Hawser: a Cold Turkey Alternative That Notices When You Drift
Cold Turkey vs Hawser at a glance
| Cold Turkey | Hawser | |
|---|---|---|
| Approach | A block list you cannot bypass | An AI that watches and nudges |
| When you drift | Hard lockout | Notices and checks in with you |
| Strictness | Maximum (unbreakable) | Firm, but no lockout |
| More than blocking | Blocking and scheduling | Blocking plus an AI companion, voice dictation, and learning cards |
| Platforms | Windows and Mac | Windows (Mac on the roadmap) |
| Price | $39 one time | 7 days free, then $25 per month |
| Best for | People who want a wall they cannot get past | People who want to catch the drift and get back on track, not just be locked out |
The real difference: a wall versus a nudge
Cold Turkey does one thing extremely well. It makes a site or app impossible to open, and once a block starts there is no way out. For some people, that brute force is exactly the medicine.
But a wall does not answer the harder question: why do you keep reaching for the distraction? You can block YouTube and still lose the afternoon staring at the wall, or just pick up your phone instead.
Hawser takes a different path. It runs quietly in the background, and the moment it sees you slip off the one thing you said mattered today, it does not slam a door. It checks in: "Hey, I noticed you are on YouTube. Want to get back to it?" No lockout, no shame, just a hand on your shoulder at the exact moment you need one.
The honest trade-offs
We are not going to pretend Hawser wins on everything. Cold Turkey is still the better choice if:
- You want it cheap. Cold Turkey is $39 once. Hawser is a subscription.
- You want pure, unbreakable strictness. Nothing locks you out harder than Cold Turkey.
- You are on Mac today. Cold Turkey supports Mac now; Hawser is Windows first.
Hawser is the better choice if:
- You want it to notice in the moment, not just enforce a block you set hours ago.
- You want more than a blocker. It also talks to you in plain English ("block YouTube after 20 minutes"), types for you with voice dictation in any app, and slips in learning cards between work blocks.
- Lockouts make you resentful, not focused. A nudge keeps you in the driver's seat.
Why I built this
I never used Cold Turkey itself, but I lived on the hard blockers it represents, the kind that just lock you out or boot you off your computer once you have used something "too long." They drove me up the wall, because my life does not run on a fixed schedule. One day I am heads down working for ten hours straight. The next, I might sink ten hours into a video game, and that is completely fine. A rigid blocker cannot tell those two days apart. It enforces the same dumb rule and kicks me off either way, usually on the day I needed it least.
That is the whole reason Hawser exists. It does not run on an arbitrary timer that has no idea what your day actually looks like. It works off what you set out to do, so ten hours of real work is never treated like the enemy, and it only steps in when you have genuinely drifted from it. It adapts to your day instead of fighting it.
Frequently asked questions
Does Hawser lock you out like Cold Turkey?
No. Hawser can block sites and apps, but its core idea is to notice when you drift and nudge you back, not to seal you out of your computer.
What is the best Cold Turkey alternative for Windows?
If you want the same brute force blocking, Freedom and SelfControl are close. If you want an AI that catches you drifting in real time and nudges you back, Hawser is the closest thing to it.
Is Hawser available on Mac?
Not yet. Hawser is Windows first, with Mac on the roadmap.
How much does Hawser cost?
Hawser is free for 7 days with no credit card, then $25 per month.