It's not always enough to willpower your way to your goals. Sometimes, you need help staying focused.

Luckily, website blocking apps can help keep you away from distractions. From planting virtual trees to tracking your biggest distractions, these apps all have something unique that can help you stay on track.

Learn about the best website blocking apps, how much they cost, and what devices they are compatible with.

1. Freedom

With Freedom, can you block online websites and applications that keep you from doing your work. What makes the app unique is that it syncs across all your devices, allowing you to remain distraction-free on the go or at home.

The app can block specific websites, applications, or the entire internet. You also have a premade list that has the most common apps and websites people block. If your working schedule is consistent, Freedom has a feature where you schedule blocks ahead of time so you don't have to worry about manually blocking your distractions.

You can even set these blocks as recurring for several days in a row to help with consistent obligations like school or your job. You may be tempted to turn off the blocker so you can get back to your distractions, but with locked mode, you are unable to end a blocked session ahead of schedule.

Freedom is available for iOS, Android, and desktop. It comes with a free trial for up to seven blocked sessions.

There are three different pricing plans for Freedom, including monthly and yearly plans, as well as an option for a one-time payment. While the monthly plan costs $6.99/month, the yearly subscription is $2.42/month (but you pay annually). If you want to avoid subscriptions altogether, you can purchase Freedom for $129.

Download: Freedom for Windows and Mac | iOS | Android | Chrome (Free, in-app purchases available)

2. Cold Turkey

Cold Turkey app dashboard

Even though Cold Turkey is only available for desktop devices, it is one of the better blocking apps for getting rid of distractions.

While most apps claim to block your websites and apps, there are still workarounds to access what you want. With Cold Turkey, once you set a blocked session, you won't be able to turn it off until the time runs out.

You can block an unlimited number of websites regardless of which plan you have, block specific applications you use, or block the entire internet while still having a connection.

You can also create a whitelist that allows specific websites to remain accessible while blocking the rest of the internet. Turning on the Frozen Turkey feature will create a period of time where your blocked websites are inaccessible.

If you head to a blocked page, Cold Turkey will show an inspirational message to get you back to work. Set up time usage limits so that you can still access your distractions, but only for short periods of time.

As mentioned above, you'll only be able to use Cold Turkey on Mac or Windows operating systems. There are two plans available for Cold Turkey. The free plan offers limited features, while the paid plan is $39, and gives you lifetime access to the app.

Download: Cold Turkey for Windows and Mac (Free)

3. Forest

Forest wins the prize for being the most creative website blocking app around. Most other sites are pretty straightforward and focus on functionality, but Forest actually created a completely unique concept.

For every 25 minutes you leave the app open, you can grow a virtual tree. Navigating away from the app in any way will immediately kill your new tree. The concept makes it friendly for students who need help staying focused on school work.

The more time you stay focused on the app without getting distracted, the more trees you will grow. Pretty soon, you can have an entire forest of trees standing because of your dedication and hard work.

Forest is available for iOS and Android devices, and is also available as a Chrome extension. It's free to use on Android but costs $1.99 on iOS (not including other in-app purchases).

Upgrade to the pro version of Forest on Android, and you can plant trees in real life through a partnership with the organization Trees For The Future.

Download: Forest for Android | Chrome (Free)

Download: Forest for iOS ($1.99)

4. RescueTime

This app isn't entirely focused on website blocking and has even more features as a time-tracking tool to stay productive. That's what makes RescueTime unique.

The FocusTime feature lets you block out online distractions based on the time tracking history created in the app. RescueTime logs all the apps and websites you spend the most time on and lets you categorize them as productive, distracting, or very distracting. From these labels, you can turn on FocusTime and let the app know which category you want to block.

RescueTime is available on iOS, Android, and desktop devices. There is a free version you can download, but it doesn't come with the distraction blocker. To get this feature, you'll need to subscribe for $12/month.

Download: RescueTime for iOS | Android | Windows | Mac | Linux | Chrome | Firefox (Free, subscription available)

5. Mindful Browsing

Display page for Mindful Browsing app

Only available as a Chrome extension, Mindful Browsing is completely free and helps you make better decisions about how you spend your time.

What makes this website blocker interesting is that it doesn't actually block any websites for you. Instead, it displays a friendly message asking if you'd still like to proceed to your blocked site.

This friendly reminder can be paired with a list of activities that you create ahead of time. These activities should help you stay on task and be more beneficial than surfing the web aimlessly.

If you do choose to proceed to the blocked website, Mindful Browsing will ask you again in 10 minutes if you're sure you wouldn't rather be doing something else. The questions are a great way to remind yourself of your dedication to your work so you can stay on task.

Download: Mindful Browsing for Chrome (Free)

Block Distracting Websites and Applications

With the apps on this list, blocking your most distracting websites and applications to stay focused on your work has never been easier. You can sync your blocked sessions across all devices and set specific time periods to remain free from distractions.