The Bloom Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Bloom in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
Bloom
The Insider’s Guide
Metal NFC keycard you tap to lock distracting phone apps
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among focus apps, read from Bloom’s own pages.
Made by Find Your Bloom LLC · checked Oct 9, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Bloom’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Bloom’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2.4
GPA, above 18 of the 65 other focus apps we grade
Bloom is a stainless steel NFC keycard paired with a phone app for iPhone and Android. You choose the apps and websites to block, tap the phone against the card to lock them, and they stay locked until the card is tapped again, so leaving it in another room keeps them out of reach. The card is a one-time purchase, and the company says the app carries no subscription.
To get you started, here are 8 things to know about Bloom, taken from its own pages and our grades.
Pick your apps, tap the card, walk away, and there's no battery in the card to charge or pair.
- 1
Best for locking your apps with a card you can leave behind
Bloom is a metal card: tap your phone on it and the apps you picked lock until you tap it again, so a card left in another room keeps Instagram out of reach.
- 2
What it costs
Paid plans start at $39 one-time purchase (card; the app has no subscription).
- 3
It runs on 2 platforms
iOS and Android.
- 4
Tap to lock and unlock
Pick the distracting apps and websites in the app, then tap the phone to the card to start a focus session. They stay locked until the card is tapped again. The card has no battery to charge.
- 5
Schedules and breaks
Focus periods can be scheduled to start and stop automatically, and 5-minute breaks allow limited access, with settings for how often and how long breaks run.
- 6
Emergency Exits
All apps can be unblocked without the card up to three times, and the FAQ says one more Emergency Exit is added every month.
- 7
A 2.4 GPA, above 18 of 65
That is against the other focus apps we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 8
Your call
A focus timer at its plainest counts down 25 minutes and keeps a log.
Bloom at a glance
- Pricing
- Paid, from $39 one-time purchase (card; the app has no subscription)
- Free plan
- No
- Free trial
- None stated
- Runs on
- iOS, Android
- Made by
- Find Your Bloom LLC
- Category
- Focus Apps
- Our grade
- 2.4 GPA, fair
- Store rating
- 4.8 on the App Store, 3,390 ratings
The report card
Best for locking your apps with a card you can leave behind
Bloom is a metal card: tap your phone on it and the apps you picked lock until you tap it again, so a card left in another room keeps Instagram out of reach. It's $39 once with no subscription, but you can't try it without buying it, it only covers phones, and some of the blocking is iOS only.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | A | $39 paid once, for the card and every feature in the app, is less than a year of this category's middle subscription at $3.99 a month, and then it stops asking. Two cards are $59 and three $75, and students get 20% off. |
| Free plan and trial | F | Nothing is free. The app downloads for nothing but its features arrive with the card, so the way in is $39. A 30-day money-back guarantee is the only safety net, and that is not a trial. |
| Features | C | The blocking basics with a physical key on top: tap to lock apps and websites, scheduled sessions, 5-minute breaks, a Strict Mode that stops you deleting the app mid-session and a Child Mode. The listing's own gaps keep it here: adult content, in-app purchase and app install blocking are iOS only. |
| Ease of use | A | 4.8 from about 3,400 App Store ratings, the top band in this category. Pick your apps, tap the card, walk away, and there's no battery in the card to charge or pair. |
| Platforms and integrations | C | Phones only: iPhone and Android, with the FAQ saying MacBook and iPad versions are still in development, so a browser tab on your laptop stays wide open. The iPhone app needs iOS 17.6 or later. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who Bloom is for
- Fits if software limits never hold for you, because here the key is a real object
- Works for parents, since Child Mode means only your card changes a child's settings
Who it is not for
- Not for you if you want to try before you buy, as there's no free version or trial, only a 30-day refund
- Skip it if your scrolling happens on a laptop or iPad, which Bloom doesn't cover yet
- Tight if you lose things, since without the card you get three Emergency Exits and one more a month
- Watch out: blocking of adult content, in-app purchases and app installs is iOS only
- Watch out: the iPhone app needs iOS 17.6 or later, and the desk Pod costs $59 on its own
Good to know
Good for
- People who keep dismissing software-only screen time limits
- Keeping social apps locked at work or in the bedroom by leaving the card elsewhere
- Parents who want a physical key to the apps on a child's phone
- Buyers who prefer a one-time purchase to a subscription
Worth knowing
- There is no free plan: the app is a free download, but the site sells its features as part of a card purchase from $39.
- Without the card, apps unlock only through Emergency Exits: three to begin with, plus one more each month.
- Phone only for now: the FAQ says MacBook and iPad versions are still in development. The iPhone app needs iOS 17.6 or later.
- Blocking of adult content, in-app purchases and app installs is listed as iOS only.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$39 one-time
To start
Bloom is a paid product, starting at $39 one-time purchase (card; the app has no subscription).
Bloom Card
$39
one-time purchase per card
One stainless steel NFC keycard with lifetime access to every feature of the iPhone and Android apps. Sold with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Bloom Pod
$59
one-time purchase
A magnetic pod for a desk, nightstand or fridge that locks apps with a tap of the phone, listed at $59 on its own product page.
Bloom Set
$59
one-time purchase, 1 Pod + 1 Card
One Bloom Pod and one Bloom Card together, shown at $59 with $98 crossed out and labelled as a 40% saving.
Read from bloom.inc on Oct 9, 2026.
Ways to pay less
Other savings
25% off two cards, 35% off three
The Buy Now page prices 2 Cards at $59 instead of $78 and 3 Cards at $75 instead of $117, and adds free shipping on the three-card bundle.
Stated on bloom.incEducation
20% discount for college students
Bloom's student discount page says its founders, two UCLA students, give all college students 20% off, claimed through a link on that page.
Stated on bloom.inc
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
2
Places it runs: iOS and Android
Metal NFC keycard you tap to lock distracting phone apps. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: one-time purchase, site & app blocker.
The listing's own gaps keep it here: adult content, in-app purchase and app install blocking are iOS only.
- Tap to lock and unlock
- Pick the distracting apps and websites in the app, then tap the phone to the card to start a focus session. They stay locked until the card is tapped again. The card has no battery to charge.
- Schedules and breaks
- Focus periods can be scheduled to start and stop automatically, and 5-minute breaks allow limited access, with settings for how often and how long breaks run.
- Emergency Exits
- All apps can be unblocked without the card up to three times, and the FAQ says one more Emergency Exit is added every month.
- Strict Mode
- By default, deleting Bloom unblocks everything. Strict Mode is an optional setting that prevents apps from being deleted while a focus session is running.
- Website and content blocking
- Websites can be blocked as well as apps. On iOS, blocking an app also blocks its website in Safari, and adult content, in-app purchases and app installs can be blocked too.
- Child Mode
- Parents can lock a child's apps and websites so that only the parent's card changes the settings. It prevents app deletion, turns off Emergency Exits and locks schedules.
Where it runs
- iOS
- Android
What it works with
Its own pages name no integrations.
Bloom is made by Find Your Bloom LLC.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
18/65
Other focus apps it is graded above
Bloom's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 18 of the 65 other focus apps we grade, and level with 11.
It stands best on ease of use (A, above 45 of 65) and worst on free plan and trial (F, above 0).
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 66 focus apps we grade, cut by the letter each got. Bloom’s own letter is outlined.
- AValue for moneyAbove 40 of 65
- FFree plan and trialAbove 0 of 65
- CFeaturesAbove 3 of 65
- AEase of useAbove 45 of 65
- CPlatforms and integrationsAbove 8 of 65
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Your call
A focus timer at its plainest counts down 25 minutes and keeps a log.
Bloom sits between: not beyond making, and not a weekend's work either. What you would give up is listed below. Whether that is worth the price is your call. At $39, paid once, it costs less than the weekend it would take to replace, which is the argument for keeping it.
What you could not
- Blocking that reaches every browser and app and is hard to switch off.
- A real app for iOS and Android. Something home-made would be a web page.
What this rests on. Bloom’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
Brick, Unpluq, Foqos, Opal and one sec
The 5 tools Bloom is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.2GPA
Brick
From $59 one-time
- 2.2GPA
Unpluq
Free plan · from $6.99/mo
Phone app blocker with an optional NFC key fob.
- Unpluq has a free plan. Bloom does not.
- Bloom can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Unpluq also covers time tracking.
- 3.2GPA
Foqos
Free
Free open-source iPhone app blocker using NFC tags or QR codes.
- Foqos has a free plan. Bloom does not.
- Only Bloom lists an Android app.
- Only Foqos lists a macOS app.
- 2.8GPA
Opal
Free plan · from $8.29/mo
Screen time app that blocks distracting apps on phone and Mac.
- Opal has a free plan. Bloom does not.
- Only Opal lists a macOS app.
- Opal also covers focus music.
- 3.0GPA
one sec
Free plan · from $3.99/mo
Screen time app that adds a pause before distracting apps open.
- one sec has a free plan. Bloom does not.
- Only one sec lists a macOS app.
- Only one sec lists a browser extension.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
13
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is Bloom free?
No. Bloom is a paid product, starting at $39 one-time purchase (card; the app has no subscription).
How much does Bloom cost?
Bloom lists 3 plans. Bloom Card: $39 one-time purchase per card.
What platforms does Bloom work on?
Bloom is available on iOS and Android.
Does Bloom offer any discounts?
Bloom publicly lists the following: 25% off two cards, 35% off three; 20% discount for college students.
How is Bloom rated?
Bloom's iPhone and iPad app averages 4.8 out of 5 from 3,390 ratings on the App Store in the United States, as read on Oct 9, 2026.
Does Bloom have a Windows app?
No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 9, 2026. Bloom is listed for iOS and Android.
Does Bloom have a macOS app?
No macOS app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 9, 2026. Bloom is listed for iOS and Android.
Is Bloom open source?
Bloom is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 9, 2026.
Does Bloom have a student discount?
20% discount for college students. Bloom's student discount page says its founders, two UCLA students, give all college students 20% off, claimed through a link on that page.
Who makes Bloom?
Bloom is made by Find Your Bloom LLC.
What are the alternatives to Bloom?
The closest alternatives to Bloom in our directory are Brick, Unpluq, Foqos, Opal and one sec.
How does Bloom compare with other focus apps?
Bloom's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 18 of the 65 other focus apps we grade, and level with 11.
Could I make my own version of Bloom?
A focus timer at its plainest counts down 25 minutes and keeps a log. Bloom sits between: not beyond making, and not a weekend's work either.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Bloom’s own pages on Oct 9, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 10, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Bloom's own pages on 9 October 2026, and its App Store rating. Also tested with a demo account on 2026-03-22.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Find Your Bloom LLC. Prices change, so check bloom.inc before you buy.
- bloom.inc/
- bloom.inc/pages/pdp?country=US
- bloom.inc/products/bloom-card?country=US
- bloom.inc/products/bloom-pod?country=US
- bloom.inc/pages/faq
- bloom.inc/pages/student-discount
- bloom.inc/pages/story
- apps.apple.com/us/app/bloom-conquer-screen-time/id6736728158
- play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.findyourbloom&hl=en_US&gl=US
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
3,189
Tools graded, in 94 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
3,189
tools graded
94
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Bloom, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/bloom
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "Bloom: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 9, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/bloom
Know someone choosing between focus apps?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/bloom/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded focus apps after Bloom, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- Focus Apps Insider's GuideEvery one of the 66 focus apps we grade, compared
- ScreenZen Insider's GuideFree app that delays and blocks distracting apps and sites3.6 GPA
- Flora Insider's GuideFree focus timer that grows trees, alone or with friends3.2 GPA
- Flow Insider's GuideMinimal Pomodoro timer for Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch3.2 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Bloom’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Bloom is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Find Your Bloom LLC. Prices and plans change: check bloom.inc before you buy.