Cold Turkey
Cold Turkey Software is a bootstrapped Canadian developer of desktop productivity applications for Windows and macOS, offering website/app blocking, distraction-free writing, and app whitelisting tools to individual consumers via one-time license purchases through direct website downloads.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersOttawa, Canada
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Cold Turkey does
Cold Turkey Software, Inc. is a bootstrapped, privately held Canadian software company headquartered in Ottawa that develops desktop productivity applications for Windows and macOS. Founded in 2010 by Felix Belzile as a side project to help a friend stop playing World of Warcraft in order to study, the company transitioned to full-time operation in 2017 and remains a solo-developer venture with no external funding and 1-10 employees. Cold Turkey operates without venture capital, subscriptions, or institutional investors and is incorporated under Ontario law.
The company offers three core products — Cold Turkey Blocker (a website and application blocker with anti-tampering mechanisms that prevent users from circumventing locked blocks, including uninstall prevention, task manager blocking, and random-text unlocking), Cold Turkey Writer (a distraction-free writing application that locks the computer until a word-count or time goal is reached), and Cold Turkey Micromanager (an application whitelisting tool for productivity sprints). All three use a freemium model with one-time Pro licenses, store user data locally on-device for privacy, and are distributed exclusively through direct website downloads and browser extension stores (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, Opera, Brave, Vivaldi, and others). The company blocks over 3 million websites per month, has been downloaded millions of times, and reports a 91% user rating of 4 or 5 stars.
Cold Turkey targets individual consumers — students, writers, knowledge workers, and individuals seeking to manage digital addiction — through a product-led, direct-to-consumer go-to-market motion with no sales team or enterprise channel. Monetization relies entirely on one-time license purchases across the three product lines; the "Pause for a Cause" feature channels donations to World Wildlife Fund Canada ($99,773 CAD since 2020, charitable rather than revenue). The company has received media coverage from Financial Times, Wired, Time, FastCompany, TechCrunch, Business Insider, and HuffPost, and maintains active development with its most recent Blocker release (4.9(2)) shipped in March 2026. Geographic restrictions exclude Android, iOS, ChromeOS, and Linux platforms.
Cold Turkey firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Cold Turkey
- Legal name
- Cold Turkey Software, Inc.
- Website
- https://getcoldturkey.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Cold Turkey Software is a bootstrapped Canadian developer of desktop productivity applications for Windows and macOS, offering website/app blocking, distraction-free writing, and app whitelisting tools to individual consumers via one-time license purchases through direct website downloads.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Cold Turkey is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Ottawa
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Cold Turkey business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Blocker Pro License: One-time purchase for lifetime access to all Blocker features including application blocking, scheduling, password locking, and all break types. Includes free lifetime updates and email support.
- Writer Pro License: One-time purchase for Writer Pro features including productivity hacks, soundtracks, dark theme, and copy/paste toggling.
- Micromanager Pro License: One-time purchase for unlimited app whitelisting, no block duration limits, and import/export functionality.
- Pause for a Cause Donations: Users can donate to World Wildlife Fund Canada to temporarily pause blocks. Proceeds go to charity, not company revenue directly.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | Blocker Free - Basic website blocking with 7-day Pro trial |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Blocker Pro - Lifetime access to all blocking features |
| Freemium | Others | Writer Free - Basic distraction-free writing |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Writer Pro - Lifetime access with productivity features |
| Freemium | Others | Micromanager Free - Whitelist one app with 24-hour limit |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Micromanager Pro - Unlimited whitelisting with no duration limits |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels6 records
Cold Turkey product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Cold Turkey develops and sells desktop productivity software for Windows and macOS that helps individuals block distracting websites, applications, and games. Its flagship product Cold Turkey Blocker uses anti-tampering mechanisms to make locked blocks nearly impossible to bypass. The portfolio also includes Cold Turkey Writer (a distraction-free writing app) and Cold Turkey Micromanager (an application whitelisting tool), all sold under a one-time purchase model with freemium tiers.
Product overview
Cold Turkey is a productivity software company offering three distinct desktop applications for Windows and macOS: Cold Turkey Blocker (the flagship product for blocking websites and applications with scheduling, locking, and break features), Cold Turkey Writer (a distraction-free writing app that locks the computer until a word count or time goal is met), and Cold Turkey Micromanager (an application whitelisting tool that restricts users to only their whitelisted apps during productivity sprints). All three products share a one-time purchase model with free tiers/trials, are built by a single indie developer (Felix), store user data locally, and support Windows 7+ and macOS 10.12+. Blocker is the most full-featured, while Writer and Micromanager are purpose-built tools with overlapping focus themes.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Blocker: Website and app blocker that blocks distractions for productivity
- Writer
- Micromanager
Products and services
- Cold Turkey Blocker
Quantifiable outcome
- 3+ million websites blocked every month
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Cold Turkey
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Cold Turkey technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
Feature5 records
Cold Turkey partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- World Wildlife Fund CanadaminorCold Turkey's 'Pause for a Cause' feature allows users to donate to World Wildlife Fund Canada for temporary breaks from blocks. Donations totaled $99,773 CAD as of end of 2025. This is a charitable partnership rather than commercial.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Cold Turkey competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- FocusMe: Desktop app and website blocker with scheduling and Pomodoro features. Direct competitor serving similar productivity-focused users on Windows and Mac.
- Freedom: Multi-platform website and app blocker with scheduled sessions and team plans. Direct competitor offering similar lockdown functionality across Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, and ChromeOS — frequently listed alongside Cold Turkey in 'best blockers' roundups.
- Opal: App and website blocker focused on Mac/iOS with AI-driven focus sessions. Direct competitor in the distraction-blocking category, frequently compared head-to-head with Cold Turkey in productivity press.
Emerging players
- Serene: Mac productivity app combining focus sessions, website blocking, and task planning. Niche competitor targeting the same knowledge-worker persona as Cold Turkey Micromanager.
- Forest: Focus app that gamifies distraction avoidance via tree-planting. Adjacent competitor in the productivity/focus category, often featured alongside Cold Turkey in 'best focus apps' lists.
- LeechBlock NG: Lightweight browser-based website blocker (Firefox/Chrome). An emerging/niche competitor addressing casual use cases for free, putting pressure on Cold Turkey's free tier.
- StayFocusd: Chrome extension that limits time spent on distracting websites. Emerging/niche competitor offering a free, browser-only alternative to Cold Turkey for casual users.
- SelfControl: Free, open-source macOS website blocker. Niche competitor for the Mac-only use case, providing a free alternative for users who do not need Cold Turkey's anti-tampering depth.
Broad incumbents
- RescueTime: Time-tracking and productivity analytics platform. Broader incumbent in the productivity software space with overlapping value proposition around attention management, though focused on measurement rather than blocking.
Others
- Focus@Will: Music and soundscapes service designed to improve focus. Adjacent ecosystem participant — not a blocker but commonly bundled or recommended alongside focus tools.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Cold Turkey social profiles
Digital presenceCold Turkey financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Cold Turkey leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Cold Turkey funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Cold Turkey M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Cold Turkey
What does Cold Turkey do?
Cold Turkey develops and sells desktop productivity software for Windows and macOS that helps individuals block distracting websites, applications, and games. Its flagship product Cold Turkey Blocker uses anti-tampering mechanisms to make locked blocks nearly impossible to bypass. The portfolio also includes Cold Turkey Writer (a distraction-free writing app) and Cold Turkey Micromanager (an application whitelisting tool), all sold under a one-time purchase model with freemium tiers.
Is Cold Turkey a public or private company?
Cold Turkey is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Cold Turkey founded?
Cold Turkey was founded in 2010. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Cold Turkey based?
Cold Turkey is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, in the North America region.
How does Cold Turkey make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Blocker Pro License is the primary driver. The others are writer Pro License, micromanager Pro License and pause for a Cause Donations.
Who are Cold Turkey's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are FocusMe, Freedom and Opal. Emerging players are Serene, Forest, LeechBlock NG, StayFocusd and SelfControl. RescueTime is listed as a broad incumbent. Focus@Will is listed as an others.
Does Cold Turkey have an API?
No public API is recorded for Cold Turkey.