Cold Turkey

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.

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

Headquarters

HQ city

Ottawa

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. 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.
2. Writer Pro License: One-time purchase for Writer Pro features including productivity hacks, soundtracks, dark theme, and copy/paste toggling.
3. Micromanager Pro License: One-time purchase for unlimited app whitelisting, no block duration limits, and import/export functionality.
4. 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

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core 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

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• World Wildlife Fund CanadaminorOthersCold 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

Direct 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

• Xx.com/getcoldturkey
• Facebookfacebook.com/coldturkeyapp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/coldturkey

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cold Turkey