Unbed alternatives for iPhone: get out of bed with no block to buy

Unbed is a clever idea and a well-rated app. You stick a small block somewhere away from your bed, and the alarm only stops when you tap your phone on it. But the block costs real money, and it has to be nearby every morning. If either of those is why you're here, there are good options that need no hardware.

Quick answer: BedOut is the closest no-hardware option if you want physical missions like push-ups. WakeUpBroo suits you if you want the off switch away from your bed: type a code from your computer, or scan a random item in another room. Neither needs anything you don't already own.

Prices and details are from the US App Store and each company's website in November 2026. They change, so check before you buy.

How Unbed works

To stop the alarm, you hold your iPhone against the Unbed Block, the same way you'd tap to pay. It uses NFC, so the block needs no battery, and it has magnets for mounting. Unbed has no snooze button, and you get a limited number of emergency stops, plus one short mute each morning.

The block isn't optional: Unbed says you must have one to use the app. There's also a paid upgrade, Unbed+, which adds extras like Wake Challenges and sleep tracking. The core app is free once you own a block.

On the App Store it's rated 4.7 from about 820 ratings, so plenty of people are happy with it.

Why people look for an alternative

From reading recent App Store reviews, these are the complaints that come up most:

• The cost. The block was $55 on sale when we checked, with a list price of $92.
• It has to be with you. Travelling, or staying somewhere else, means no block.
• Scanning trouble. Some reviewers say the phone doesn't always read the block, and that a thick case can get in the way.
• The account. Version 3.0 added accounts and Unbed+, and some people who'd already bought the block weren't happy about it.

Compared

BedOut

BedOut needs no hardware. When the alarm rings, you finish a mission: push-ups, squats, dance, math, a QR code scan, an object hunt, a photo of the sky, or shaking your phone. It's a good pick if moving your body is what wakes you up.

It's newer and small, with 18 ratings on the App Store when we checked, and it needs iOS 26. You can search for it as "BedOut - Wake Up Early".

WakeUpBroo

That's ours, so read this with that in mind. WakeUpBroo has no snooze and no dismiss button, and you pick how each alarm stops:

• Hard: type a code that changes every 5 minutes from wakeupbroo.com/code on a computer or tablet across the room. It's the closest thing to Unbed's block, because the off switch isn't on your phone.
• Medium: save a few household items, and the alarm names a random one each morning. Find it and scan its barcode. A random item is harder to keep beside your bed than one block.
• Easy: remember 3 words and type them back.

It has only been on the App Store since May 2026 and hasn't built up ratings yet, so it can't match Unbed's track record.

The other app called Unbed

There's a second, unrelated app called Unbed: Scan to Stop Alarm, from a different developer. It uses any product barcode instead of a block, with walking, math and shaking as other options. It has no ratings yet, so make sure you're looking at the right one in the App Store.

Which should you pick?

• You like a physical object and don't mind paying once: Unbed is a good product. Mount the block in your bathroom and you're done.
• You want exercise to wake you: BedOut.
• You want the off switch away from your phone, with nothing to buy: WakeUpBroo.

One limit applies to all of them: no iPhone alarm can stop you from powering off your phone. Unbed says the same. Any of these works best if you put the phone across the room too. Want a wider list? See the best alarm apps for heavy sleepers, or apps like Alarmy.