Comparisons
Cohesive compared
Every app here is released and Cohesive is not, which decides most of these comparisons on its own. What follows is where the approaches actually differ, and who should pick which.
Opal vs Cohesive
Opal blocks apps on phone and desktop, runs a lockable focus timer, and summarises your sleep, focus and rest into an Opal Score with Focus Gems for milestones. Cohesive does none of that — no blocking, no timer, no score, no achievements — because it treats the moment as information about you rather than as behaviour to suppress. The decisive practical difference right now is availability: Opal is released and Cohesive is not. If you want something today, get Opal.
one sec vs Cohesive
one sec inserts friction before an app opens — a breath, a pause, a prompt — turning an automatic reach into a deliberate one, and it also blocks on a schedule if you want. Cohesive doesn't intervene at the moment at all; it catches the moment afterwards and asks what was around it, so that what accumulates is a description of what you want rather than a count of what you avoided. one sec is released and Cohesive is not, so today one sec is the one you can actually use.
Freedom vs Cohesive
Freedom blocks apps, websites, or the entire internet on a schedule, synced across macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, Chromebook and Linux, with a Locked Mode that stops you ending a session early. Cohesive blocks nothing on any platform — it catches an ordinary moment afterwards and asks what was around it. Freedom is released and costs $39.99 a year or $199 once; Cohesive is a rebuild in progress with nothing to download. For enforcing a decision you have already made, Freedom is the better tool and it exists.