How do I block websites on my Mac?

You have four free routes: macOS Screen Time blocks sites in Safari with a passcode lock; editing the /etc/hosts file in Terminal redirects domains across every browser; a browser extension blocks sites in one browser; and a system-level focus app like Focuh blocks sites across all browsers during a session. Screen Time is the quickest, the hosts file is the most universal of the built-ins, and a system-level app is the hardest to bypass mid-session.

How do I block websites on Mac for free?

Every method most people need is free. Screen Time and the /etc/hosts file are built into macOS at no cost. SelfControl is free and open source and blocks across all browsers for a set time. Focuh is free and blocks sites at the system level during a focus session, with a timer and task list around it. You don't need to pay to block websites on a Mac — paid blockers mainly add stricter enforcement or cross-platform sync, not core blocking.

How do I block a website on Mac across all browsers?

Use a method that works below the browser. Editing /etc/hosts redirects a domain for Safari, Chrome, Firefox, and Arc at once. A system-level blocker like the free Focuh app does the same during a focus session and adds a timer and a session you can't casually undo. Screen Time and browser extensions only cover one browser each, so if you switch browsers to escape the block they won't help — OS-level blocking closes that gap.

How do I block websites on Mac using Screen Time?

Open System Settings, then Screen Time, then Content & Privacy. Turn on Content & Privacy Restrictions, go to Content Restrictions then Access to Web Content, and choose Limit Adult Websites. Click Customize and add the site under Restricted. Safari will block it, and you can set a Screen Time passcode so the restriction isn't trivial to lift. The catch: Screen Time only governs Safari, so the site still opens in Chrome or Firefox.

How do I block websites on Mac using the hosts file?

Open Terminal and run: sudo nano /etc/hosts. Enter your password, then add a line like '127.0.0.1 example.com' and another for 'www.example.com'. Save with Control+O, exit with Control+X, then flush DNS with: sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder. The site is now blocked in every browser until you remove those lines. It's free and universal but has no timer, so you can undo it in about thirty seconds.

How do I block websites on Mac during work hours only?

Use a tool built around sessions or schedules rather than a permanent toggle. A system-level focus app like Focuh ties blocking to a focus session: the block turns on when you start working and off when the session ends, so there's nothing to remember to re-enable. SelfControl blocks for a fixed duration you set at the start. Screen Time and the hosts file have no built-in timer, so for work-hours blocking a session-based app is the cleaner fit.

Why do websites I blocked on Mac still open?

Usually because the block only covered one browser. Screen Time and most extensions govern a single browser, so a site you blocked in Safari still loads in Chrome or Arc. The other common cause is subdomains — blocking example.com but not m.example.com leaves a door open. To block a site everywhere, use the hosts file or a system-level app that works below the browser, and include the www and mobile subdomains.

What's the best way to block websites on Mac for focus?

A system-level focus app tied to your work sessions. Focuh blocks distracting sites across every browser during a focus session and pairs the block with a timer, a menu-bar countdown, and a task list, so blocking turns on when you start working and off when you finish. The free Mac app uses macOS Accessibility APIs, making it harder to bypass than Screen Time. For casual blocking, Screen Time is fine; for protecting real work time, OS-level blocking holds up better.

macOSwebsite blockerScreen Timehosts fileproductivity

How to Block Websites on Mac (Free, 2026)

June 3, 202610 min readFocuh

The reason a blocked website keeps reappearing on your Mac usually isn't willpower — it's scope. You blocked it in Safari and opened it in Chrome. Here's how to block websites on Mac for free, with every method laid out: Screen Time for a quick Safari block, the hosts file to cover every browser, a browser extension for single-browser control, and a system-level focus app that blocks across your whole machine during a session. Pick the one that matches how hard you actually need the block to be.

Method 1: macOS Screen Time (built in, free)

Screen Time has a content filter that blocks sites in Safari and can be locked behind a passcode.

Open System Settings → Screen Time.
Click Content & Privacy and turn on Content & Privacy Restrictions.
Go to Content Restrictions → Access to Web Content and choose Limit Adult Websites.
Click Customize, and under Restricted, add the full address — for example https://www.reddit.com.

Set a Screen Time passcode (separate from your login password) so the restriction isn't a two-click undo.

The limits are real. Screen Time only governs Safari, so the site still opens in Chrome, Firefox, or Arc. And it's your passcode, so you can lift the restriction whenever the urge is strong enough — which tends to be exactly when you don't want it to be easy.

Method 2: Edit the hosts file (covers every browser)

To block a site across Safari, Chrome, Firefox, and Arc at once, edit your Mac's hosts file. It works below the browser, so the block is universal.

Open Terminal and run:

sudo nano /etc/hosts

Add a line for each domain and its common subdomains:

127.0.0.1 reddit.com
127.0.0.1 www.reddit.com
127.0.0.1 m.reddit.com

Save with Control+O, exit with Control+X, then flush DNS:

sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder

The hosts file is free and covers every browser. Its weakness is that there's no timer and no friction — the site stays blocked until you reopen the file and delete those lines, which takes about thirty seconds. Nothing stops you from undoing it on impulse, and you have to know each subdomain to be thorough.

Method 3: A browser extension (one browser only)

If your distraction lives entirely in one browser, an extension is the lightest option. A Chrome blocker like Focuh or LeechBlock NG lets you add sites and block them in Chrome; Safari has its own content-blocker extensions.

The catch is in the name: a browser extension blocks one browser. Block a site in Chrome and it still opens in Safari. For a Chrome-only habit that's fine, and the best free website blocker for Chrome guide covers the options. For a Safari-specific walkthrough, see how to block websites on Safari. But if you switch browsers to dodge the block, an extension won't hold.

Method 4: System-level blocking with a focus app

The strongest free option blocks sites everywhere and ties the block to a work session instead of a permanent toggle you manage by hand.

The free Focuh desktop app for Mac blocks sites at the operating-system level during a focus session. While the session runs, the blocked sites are unreachable in Safari, Chrome, Firefox, and Arc simultaneously, and Focuh pairs blocking with a focus timer, a menu-bar countdown, and a task list — so the block turns on when you start working and off when you finish. Because it uses macOS Accessibility APIs rather than a Safari setting, it's harder to disable mid-session than Screen Time.

This is the method for people who keep returning to a site no matter how many times they "block" it. Removing every browser route at once, and binding it to a session, is what makes the block hold. The deeper mechanics are covered in system-level website blocking on macOS.

It also changes the daily friction. With Screen Time or the hosts file, you're deciding moment to moment whether the site is blocked, which means negotiating with yourself all day. With a session-based app, you make one decision at the start — "the next 50 minutes are for work" — and the block follows from it. You're not fighting the urge over and over; you answered it once.

Ways to block websites on Mac, compared

Method	Free?	Covers all browsers?	Has a session/timer?	Bypass friction
Screen Time	Yes	No (Safari only)	No	Low
Hosts file	Yes	Yes	No	Low (easy to edit out)
Browser extension	Yes	No (one browser)	Sometimes	Low
SelfControl	Yes	Yes	Yes — set duration	High during a block
Focuh Mac app	Yes	Yes (OS-level)	Yes — focus session	High

Laid out side by side, the choice is about how hard you need the block to be. Screen Time is quick but Safari-only. The hosts file is universal but trivial to undo. Browser extensions are light but single-browser. SelfControl and Focuh are the two rows that cover every browser and resist mid-session tampering — the difference being that Focuh adds a timer, tasks, and a menu-bar countdown around the block, while SelfControl is a pure timed blocker.

Why single-browser blocks keep failing

If you've blocked a site in Safari and found yourself on it in Chrome twenty minutes later, the method didn't fail — its scope did. A Safari-only block leaves every other browser open, and the autopilot move when you hit a wall is to open the site somewhere else.

OS-level blocking closes that door. When the block lives below the browser, there's no second browser to escape to. That's the whole case for system-level tools over browser-scoped ones, and it's why the same site you've "blocked" five times keeps coming back when the block only ever covered one browser.

Which method should you choose?

"I just want a site gone in Safari and I trust myself" — Use Screen Time. Free, built in, two minutes.

"I use more than one browser" — Use the hosts file for a universal block, or a system-level app if you also want a timer.

"I keep going back no matter what" — Use system-level blocking. The free Focuh app blocks across every browser during a session and is hard to switch off mid-focus, which is the point.

Every option here is free, so start with the lightest one that fits and step up only if the block doesn't hold. For a fuller rundown of dedicated tools, see the best website blockers for Mac in 2026, or download the free Focuh app to block sites across your whole system today.