How to Block Reddit During Work Hours

To block Reddit during work hours, use a blocker that has a schedule and add a wildcard entry such as *.reddit.com. If you only block plain reddit.com, old.reddit.com usually stays open. The free option for Chrome, Edge or Firefox is LeechBlock NG with a 9-to-5 weekday time period. If you need a lock you can’t undo, or the block has to cover the Reddit app, use Cold Turkey, Freedom, SelfControl or a DNS filter. The details for each are below.

Most guides skip the wildcard step, and it’s the step that decides whether the block actually works. So this page covers the syntax each tool expects, before getting to setup.

Which Reddit addresses do you need to block?

Reddit serves pages from several hostnames. If you leave one of them out, you’ll find the gap by Tuesday.

Address	What it is	Block it?
reddit.com, www.reddit.com	The main site	Yes
old.reddit.com	The old interface, still online	Yes
new.reddit.com	Another entry point to the site	Yes, a wildcard covers it
i.reddit.com	Old mobile site, retired in 2023, now redirects	Covered by a wildcard
redd.it	Short links	Optional
i.redd.it, v.redd.it, preview.redd.it	Image and video hosting	Optional

The safe rule is to block reddit.com and every subdomain of it. Blocking redd.it as well is optional. It stops short links and media, but it also breaks Reddit images embedded on other sites you might need for work, such as forums and documentation pages.

How each tool reads “reddit.com”

Typing reddit.com into a blocker means different things depending on the tool. Some block only that exact hostname. Others block the domain and everything under it.

• Hosts file: there are no wildcards. Each hostname has to go on its own line.
• Pi-hole: an exact denylist entry blocks only that hostname. Add reddit.com with the wildcard option instead, which Pi-hole turns into a regex like (^|\.)reddit\.com$. If you type *.reddit.com, Pi-hole rejects it as an invalid regex.
• LeechBlock NG: according to its wildcard FAQ, *.somesite.com blocks all subdomains. Add reddit.com as well to be safe. ** matches paths.
• NextDNS: community answers say a root entry like reddit.com also covers subdomains, and *.reddit.com works too. There’s no official documentation on this, so test it.

Whatever tool you use, check the block afterwards: open old.reddit.com in a private window. If it loads, the block isn’t complete.

Free scheduled blocking in Chrome: LeechBlock NG

LeechBlock NG is free and runs in Firefox, Chrome, Edge and other Chromium browsers. It supports time periods, time limits, up to 30 block sets and a lockdown mode. It’s the simplest free way to block Reddit on a schedule.

1. Install LeechBlock NG from your browser’s extension store.
2. In Block Set 1, add reddit.com and *.reddit.com, one per line. Add redd.it and *.redd.it if you want media blocked too.
3. Set the time period to 0900-1700 and tick Monday to Friday.
4. Under access control, choose a password or a random access code. A long random code is tedious to type, and the effort is enough to stop an impulse visit.

If one subreddit is genuinely useful for work, add an exception for its path and keep the rest of Reddit blocked. The wildcard FAQ above explains the pattern syntax.

The weakness is the same as any extension: someone can turn it off on chrome://extensions. LeechBlock’s FAQ has entries on making it harder to remove in Chrome and Edge. For other extension-based approaches, see seven ways to block websites on Chrome.

StayFocusd: a daily allowance instead of a ban

StayFocusd takes a different approach. It gives you a daily time budget across the sites you list, and once you’ve used it up they’re blocked for the rest of the day. Its Nuclear Option blocks sites for a set period and can’t be cancelled.

1. Install it from the Chrome Web Store. It works in Chromium browsers.
2. Add reddit.com to the blocked sites.
3. Set a daily maximum, for example 10 minutes.

This suits you if you use Reddit for research but lose track of time once you’re there. It’s now developed under Sensor Tower and was updated several times in early 2026. It’s still an extension, so it has the same off switch as LeechBlock.

Blocking Reddit on a Mac

On a Mac you have three free options and one paid one. The full list of Mac methods is in how to block websites on Mac.

Screen Time (built in)

Go to System Settings › Screen Time › App Limits › Add Limit. Click the arrow next to Websites at the bottom, then Add Website, and enter reddit.com. You can set the limit for every day or custom per day, as described in Apple’s guide.

A one-minute limit works in practice as a block, though Apple doesn’t describe it that way. Apple doesn’t document whether the limit applies in browsers other than Safari, so open Reddit in Chrome to check. Your passcode overrides the limit. If you’re blocking Reddit for yourself, have someone else set the passcode.

SelfControl (free, no schedule)

SelfControl is free and open source, and the current version is 4.0.2. You set a timer and start it. The block works at system level in every browser, and it holds until the timer ends, even if you restart the Mac or delete the app. It has no recurring schedule, so you have to start it yourself each morning. Check that old.reddit.com is blocked after you start it.

Hosts file (free, manual)

Open Terminal and run sudo nano /etc/hosts, then add:

127.0.0.1  reddit.com
127.0.0.1  www.reddit.com
127.0.0.1  old.reddit.com
127.0.0.1  new.reddit.com

Save the file, then flush the DNS cache:

sudo dscacheutil -flushcache && sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder

The block is either on or off, with no schedule, and anyone with an admin password can undo it.

Browwwser (paid, the browser itself)

Browwwser is a Chromium-based browser for macOS 12 or later with blocking built in. A blocked site doesn’t load: Browwwser shows a plain “site is blocked” page, with no countdown and no “continue anyway” button. There’s also no extension to turn off, because the blocking is part of the browser.

For work hours, add Reddit to your blocklist or start from the social media preset. Then set a recurring window such as weekdays 9 to 5. Lock mode freezes the blocklist behind a recovery password you choose, with no unlock button and no timer. App blocking closes the macOS apps you add to the list while blocking is active, so you can add a third-party Reddit client.

There’s one gap: website blocking only applies inside Browwwser. The Other Browsers preset can close Safari, Chrome and others while blocking is on; otherwise pair it with a Screen Time limit or SelfControl. Browwwser imports your Chrome bookmarks, passwords, history and extensions in one click. It costs $99 a year or $199 once, with a 7-day free trial and a 14-day money-back guarantee (pricing).

Windows, or every computer: Cold Turkey and Freedom

Cold Turkey

Cold Turkey runs on Windows and macOS, and one Pro key covers both. Its locks are very hard to stop once started, and uninstalling the app doesn’t end a block. Browser blocking works through extensions that Cold Turkey prompts you to install.

The free version covers website blocking, timed blocks, exceptions and statistics. Recurring schedules and app blocking need Pro, which is a one-time purchase with a 7-day trial; the current price is on the pricing page. With Pro, add reddit.com to a block list and set a weekday schedule. For a side-by-side, see Cold Turkey compared with Browwwser.

Freedom

Freedom runs on macOS, Windows, iOS, Android and Chromebook. It’s the option to choose if Reddit follows you across devices. On Mac and Windows it blocks through a local proxy, plus optional browser extensions, and it also offers a Non-Proxy Mode.

Recurring sessions and Locked Mode are Premium-only. The free plan has manual sessions, app blocking and unlimited devices. Premium costs $8.99 a month, or $3.33 a month billed yearly. The Forever plan is currently listed at $99.50, shown as half off $199. On a Mac, Freedom hides blocked apps by default, and a “Kill Blocked Apps” option closes them instead (Freedom’s guide). More in Freedom compared with Browwwser.

Blocking Reddit for the whole network: NextDNS and Pi-hole

A DNS filter blocks Reddit for every device that uses it, including browsers, apps and TVs. The trade-off is that neither of the two main options schedules well.

NextDNS is free up to 300,000 queries a month. Past that limit it keeps resolving addresses but stops blocking. Pro costs $1.99 a month or $19.90 a year, according to TechRadar. Add reddit.com to the Denylist, then set your router or devices to use your NextDNS configuration. NextDNS has no proper schedule. Parental Control’s “Recreation Time” allows one window a day, and it’s unclear whether you can add a custom domain like Reddit to it.

Pi-hole runs on your own hardware, such as a Raspberry Pi. Add reddit.com with the wildcard option, as explained above. It has no built-in scheduling either. People script a workaround, but it’s not a few-clicks setup.

Both can be bypassed by switching a device to a different DNS server. Few people do that on impulse, but it’s possible.

Phones and the Reddit app

On iPhone, use Settings › Screen Time › App Limits › Add Limit to set a limit on the Reddit app, and add reddit.com under Websites. On Android, Digital Wellbeing app timers limit the Reddit app. Google has also offered site timers for Chrome, which don’t count Incognito tabs. Those sources are older, so menu names may have changed.

On computers, it helps to know what the “Reddit app” is. On Windows, the official app in the Microsoft Store is a progressive web app, a wrapper around the website. On Mac there’s no official app, only third-party clients. Whether a browser block covers the Windows app isn’t documented, so block it as an app with Cold Turkey Pro or Freedom. On a Mac, an app blocker can close the third-party client, or you can simply uninstall it.

Which method fits your situation?

• Free, scheduled, mostly in Chrome: LeechBlock NG.
• Limit Reddit rather than ban it: StayFocusd’s daily budget.
• Mac, and you override blocks: SelfControl for single sessions, or Browwwser for a recurring schedule with a lock.
• Windows: Cold Turkey Pro or Freedom Premium. More options are in website blockers compared by platform.
• Every device at home: NextDNS or Pi-hole, plus Screen Time or Digital Wellbeing on phones.

Before you install anything on a work laptop, check your IT policy. Managed machines often block system-level tools and DNS changes. Freedom’s troubleshooting page also notes that VPNs can conflict with its proxy, and that can include a company VPN. An extension like LeechBlock is usually the least intrusive option.

Frequently asked questions

How do I block Reddit only during work hours for free?

Install LeechBlock NG in Chrome, Edge or Firefox, add reddit.com and *.reddit.com to a block set, and set the time period to 0900-1700 on weekdays. It's free and the schedule runs on its own. Freedom and Cold Turkey can schedule too, but only on their paid plans.

How do I block old.reddit.com as well as reddit.com?

Use a wildcard entry. In LeechBlock NG, *.reddit.com covers every subdomain. In Pi-hole, add reddit.com as a wildcard entry rather than an exact one. The hosts file has no wildcards, so you have to list old.reddit.com and www.reddit.com on separate lines.

Can I allow one subreddit I need for work and block the rest?

Yes, with LeechBlock NG. Block reddit.com and *.reddit.com, then add an exception for the subreddit's path. LeechBlock's wildcard FAQ gives the exact syntax. DNS blockers and the hosts file can't do this, because they only see domain names, not paths.

Does blocking Reddit in my browser also block the Reddit app?

No. A browser block only covers that browser. On a computer you need an app blocker such as Cold Turkey Pro, Freedom or Browwwser on Mac. On phones, use Screen Time on iPhone or Digital Wellbeing app timers on Android.

Will a Reddit blocker work on my work laptop?

Check your company's IT policy first, because many managed laptops don't let you install system-level blockers or change DNS settings. Freedom's own troubleshooting notes say VPNs can conflict with its proxy, and that can include a company VPN. A browser extension is usually the least intrusive option.