DerotThey solve overlapping problems on different surfaces
Freedom is one of the longest-running names in distraction blocking. Its website describes a tool that blocks apps, websites, or the entire internet, and that syncs sessions across Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, and Chromebook (the help center also lists Linux with Chromebook). Derot is a mobile app blocker for iPhone and Android. It sets rules around usage time, how many times you open an app, or a fixed schedule. Habits in Derot are optional support, not a way to earn screen time.
If your scrolling jumps from phone to laptop and back, Freedom is built for that path. If the problem lives on the phone in your pocket — too many pickups, a feed that overruns a budget, or apps that should stay closed after 22:00 — Derot is aimed at that job.
This is not a story about one tool being stricter in every case. Freedom’s Premium plan includes Locked Mode and scheduled sessions. Derot’s public listings do not describe a cross-device session or a full-internet kill switch. Compare the surface you need to control, then the rule type.
How Freedom works
Freedom is session-based. You start a block (or schedule one, on Premium), and during that session the apps, sites, or internet access you selected stay blocked, synced across the devices in your account.
Freedom’s help center, updated 23 February 2026, splits Free and Premium clearly:
Free includes blocking apps, websites, or the entire internet; unlimited devices (Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, Chromebook/Linux); custom blocklists; Focus Sounds; desktop app blocking; and website exceptions on Mac and Windows. Free accounts are limited to “Start Now” sessions, cannot run sessions longer than two hours, and do not include recurring sessions, Start Later sessions, or Locked Mode.
Premium adds recurring sessions (automatic through the week), Advance / Start Later sessions, Locked Mode (prevents quitting a session), sessions longer than two hours, and “Premium Perks.”
The official pricing page (checked 11 November 2026) shows a free plan at $0, a Premium yearly option presented as $3.33 per month (plus tax where applicable) with a 7-day trial, a Premium monthly price of $8.99 per month, and a lifetime plan at $99.50 (shown as 50% off a $199 price). Freedom’s homepage also describes Premium as $39.99 per year, which matches the yearly $3.33/month presentation. Confirm tax and the current offer at checkout.
How Derot works
Derot (“Stop Doomscrolling - Derot”) runs on the phone. You choose apps such as TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, or games (where the device supports blocking them). Then you attach a standing rule:
- A usage-time cap
- An app-open cap
- A schedule of hours when those apps stay blocked
Those rules are not a one-off “session” you must remember to start, though you still have to set them up once. A 7-day digital detox, usage insights, and optional habits sit around the rules. Completing a habit does not unlock more time. No account is required; much of the data is described as stored locally.
Derot’s store listings do not describe website blocking, blocking the entire internet, or a Windows/Mac app. If your weakness is a browser tab on a computer, Freedom (or a browser-first tool such as one sec’s extension) is the more direct answer.
Side-by-side
| Topic | Derot | Freedom |
|---|---|---|
| Primary surface | iPhone and Android | Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, Chromebook/Linux |
| What you can block (public docs) | Selected apps | Apps, websites, or the entire internet |
| How rules run | Standing usage, open, or schedule rules | Sessions (start now; scheduling on Premium) |
| Multi-device sync | Not described on Derot’s listings | Yes, including on the free tier |
| Locked / hard-to-quit mode | Not described on Derot’s listing | Locked Mode on Premium |
| Habits | Optional; not a key to screen time | Not an earn-to-unlock habit product |
| Free tier limits | Free download; features tied to paid plans | Full blocking types, but 2-hour session cap and no scheduling / Locked Mode |
When a session is the wrong unit
Freedom’s model shines when you can say “block this for the next three hours” or “every weekday from 9 to 12.” A session has a beginning and an end. That is ideal for deep work, exams, or a Sunday morning without news sites.
It is a weaker fit for a leak that happens in one-minute bursts all day. If you open Instagram 30 times between messages, a two-hour block you forgot to start will not help, and a standing open limit might. Derot’s store listing treats that open cap as one of the three main rules, next to a usage budget and a clock schedule. You set it once; you do not have to remember to start a session at breakfast.
The reverse is also true. If YouTube in a laptop browser is the real leak, Derot will not follow you there. Use Freedom (or another desktop/web blocker) for that surface, and keep the phone rules simple.
Pricing (public, may vary)
Derot (US App Store, 11 November 2026): Weekly $4.99, Monthly $9.99, Annual $59.99, Lifetime $99.99. Google Play: free download with in-app purchases; regional prices differ.
Freedom (freedom.to/premium, same date): Free $0; Premium $3.33/month billed yearly (homepage: $39.99/year) with a 7-day trial; $8.99/month; lifetime $99.50 (promotional strike-through $199). Plus tax where applicable.
Can they complement each other?
Yes, in principle: Freedom on the computer, Derot on the phone, with similar hours so you do not hop to the other screen. Keep the rules simple. Two unsynchronized systems are easy to bargain with. Derot will not start a Freedom session for you, and Freedom will not inherit Derot’s open-count limit.
If you only have the capacity to set up one tool this week, pick the device where you lose the most time.
