Cold Turkey icon
Cold Turkey icon

Cold Turkey

 62 likes

Boost productivity by blocking websites, games, and applications with Cold Turkey. Once locked, blocks are hard to bypass. Install on Windows, macOS with browser extensions for multiple browsers. One-time purchase includes lifetime updates, ensuring privacy with locally stored data.

Cold Turkey screenshot 1

License model

  • FreemiumProprietary

Platforms

  • Mac
  • Windows
4.1 / 5 Avg rating (12)
62 likes
12comments
0 news articles

Features

Suggest and vote on features
  1.  Block apps
  2.  Website blocking
  3.  Anti Procrastination
  4.  Application Blocker
  5.  Stay Focused
  6.  Block Facebook
  7.  Pomodoro Timer
  8.  Ad-free
  9.  Dark Mode
  10.  Block youtube
  11.  Block Distraction
  12.  No Subscription
  13.  Real-time Statistics
  14.  Screen time
  15.  Web filter
  16.  Filters
  17.  Blocks
  18.  Custom filters
  19.  URL Filtering
  20.  Filtering

Cold Turkey News & Activities

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Cold Turkey information

  • Developed by

    Cold Turkey Software Inc.
  • Licensing

    Proprietary and Freemium product.
  • Pricing

    One time purchase (perpetual license) that costs $35 + free version with limited functionality.
  • Rating

    Average rating of 4.1 (12 ratings)
  • Alternatives

    80 alternatives listed
  • Supported Languages

    • English

Our users have written 12 comments and reviews about Cold Turkey, and it has gotten 62 likes

Cold Turkey was added to AlternativeTo by coolandsmartrr on Jul 9, 2011 and this page was last updated Jan 2, 2025.

Comments and Reviews

   
 Post comment/review
????????? ????
  
Top positive commentApr 13, 2018

The greatest blocking distractions software ever.

5
onomep
  
Top negative commentNov 27, 2022

Cold turkey works generally but there is one concern I can't seem to get past. The application REQUIRES access to read and change user data on all websites. This really baffles me as there is no option to opt out of it and I cannot see why it should be required. This means the extension can access your password, credit card data etc. Why is there no option to turn this off, even for paying users? Other similar software such as leechblock does not require this level of invasive access. This to me is a major concern because you simply have to take the word of the developer that you can trust their use of your data, even when this type of access is not needed for the extension to function. The only option is to disable the extension temporarily every time you need to do something sensitive which is impractical as the extension eventually kills your browser if you do that (which it should, to prevent defeating the system). And it does not make sense to toggle on and off all the time. One simple solution would be to allow users opt out of this type of access and simply redirect to another url (e.g. custom "distraction blocked page" that can even be hard-coded into the extension) whenever the user tries to access a blocked page, as other distraction blockers do.

-1
Frikster
  
Positive commentOct 11, 2024

You can use it to set schedules to both block specific websites and particular apps on your desktop like say Steam. -1 since it still isn't that good or easy for creating a better experience for sites you cant block entirely (e.g. YouTube)

0
Ubell
  
Positive commentJun 16, 2024
• Edited Jul 30, 2024

Easy to set up. These apps are sometimes easy to unblock, but this app makes it impossible to do so at all. Not that there isn't a way, but if you don't currently know it, I suggest you don't look into it.

0
RagnarRagnarr
  
Positive commentSep 21, 2023

Love it, great tool to block distracions.

1
spqe
  
ReviewFeb 19, 2023

Supports a limited variety of browsers..

1 reply
RagnarRagnarr

It supports the main browsers, which wierd browser do you use?

Reply written Sep 21, 2023

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-2
Duncan Briggs
  
Positive commentDec 3, 2021
• Edited Aug 11, 2023

Cold Turkey runs on Mac, but unfortunately it doesn't run on iPhone.

https://getcoldturkey.com/pricing/

8 replies
Duncan Briggs

Cold Turkey supports categories under Import – Website Categories, but the categories are not comprehensive.

https://getcoldturkey.com/support/user-guide/

Reply written Jan 2, 2022

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Duncan Briggs

Block a website in Cold Turkey. Disable the Cold Turkey extension in Safari. Cold Turkey will ask to re-enable the extension. It will start a 60-second timer. You can customize the duration of the timer. Navigate to the blocked website. Put Safari in the background but still visible. The timer will pause. The website will not block.

Reply written Feb 8, 2022

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Duncan Briggs

I tried running Cold Turkey as an administrator. Unfortunately, Frozen Turkey only logged out of the administrator account –– not any of the other accounts.

Reply written Sep 8, 2022

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Duncan Briggs

I bypassed Cold Turkey with the following command in Terminal:

while ; do killall Cold\ Turkey\ Blocker; done

https://linuxize.com/post/bash-while-loop/

Reply written Sep 10, 2022

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Duncan Briggs

Cold Turkey supports locking a block [0], but I wish that it supported a delay feature like Plucky [1].

[0] https://getcoldturkey.com/features/ [1] https://docs.pluckeye.net/delay

Reply written Nov 2, 2022

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Duncan Briggs

Under Settings – Blocking, Cold Turkey has a setting, "Block inactive browser tabs for blocked websites." I think that I actually want to block inactive windows but not inactive tabs. Because inactive windows could be visible, but inactive tabs would be occluded by the active tab.

Reply written Aug 7, 2023

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RagnarRagnarr

Its an desktop applicatiopn not an app, why would it run on iphone -.-

Reply written Sep 21, 2023

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Duncan Briggs

@RagnarNagnarr Compare Cold Turkey to Freedom which runs on both desktop and phone:

https://freedom.to/downloads https://apps.apple.com/app/freedom-block-distractions/id1269788228

Reply written Sep 27, 2023

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-1
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7 of 12 comments

What is Cold Turkey?

Block websites, games and applications to boost your productivity and reclaim your free time.

  • A dose of discipline, built in: Other website blockers are easy to cheat. Cold Turkey Blocker makes it almost impossible to stop the block once you lock it.
  • Powerful features made simple: Block anything from specific websites and applications to the entire internet with a few exceptions. Want to schedule breaks from your computer? You can do that too.
  • We don't collect your data: All of your settings and statistics are stored locally on your computer and everything you block is kept private. If you share your computer, an application password can be set for extra privacy.
  • Subscription-free, one time purchase: Subscriptions kinda suck. Our products are a one time purchase so that you can stay productive in the long term. Only one product key is needed for all computers you personally use and you also get free lifetime updates.

How it works:

  1. Install desktop app: Run the installer and follow the steps to install Cold Turkey Blocker for Windows or macOS. Mobile devices are not supported because of OS limitations.
  2. Install browser extensions: After installing the app, you'll see a popup to install the extensions for all supported browsers that were found on your computer.
  3. Start (and lock) a block: After configuring and starting your block, you can lock it to prevent further changes. Adding a lock will also block your browser if you disable the extension and prevent uninstalls of the software.

Official Links