How to Clone Opal
Screen-time and app-blocking subscription that sells focus as a service
What is Opal?
Opal is the breakout app of the anti-distraction wave: it blocks Instagram, TikTok and whatever else eats your day, scores your focus, and rewards streaks with gems. Under the hood it leans on Apple's Screen Time APIs to actually enforce the blocks; on top it wraps that enforcement in game mechanics and a roughly $99/year subscription. Press coverage has reported strong growth into the tens of millions in ARR - remarkable for an app whose core promise is helping you use apps less.
The business insight is that people will pay real money for willpower. Opal's paywall isn't selling features, it's selling commitment: deep-focus modes you can't easily cancel, scheduled blocking routines, and a Focus Score that makes progress visible. The marginal cost per user is near zero, churn is fought with streaks and identity ('I'm someone who protects my mornings'), and the ~$100/year price point survives because the comparison isn't other apps - it's lost hours.
Honest caveat for cloners: true app-blocking requires native iOS Screen Time / FamilyControls entitlements - a PWA cannot block other apps. That doesn't kill the opportunity. The web/PWA version is a focus-timer and accountability product (think Opal's scoring, streaks, sessions and social pressure, plus website blocking via a browser extension), and it's a legitimate wedge: students, ADHD adults, and remote teams all pay for this today. Ship the PWA to validate the niche, then build the native iOS app with Screen Time APIs as the real play.
Who it's for: Phone addicts who hate being phone addicts: students cramming for exams, ADHD adults, knowledge workers, and parents. Clone opportunities are niches with acute pain - exam-prep students, ADHD-specific coaching, sales floors, or 'focus for devs' with IDE/Slack-aware sessions.
How Opal makes money
- $ Opal Pro subscription: roughly $19.99/month or $99.99/year, with the annual plan pushed hard behind a free trial - the core monetization event.
- $ Lifetime plan: a one-time purchase (reported around $399) for committed users.
- $ Commitment upsells: deep-focus and scheduled sessions are premium-gated, so the paywall triggers exactly when motivation peaks.
- $ Team and education interest (B2B): focus-as-a-benefit for companies and schools is the emerging second line, mirroring the Calm Business playbook.
Rough estimate inferred from press-reported ARR growth and third-party app-store data; Opal is private and does not disclose revenue. CloneMRR is not affiliated with Opal; figures are for educational purposes.
Features to build
MVP ship this first
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โ Focus sessionsStart a timed session (25/50/90 min or custom) with an intention ('Write the report'); a full-screen timer keeps you honest.
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โ Distraction blocklistUsers pick which sites/apps count as distractions; on web, a companion browser extension blocks those domains during sessions.
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โ Focus ScoreA 0โ100 daily score computed from session minutes, interruptions and streaks - the number users come back to check.
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โ Gems & streaksEarn gems for completed sessions, keep a daily streak with a visible flame; missed days reset it.
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โ Paywall + subscriptionsFree tier limited to short sessions and one blocklist; deep focus, schedules and stats history behind a yearly subscription with trial (Stripe / RevenueCat).
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โ Stats dashboardDaily/weekly focus minutes, best streak, score trend chart, and time reclaimed vs. baseline.
Full version add later
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+ Deep Focus modeSessions that can't be ended early without a friction flow (typing a sentence, waiting 60s) - the feature people actually pay for.
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+ Scheduled routinesRecurring blocks ('Mornings 9โ11, no social') that start automatically.
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+ Accountability friendsAdd friends, see each other's scores and live session status; gentle shame is the retention engine.
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+ Native iOS app blockingReact Native app with a Swift FamilyControls/Screen Time module to genuinely block apps - the moat versus PWA-only competitors.
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+ Whitelist profilesMultiple named blocklists (Work, Study, Sleep) with one-tap switching.
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+ Teams (B2B)Org plans with anonymized team focus stats and admin-managed seats for companies and schools.
Recommended tech stack
| Layer | Our pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Web app / PWA | Next.js + Tailwind | The focus-timer, scoring and accountability product is pure web; ship it in days and validate the niche before touching native code. |
| Mobile app | React Native + native Swift module | Real app blocking needs Apple's FamilyControls / Screen Time APIs, which are Swift-only - wrap them as a native module inside an otherwise shared RN codebase. |
| Backend | Supabase | Sessions, scores, streaks and friendships are simple Postgres rows; realtime channels power live 'friend is focusing' presence for free. |
| Browser extension | Chrome/Firefox MV3 extension | Domain blocking during active sessions is the web-world equivalent of app blocking and a strong free-to-paid hook. |
| Subscriptions | Stripe Billing (web) + RevenueCat (mobile) | Stripe handles the PWA trial-to-annual funnel; RevenueCat wraps StoreKit when the native app ships. |
| Analytics | PostHog | Session completion rate and paywall conversion at the deep-focus gate are the two numbers that decide the business. |
AI prompts to clone Opal
Pick your builder, copy the prompt, paste it and iterate. Enter your email once to unlock all prompts on every page - we'll also send you this full prompt pack.
Build a focus and digital-wellbeing web app called Sundial, modeled on Opal.
## Core concept
A subscription focus app: users start timed focus sessions with an intention, a blocklist of distracting websites, a daily Focus Score (0โ100), gems and streaks. Free users get short sessions; deep focus, schedules and full stats sit behind a premium plan with a 7-day free trial.
## Pages
1. Landing page: bold hero on a deep navy background with a glowing sundial/gem motif, headline 'Take back 2 hours a day.', subline about blocking distractions, live counter of 'hours reclaimed by Sundial users', pricing section (monthly $9.99 / yearly $59.99 highlighted), FAQ
2. Onboarding quiz (after signup): 4 steps - 'What steals your time?' (social media / news / video / games), daily phone hours estimate, main goal (study / work / sleep / presence), focus schedule preference. Ends on a paywall screen with the free-trial offer
3. Focus home: big 'Start Focus' button, intention input ('What are you focusing on?'), duration picker (25/50/90/custom), blocklist selector chip row, today's Focus Score ring and streak flame at the top
4. Active session: full-screen minimal timer with a slowly rotating sundial animation, the intention displayed large, 'End early' button that triggers a friction modal ('Type: I choose distraction over my goal' to quit), gem reward animation on completion
Tools to build your Opal clone
Describe your app in plain English and Lovable builds a full-stack web app with auth, database and deployment included.
Best for: Full-stack web apps without writing code
StackBlitz's AI builder. Prompt, run and edit full-stack apps directly in the browser, then deploy in one click.
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AI app builder with built-in database, auth and hosting. Strong for internal tools and CRUD-heavy products.
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The AI code editor. Full control over your codebase with AI agents that write and refactor code for you.
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Generates production-grade React + Tailwind UI from a prompt, deployable to Vercel instantly.
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Workers, Pages, R2 and D1 - host your clone on a global edge network with a generous free tier.
Best for: Serverless apps and APIs
Cheap VPS and managed hosting with an AI website builder. Easiest way to put a clone online on a budget.
Best for: Budget VPS and WordPress-style sites
How to make money with a Opal clone
Niche the pain, not the feature
Generic focus apps fight Opal head-on. 'Focus for bar-exam students', 'ADHD body-doubling sessions' or 'deep work for devs' can charge the same $99/year to an audience that converts at multiples of the generic rate.
Sell commitment, gate the escape hatch
Opal's paying feature is deep focus you can't easily cancel. Gate friction itself: the harder the lock, the higher the tier. Users genuinely want to pay to be stopped.
Accountability as the social moat
Friend scores and live 'focusing now' presence create retention no solo timer has. Paid group challenges (study groups, team sprints with a pot) monetize the social layer directly.
B2B focus benefits
Sell 50โ500 seats to companies as a productivity/wellness benefit with anonymized team dashboards. One deal equals hundreds of consumer subs, and procurement loves 'measurable focus hours'.
Frequently asked questions
How much money does Opal make?
Opal is private and doesn't disclose revenue, but press coverage of its funding rounds has reported strong subscription growth into the tens of millions in ARR. A conservative read of third-party app-store estimates puts consumer spend in the low millions per month - driven almost entirely by the ~$99/year Pro plan.
How hard is it to build an Opal clone?
The PWA version - focus timer, Focus Score, gems, streaks, friends - is one of the easiest builds on this site; a solo founder can ship it in 1โ2 weeks with AI tools. The genuinely hard part is native app blocking, which requires Apple's FamilyControls/Screen Time entitlements and a Swift module. Validate with the web product first, then invest in native.
Can a web app actually block other apps like Opal does?
No - and any clone should be honest about this. Browsers can't touch other apps. A web clone can block websites via a companion browser extension and enforce commitment through friction flows, scoring and social accountability. True app-blocking requires a native iOS app using the Screen Time API (FamilyControls), which Apple grants via an entitlement request.
Is it legal to clone Opal?
Cloning the concept - focus sessions, blocking, scores, streaks - is legal; business models and feature ideas aren't protected. What you can't copy is Opal's name, logo, gem branding, app-store screenshots or actual code. Build your own brand and copy, and you're in standard competitive territory.
What tech stack should I use for a screen-time / focus app?
Next.js PWA + Supabase + Stripe for the web product, a Chrome MV3 extension for website blocking, then React Native with a native Swift FamilyControls module when you go iOS. PostHog for the two metrics that matter: session completion rate and paywall conversion. The prompts on this page scaffold exactly that.
What does it cost to run an Opal-style app?
Almost nothing at small scale: Supabase and Vercel free tiers cover thousands of users since there's no media storage, Stripe takes its cut per transaction, and there are no content costs. Under $100/month until you have real traction; the native iOS phase adds a $99/year Apple developer account and review/entitlement time, not infrastructure cost.
More apps to clone
CloneMRR is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to Opal. Revenue figures are rough estimates based on public reports and are provided for educational purposes only. "Cloning" here means building an original product inspired by a proven business model - never copy a brand's name, logo, content or code.