "SelfControl I have used, but sadly there is no schedule feature" (thread). Another said apps like SelfControl "just let you make 'sessions', which is not enough for me" (thread).

A manual start means you decide to block at the exact moment you least want to. A schedule moves that decision to a calmer time, like Sunday evening, and then starts the block on Tuesday at 10:00 without you.

It only runs on Mac

The FAQ says there is no Windows, Linux or iOS version, and none is planned. If your day is split between a Mac and a Windows PC, you need something else on at least one of them.

Each block is a one-off session

Blocks are capped at 24 hours unless you change a hidden setting, and starting one asks for your admin password. That's fine for a single deep-work day. It's tedious if you want the same hours blocked every week.

What SelfControl still does better

• It's free and open source. It's licensed under the GPL and costs nothing. Of the alternatives below, only Screen Time is free with a schedule.
• It's harder to stop. The SelfControl site says you can't reach blocked sites until the timer expires "even if you restart your computer or delete the application." Cactus also has no way to end an active block early, but a Mac administrator can still remove it. The details are on how Cactus blocks websites.
• It runs on old Macs. SelfControl 4.0.2 needs Mac OS X 10.10 or later. Cactus needs macOS 14 Sonoma or later.
• It allows a full 24-hour block. The longest single Cactus block is 23 hours 45 minutes, so Cactus can't do an always-on block.

If you only need "block everything for three hours, right now" a few times a week, SelfControl is hard to beat, and you can stop reading here.

SelfControl alternatives for Mac

1. Cactus: closest to SelfControl, but recurring

Cactus for Mac is a menu bar app with a background helper that writes blocked domains into /etc/hosts and loads matching pf firewall rules. Those are the same two layers SelfControl uses. Because the block sits below the browser, it applies in Safari, Chrome, Arc, Firefox and the rest without an extension.

The difference is the schedule. You choose weekdays, a start time, an end time and a list of sites, and the block starts every week without you touching it. Overnight ranges work, so Friday 22:00 to Saturday 06:00 is one block. Once a block is active, you can't end it early. Edits you make during a block apply from the next one.

The limits, plainly:

• One schedule. One time range, one set of days and one site list. You can't set different hours per day or run two lists.
• Websites only. No app blocking, and no path blocking, so youtube.com/shorts means all of youtube.com.
• Named hostnames only. Cactus blocks domain and www.domain, plus m.youtube.com for youtube.com and twitter.com for x.com. Add other subdomains or domains, such as youtu.be or old.reddit.com, yourself.
• Network caveats. Secure DNS in Chrome or Firefox, iCloud Private Relay, proxies and some VPNs can affect blocking. SelfControl's FAQ warns about VPNs and Firefox DNS over HTTPS too, so this is a shared limit of the approach.
• No notifications. The menu bar shows the status while the app is open.
• Mac only. macOS 14 or later, Apple silicon and Intel. No Windows or iPhone.

Cactus costs $19.99 once. The 7-day trial starts when you turn on your first schedule and needs no account or card. See pricing.

It suits SelfControl users who liked the system-level block and want it to repeat during the same work hours every week.

2. Cold Turkey Blocker: Mac and Windows, many schedules

Cold Turkey has a free tier that blocks websites with timed blocks. Pro is a one-time purchase, $45 for US buyers at checkout as of October 2026, and one purchase covers all the computers you personally use on Mac and Windows. Pro adds a weekly schedule you draw on a grid, multiple blocks with their own schedules, app blocking, and many lock types: timer, time range, random text, delay, restart and password.

On Mac, Cold Turkey blocks through browser extensions that you install in each browser. A locked block requires the extension to stay enabled. Its reputation for strictness is real. One r/macapps user tried several blockers and said "Cold Turkey is the hardest one" to bypass (thread).

It suits people on both Mac and Windows, and anyone who needs app blocking and several schedules. More detail in Cold Turkey alternatives.

3. Focus: multiple schedules, Mac only

Focus is a one-time purchase as of October 2026: $49 for Focus 2 with one year of major updates, or $129 for lifetime updates. It supports daily, weekly and weekend schedules, and you can add more than one. It blocks apps too. Locked Mode can't be stopped "even if you close Focus or restart your Mac."

Focus controls the browser through macOS Automation permission. It works directly with Safari, Chrome, Opera, Brave, Edge, Arc and Vivaldi, and Firefox needs the Focus add-on. There's a 7-day trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee.

It suits Mac-only users who want different schedules for different days, or need app blocking.

4. Freedom: every platform, subscription

Freedom runs on Mac, Windows, iOS, Android and Chromebook and syncs blocklists between them. The free plan allows "Start Now" sessions of up to 2 hours. Premium adds recurring and advance sessions plus Locked Mode. As of October 2026 it's $8.99 a month, $3.33 a month billed yearly, or a Forever plan shown at $99.50.

Freedom needs an account. On Mac it uses a local proxy by default, according to its support docs.

It suits people who want one blocklist across a phone and a computer, including Windows. See Freedom alternatives for the trade-offs.

5. Screen Time: free and built in

macOS already has a schedule. Screen Time's Downtime runs every day or on custom hours per day. Apple's description is that during downtime "only apps that you choose to allow and phone calls are available." So it restricts the whole Mac rather than a list of sites. "Block at Downtime" works only with a Screen Time passcode, and if you set that passcode yourself, you know it.

Apple's web content settings can restrict specific sites, but Apple describes them as Safari settings.

It suits anyone who wants a free bedtime cut-off for the whole Mac, ideally with someone else holding the passcode.

SelfControl vs the alternatives

Which SelfControl alternative should you pick?

• Keep SelfControl if you start blocks by hand, want it free, or run an older Mac.
• Pick Cactus if you like how SelfControl blocks and want the same hours blocked every week on one Mac, and one schedule covers your week.
• Pick Cold Turkey if you also use Windows, want app blocking, or want the strictest locks.
• Pick Focus if you're Mac only and need several schedules or app blocking.
• Pick Freedom if your phone is part of the problem.
• Use Screen Time if a free, whole-Mac cut-off is enough.

I built Cactus because I kept opening YouTube and X during the short waits while coding agents worked, and a 20-second pause turned into 20 lost minutes. To set up a recurring block, see how to block websites on a schedule on Mac. If you're stuck in a SelfControl block right now, read how to turn off SelfControl first.