⚡Stack Radar

Focus Tools · Reviewed 26 Oct 2026

Cold Turkey Blocker

A strict website and app blocker for Windows and macOS.

free tier · getcoldturkey.com ↗

Paid against free › Focus Tools › Cold Turkey Blocker

Cold Turkey Blocker at a glance
1.3MEstimated total trafficModeled monthly visits511Ranking keywordsPublic search sample92/100Technical health15 pages checked0Referring domainsLive backlink summary

Overview

01

Summary

The useful answer before the supporting detail.

Cold Turkey Blocker is a desktop application that blocks distracting websites and apps to help users focus on work or study S1. It is used by individuals who want to manage their time and avoid distractions, with features like scheduled blocks and locking to prevent bypassing S1. The product offers a free tier with basic website blocking and a paid Pro tier with advanced features like app blocking and scheduling S60.

02

Product identity and positioning

Name, category, positioning, audience, and first-party claims.

  • Identity: Cold Turkey Blocker, a desktop website and app blocker for Windows and macOS S1 S27.
  • Core purpose: Helps users avoid distractions by blocking websites and apps S1.
  • Intended users: Individuals seeking to improve focus and manage time S27.
  • Product scope: A single desktop app with browser extensions, not a platform S27.
  • Positioning: Positioned as a tough, strict blocker for personal goals S27.
  • Claimed distinction: Emphasizes strictness and effectiveness, with a 4.6/5 rating S27.
03

Use cases and audiences

Who the product serves and the jobs it is designed to handle.

AudiencePractical use case
StudentsBlock distracting websites while studying S1.
Remote workersAvoid social media during work hours S27.
WritersUse Cold Turkey Writer to block everything until a writing goal is met S92.
General usersManage time and avoid distractions S27.

Features

09

Features and capabilities

Core functions and evidence-backed product capabilities.

CapabilityWhat it does
Website blockingBlocks websites by URL or wildcard patterns S1.
App blockingBlocks applications on Windows, including by window title S1.
Scheduled blocksStarts blocks at specific times, days, or on login S1.
LockingPrevents disabling the block or uninstalling the app S1.
Breaks and allowancesAllows temporary breaks via countdown, typing challenges, or rewards S1.
Usage trackingTracks website and app usage S27.
Data exportExports statistics as JSON S1.
10

Integrations and ecosystem

Connected products, exports, APIs, and workflow compatibility.

Integration or interfaceTypeWhat it enables
Browser extensionsExtensionBlocks websites in supported browsers S27.
Command lineInterfaceStart, stop, and edit blocks via command line S1.
JSON exportData portabilityExport statistics to a JSON file S1.

Pricing

11

Pricing and plans

Published plans, free access, trials, credits, and pricing limitations.

Plan or offerVerified price and billingIncludedLimits
Blocker Free$0, always free S60Website blocking, timed blocks, website exceptions, statistics S60Websites only, timed blocks S60
Blocker ProUS$45.00, one-time payment S60App blocking, scheduled blocks, all locking features, breaks and allowances S60Not published S60
7-day free trialIncluded in free version S60All Pro features S607 days S60

Competition

12

Competitive landscape

Domains competing for the same organic search demand.

Sampled competitors

CompetitorFirst-page appearancesSampled queriesAverage positionQueries observed
reddit.com222cold turkey, cold turkey blocker
trustpilot.com111cold turkey
techradar.com113cold turkey
gatlenculp.medium.com113cold turkey blocker
play.google.com114cold turkey
techlockdown.com114cold turkey blocker
ielts.idp.com115cold turkey
youtube.com116cold turkey
dictionary.cambridge.org117cold turkey

Website intelligence — Collected evidence

Customers, testimonials, and first-party review claims

No supporting public-page evidence was collected for this category.

Independent review sources discovered

No links to supported independent review platforms were discovered on the collected pages.

Website intelligence — Scout synthesis

First-party claims:

  • The homepage cites a landmark trial where Meta and YouTube were found liable for social media addiction, positioning Cold Turkey as a solution to addictive platforms. W5 W6
  • The product is described as "The Toughest Website & App Blocker on the Internet," implying a competitive edge in strictness. W1
  • Testimonials on pricing pages highlight that users found it hard to bypass: "First app like this I can't break." W50

Scout inference:

  • The catalog does not include direct competitor comparisons or market analysis. No addition is supported beyond the above.
14

AI visibility

Measured ChatGPT and Google AI mentions with cited sources.

AI-assistant referral traffic

  • Estimated current generative-AI referral share: 3.4%
MonthSource
—All AI assistants
—All AI assistants
—All AI assistants

Website intelligence — Collected evidence

Site-stated AI capabilities

No supporting public-page evidence was collected for this category.

These are first-party product claims, not independent measurements of AI-search visibility.

Website intelligence — Scout synthesis

First-party claims:

  • The homepage includes structured content about the problem of addictive technology, with citations to news and research. W5 W6 W9 W12
  • The features pages describe specific blocking capabilities in detail, which may be useful for AI-driven answer engines. W97 W105 W121 W142

Scout inference:

  • The catalog does not include AI visibility metrics (e.g., presence in ChatGPT or Perplexity answers). No addition is supported.
15

Marketing opportunities

Actions calculated directly from the collected evidence.

OpportunityRecommended actionEvidence
Competitor gapReview the sampled queries where reddit.com appears.2 first-page appearances across cold turkey, cold turkey blocker

Website intelligence — Collected evidence

Website evidence gaps

  • customers: no usable public page was collected; verify whether the site publishes this evidence.
  • reviews: no usable public page was collected; verify whether the site publishes this evidence.
  • identity: no usable public page was collected; verify whether the site publishes this evidence.
  • technical: no usable public page was collected; verify whether the site publishes this evidence.

Website intelligence — Scout synthesis

First-party claims:

  • The homepage includes a call-to-action to download the free version, and the pricing page offers a free 7-day trial of pro features. W3 W32 W44
  • Student discount: 20% off available via support page. W40 W65 W88
  • The pricing page includes a money-back guarantee (30-day refund). W47 W72 W95
  • The features page includes a donation option to the World Wildlife Fund for a 10-minute break, with past donations posted for transparency. W109 W110
  • The homepage cites a landmark trial and research to build a narrative around the need for digital wellbeing. W5 W6 W12 W13

Scout inference:

  • The site could leverage the cited research and news in content marketing (e.g., blog posts, SEO articles) to attract users searching for solutions to social media addiction.
  • The free trial and student discount are clear conversion opportunities that could be highlighted more prominently in search snippets.

Trust and proof

16

Customers, proof, and reviews

Published proof, customer signals, and review evidence.

Independent reviews

PlatformPageHow it was foundNote
TechRadarCold Turkey / TechRadarGrounded web searchBlockSite is surprisingly simple to use, full of superb features and offers a freemium plan. While we found BlockSite easier to set up and use than Cold Turkey, its free plan is bare-bones compared to the ones that Cold Turkey offers. Plus, since Cold Turkey’s plans come with a “pay once - own forever” pricing policy, they’re more pocket-friendly in the long run. ... FocusMe is another popular “all-in-one” anti-procrastination app and site blocker created for Windows, Mac, and Android. While it
TrustpilotCold Turkey Reviews / Read Customer Service Reviews of getcoldturkey.comGrounded web searchMost reviewers were somewhat happy with their experience overall. Many people find the application to be highly effective at blocking distractions, with some describing it as life-changing for productivity. Users appreciate its strict blocking capabilities, customizable settings, and the ability to set timers for blocking websites. It is often praised for working well on both Windows and Mac, helping individuals overcome procrastination and focus on tasks. However, some people were dissatisfied
makerstack.coCold Turkey Blocker Review (2026) - MakerStackGrounded web search/ Tool / What It Does / Price / / --- / --- / --- / / Freedom / Cross-platform blocker with cross- ... / FocusMe / Bypass-resistant blocker with strong ... / From around $7.95/mo / / LeechBlock NG / Free, browser-based blocker with flexible rule sets
sipandscroll.appCold Turkey Blocker Review 2026: Is the Nuclear Option Still Worth It?Grounded web searchimpossible. The $39 one-time price is excellent value. ... , you want behavior change that doesn't feel like punishment, and you'd rather build a sustainable ritual than white-knuckle through a lockout. It's free to download with a premium option
productivitystack.ioCold Turkey Blocker: Complete Setup & Review (2026)Grounded web searchmobile. If you need one blocking session to lock you out across your Mac, iPhone, and iPad simultaneously, Freedom is the better choice. Its "Locked Mode" prevents disabling sessions early, which is critical. However, Freedom is
cisdem.comCold Turkey Review (2026): Is It the Best Website Blocker?Grounded web searchCisdem AppCrypt is the best alternative to Cold Turkey for users who are not tech-savvy. It supports both website blocking and app blocking. With the password, you will be locked out from any distractions as scheduled. - Block specific websites or webpages. - Quickly add URLs to the block list. - Block sites by category. - Block all websites except a few. - Lock individual applications. - Schedule the blocking. - Require password to disable web blocker, disable app locker, quit or uninstall AppC

Customer proof

No named customers, testimonials, or customer case studies were found.

Independent mentions

  • Check out my app called Cold Turkey Blocker — Check out my app called Cold Turkey Blocker: https://getcoldturkey.com You can count time used in non-foregrounded windows by going to Settings > Statistics and turning on the strict feature. ... That’s not exactly what I’m after. I don’t want it just to
  • Cold Turkey - The Toughest Website & App Blocker on the Internet — ### Your secret weapon? A website and app blocker that is simple to setup and tough to bypass. ... ### Simple to setup, tough to bypass. Block anything from specific websites and applications to the entire internet with a few exceptions. Want to set time limits on YouTube or schedule breaks from
  • Cold Turkey - Compare Products — ## Blocker Subscription free, one time payment. Free version and Pro trial available. ... / / --- / --- / / Website blocking / Yes / / Website whitelisting / Yes / / Application blocking / Yes / / Application whitelisting / No / / Block your computer /

External links were grounded in one live web search. Search snippets are leads, not independently scraped page content; rejected links remain available in Review evidence.

17

Company, security, and trust

Ownership, policies, security signals, and public trust evidence.

SignalFindingSource
Company and ownershipThe data we collect is securely stored on servers we manage. Our company and our servers are located in Canada. Paddle, our merchant of record, is located in the United Kingdom. We use other service providers based in thsource
Contact and supportIf you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Policy, please contact us:source
Legal and privacyYes, if you're not satisfied for any reason, a full refund can be provided within 30 days of purchase.source
Security and complianceWe use industry-standard encryption and secure server configurations to protect your data;source
Uptime and status pageNot published on the collected pages.—
Domain registered2011-02-21—
Domain expires2031-02-21—

Not found on the collected pages: uptime and status page. This only means Scout did not find it on the pages it read; it says nothing about the company itself.

18

Documentation and product updates

Help resources, product guidance, and visible changes over time.

Resource or updateTypeWhat is availableDate or freshness
Contact and supportSupportPublic contact and support channel. (source)Not dated
Contact and supportSupportPublic contact and support channel. (source)Not dated
Cold Turkey - NewsProduct updateProduct update is publicly available. (source)Not dated
Cold Turkey - NewsSupportPublic contact and support channel. (source)Not dated

Not found in the collected public sources: public roadmap, changelog or release notes, status page, separate help center or knowledge base.

Technical

19

Technical and delivery signals

Delivery model, platforms, API, data ownership, reliability claims and release activity.

SignalFindingSource
Delivery model (cloud, self-hosted, desktop, browser extension)Desktop app for Windows and macOS with browser extensions S27.S27
Platforms and appsWindows and macOS S27.S27
API and extensibility (API, SDK, webhooks, MCP, plugins)Command line interface for blocks S1.S1
Data ownership and exportSettings and statistics stored locally, exportable as JSON S1.S1
Performance and reliability claimsNot published on the collected pages.—
Release activityNot published on the collected pages.—
20

Measured infrastructure

Domain, certificate, and hosting signals, measured directly.

SignalFinding
Domain registered2011-02-21 — GoDaddy.com, LLC
Domain expires2031-02-21
TLS certificateGoogle Trust Services, valid, expires 2026-12-01
Security headersHSTS
Headers not servedCSP, X-Content-Type-Options, X-Frame-Options, Referrer-Policy
Server headercloudflare
Mail handled by_dc-mx.600f8f110425.getcoldturkey.com
Nameserverslara.ns.cloudflare.com, walt.ns.cloudflare.com

Not measurable: wayback: rate limited by archive.org, ladder stopped after 1 probe(s). A gap here means the lookup was unavailable, not that the finding is negative.

21

Technical site audit

A bounded multi-page crawl with page-level issues and URLs.

Scout — Bounded technical crawl

  • Pages crawled: 15 of 15 maximum
  • Technical health: 92/100
  • Critical issues: 0
  • Warnings: 18
  • Notices: 15

Issues

SeverityIssueValueAffected URL
warningPage should have one primary H18https://getcoldturkey.com/
noticeImages are missing alt text13https://getcoldturkey.com/
warningMissing canonical URL—https://getcoldturkey.com/writer/
noticeImages are missing alt text8https://getcoldturkey.com/writer/
warningMissing canonical URL—https://getcoldturkey.com/micromanager/
noticeImages are missing alt text8https://getcoldturkey.com/micromanager/
noticeImages are missing alt text5https://getcoldturkey.com/compare/
noticeImages are missing alt text5https://getcoldturkey.com/support/
noticeImages are missing alt text5https://getcoldturkey.com/features/
noticeImages are missing alt text5https://getcoldturkey.com/pricing/
noticeImages are missing alt text5https://getcoldturkey.com/privacy/
noticeImages are missing alt text5https://getcoldturkey.com/donations/
noticeImages are missing alt text5https://getcoldturkey.com/support/system-requirements/
noticeImages are missing alt text13https://getcoldturkey.com/support/user-guide/
noticeImages are missing alt text5https://getcoldturkey.com/story/
noticeImages are missing alt text5https://getcoldturkey.com/terms/
noticeImages are missing alt text5https://getcoldturkey.com/ai/
noticeImages are missing alt text5https://getcoldturkey.com/news/
warningDuplicate meta description in audit sample15https://getcoldturkey.com/
warningDuplicate meta description in audit sample15https://getcoldturkey.com/writer/
warningDuplicate meta description in audit sample15https://getcoldturkey.com/micromanager/
warningDuplicate meta description in audit sample15https://getcoldturkey.com/compare/
warningDuplicate meta description in audit sample15https://getcoldturkey.com/support/
warningDuplicate meta description in audit sample15https://getcoldturkey.com/features/
warningDuplicate meta description in audit sample15https://getcoldturkey.com/pricing/
warningDuplicate meta description in audit sample15https://getcoldturkey.com/privacy/
warningDuplicate meta description in audit sample15https://getcoldturkey.com/donations/
warningDuplicate meta description in audit sample15https://getcoldturkey.com/support/system-requirements/
warningDuplicate meta description in audit sample15https://getcoldturkey.com/support/user-guide/
warningDuplicate meta description in audit sample15https://getcoldturkey.com/story/
warningDuplicate meta description in audit sample15https://getcoldturkey.com/terms/
warningDuplicate meta description in audit sample15https://getcoldturkey.com/ai/
warningDuplicate meta description in audit sample15https://getcoldturkey.com/news/

Crawled pages

StatusTitleH1sWordsResponseURL
200Cold Turkey - The Toughest Website & App Blocker on the Internet81061391 mshttps://getcoldturkey.com/
200Cold Turkey Writer - Turn Your Computer into a Typewriter142699 mshttps://getcoldturkey.com/writer/
200Cold Turkey Micromanager - Multitasking is Overrated141987 mshttps://getcoldturkey.com/micromanager/
200Cold Turkey - Compare Products1618306 mshttps://getcoldturkey.com/compare/
200Cold Turkey - Support1841300 mshttps://getcoldturkey.com/support/
200Cold Turkey - Features1125488 mshttps://getcoldturkey.com/features/
200Cold Turkey - Pricing145680 mshttps://getcoldturkey.com/pricing/
200Cold Turkey - Privacy1212490 mshttps://getcoldturkey.com/privacy/
200Cold Turkey - Donations142992 mshttps://getcoldturkey.com/donations/
200Cold Turkey - System Requirements133279 mshttps://getcoldturkey.com/support/system-requirements/
200Cold Turkey - User Guide1613096 mshttps://getcoldturkey.com/support/user-guide/
200Cold Turkey - About Us136988 mshttps://getcoldturkey.com/story/
200Cold Turkey - Terms13182105 mshttps://getcoldturkey.com/terms/
200Cold Turkey - AI Policy172982 mshttps://getcoldturkey.com/ai/
200Cold Turkey - News1213984 mshttps://getcoldturkey.com/news/

This is a bounded Scout crawl. Core Web Vitals and Lighthouse scores are not claimed unless a dedicated performance audit is connected.

22

Search Console and Analytics

First-party search and behavioral data connection state.

Modeled acquisition channels

ChannelEstimated share
direct37.0%
search51.5%
search organic51.5%
search paid0.0%
social5.2%
social organic5.2%
social paid0.0%
referrals2.1%
paid referrals0.1%
mail0.6%
gen ai3.4%
affiliate0.0%
other0.0%

First-party connections

IntegrationStatusData available after connection
Google Search ConsoleNot connectedClicks, impressions, CTR, average position, queries, pages, countries, and devices
Google AnalyticsNot connectedOrganic sessions, engagement, landing pages, conversions, geography, and devices

No first-party Search Console or Analytics numbers are shown until the site owner authorizes the corresponding Google account. Scout traffic model values above are modeled estimates, not private analytics totals.

Website intelligence — Scout synthesis

First-party claims:

  • The privacy policy mentions using Matomo, self-hosted analytics, to track page views, referrer, load times, dwell times, and basic software information. W237

Scout inference:

  • The catalog does not include search console or analytics data (e.g., clicks, impressions, queries). No addition is supported.

Limits and method

23

Limitations and open questions

Known constraints and missing evidence from the collected pages.

The collected pages do not mention specific competitors. Evidence gaps include lack of detailed pricing for Micromanager and Writer, no explicit security certifications, and no uptime or status page information. Open questions include the exact feature set of Micromanager and Writer, and whether the Pro license covers all future updates.

24

Sources, method, and limitations

Evidence inventory, collection method, provider use, and constraints.

This report is based on 15 collected pages from getcoldturkey.com, including features, pricing, support, and product pages. The evidence catalog includes 180 items, with sources ranging from official product pages to support documentation. External proof search was enabled but did not verify any additional claims. Limitations include potential outdated pricing or features, and the lack of independent review verification.

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