Rewire vs Brick

Last updated May 2026.

Brick is one of the most talked-about phone blockers of the last two years because it solves the "I cheated on my app blocker" problem at the hardware layer. Rewire solves the same underlying problem from the opposite direction. Here is how they actually compare.

The one-line answer

Brick is a $59 NFC device that physically separates you from your phone. Rewire is a free app that changes the urge that would have made you reach for the phone in the first place.

Different commitment levels. Different theories of change.

How they actually work

Brick is a small 3D-printed magnetic NFC puck (about 1.5 to 2 inches) that pairs with a free iOS or Android app. You select apps and notifications to block, you tap your phone to the Brick to activate the block, and then to unblock you have to physically tap your phone back to the puck. The whole point is that you leave the puck somewhere inconvenient (work, your car, your kitchen counter) so impulse access becomes impossible.

There is no battery. The puck is a passive NFC tag, so it never charges. One Brick can be paired with multiple phones. Five lifetime emergency unbricks. $59 one-time purchase, no subscription.

Rewire takes the opposite approach. Instead of removing the phone, it works with the brain that wants the phone. When an urge hits, you open Rewire, tap the orange "I AM HAVING AN URGE" button, run a 15-second breathing exercise, and pick one of two interactive micro-interventions. Each intervention is a different clinical protocol (PMR, MBRP, Inhibitory Control Training, facial feedback, identity-based change, and so on). The Dopamine Score tracks your behavioral exposure as a quantified 0 to 100 metric, and the 30-day neurochemical arc unlocks new features as you progress.

Brick stops the behavior at the hardware layer. Rewire works on the underlying chemistry.

Pricing

Brick: $59 one-time for the hardware. The app is free. No subscription. HSA/FSA eligible in the US. 30-day money-back guarantee.

Rewire: free core loop (Dopamine Score, urge logging, four micro-interventions, Detox Challenge, 30-day arc). Rewire Pro adds the remaining eight interventions, advanced SIGNAL coaching, and Accountability Partners. No hardware required. Works on any iPhone.

Total cost over a year: Brick is $59 one-time. Rewire is $0 to use the free tier, or a small subscription for Pro. Brick has the better long-term economics if you stick with it. Rewire has the better try-it-and-see economics because there is nothing to buy.

Where Brick wins

• Bypass resistance. This is the entire reason Brick exists. Software blockers can be disabled by going into Settings. Brick requires you to physically retrieve the puck. If your problem is that you keep cheating on Screen Time and Opal, Brick solves that at the hardware layer.
• One-time purchase. No subscription. The puck works forever.
• Cross-platform. Works on iOS and Android (Android added September 2025).
• Family-friendly. One puck works with multiple phones at no extra cost.

Where Rewire wins

• No hardware to buy or carry. You always have your phone. You never have your puck. Brick fails when you forget the puck or lose it. Rewire is always with you.
• Works on urges, not just app access. Brick blocks Instagram. It does not help you when a porn urge hits at 2 AM and you have nothing else to reach for. Rewire's twelve interventions are designed for the urge itself.
• Quantified behavioral metric. The Dopamine Score gives you a number that moves with your behavior. Brick has no behavioral tracking layer.
• Research-cited intervention library. Pressure Release uses Jacobson PMR plus DBT TIPP. Urge Surfing uses Marlatt MBRP. Reflex Override uses Verbruggen and Logan inhibitory control training. Face Calm uses Coles et al. 2022 facial feedback. Brick has no clinical content layer.
• 30-day neurochemical arc. Progressive feature unlocks tied to emotional readiness (gratitude at day 7, SIGNAL reflections at day 14, accountability partners at day 30). Brick is the same on day 1 and day 100.
• Five lifetime emergency unbricks is a hard limit. Replenishment requires emailing Brick support. Rewire has no such cap because it does not need one.
• Internet required for Brick. Brick does not work without an internet connection. Rewire works fully offline.
• No website blocking on Android with Brick. Limitation acknowledged by Brick. Rewire is iOS-first but its mechanism does not depend on website blocking at all.

The honest take

These two products solve different problems. If you are at the point where you have tried every software blocker and cheated on all of them, Brick is genuinely the right answer. The physical friction is the feature. Lots of people swear by it for exactly this reason.

If you are earlier in the journey, or your problem is not just "I keep opening Instagram" but "I have urges I cannot regulate" (porn, weed, alcohol, food, gambling), Rewire is the better tool. The interventions are designed to make the urge itself weaker over time, not just gate access to the trigger.

The real question to ask yourself: do you want a tool that makes the behavior impossible, or a tool that makes the behavior unwanted? Brick is the first. Rewire is the second.

Use both

Brick and Rewire actually complement each other extremely well. Use Brick during work hours to make the phone genuinely unavailable. Use Rewire during the urge moments that happen anyway (the cravings, the 2 AM scrolls, the binges, the impulse moments where the phone is not even the issue).

TL;DR comparison

	Rewire	Brick
Core mechanism	Behavioral interventions + urge tracking	Physical NFC lock
Bypass resistance	Software-only	Hardware (puck must be physically retrieved)
Hardware required	No	Yes ($59)
Cost	Free core, paid Pro	$59 one-time
Quantified metric	Dopamine Score (0 to 100)	None
Research-cited interventions	12	Not applicable
Works offline	Yes	No (Brick needs internet)
Platform	iOS, iPad, Apple Watch	iOS, Android
Works on urges (not just apps)	Yes	No
Best for	Behavioral change at the urge layer	Hard blocking when willpower fails

Download Rewire on the App Store