# Productivity Challenge Timer — Gamified pomodoro timer

> Gamified productivity timer for focused work sessions and habit tracking. (iPhone/iPad app by Vladimir Jovanovic.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/productivity-challenge-timer/id1117766356 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Vladimir Jovanovic](https://appshunter.io/developer/1117368400)
- Category: Productivity, Utilities
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 4.80/5 from 210 App Store ratings · 265 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 9+
- Requires: iOS 15.6 · 25 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2016-06-21
- Data updated: 2026-08-09
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/productivity-challenge-timer/id1117766356/reviews.md

## What is Productivity Challenge Timer?

Productivity Challenge Timer aims to help you be more productive, more focused, waste less time and so on, you already know all that stuff. 

What this app is really about is challenging you to work harder and tracking your work habits. You'll earn/lose ranks depending on your performance, earn achievements and track your productivity over time, so you'll know how long you worked on what and during which days of the week and hours of the day you're at your most productive.

Now here's a few things you should know before downloading:

- This is not an organizer. If you can't keep track of what you're supposed to be doing, this is not the app for you. The app includes tracking of projects so you know how much time you spent working on each of your clients/books/websites/whatever - like a time sheet, but it's not meant to be an organizer or a to-do list.

- This app will not let you pause work sessions or finish them early, so if you have a tiny baby-sized bladder and you need to pause every few minutes, this is not the app for you. The shortest work session you can set is 10 minutes and you're not supposed to be interrupted. Besides, I use this app too, and I'd be the first to abuse that pause feature to go look up useless nonsense instead of getting work done.

- The purpose of this app is not to promote a healthy work-life balance, but to get you to work harder. Because of this, it does not recognize weekends or holidays or parenting or any other excuse people come up with to take time off, and it will demote you if you start slipping. Please don't expect the app to validate your personal goals, its sole purpose is to make you work harder, even when you shouldn't.

That's it, thanks for reading and I hope you find this app as useful as I do.

## Key features

- Gamified productivity challenges
- Rank and achievement system
- Detailed work habit tracking
- Project-specific time logging
- Focus on uninterrupted work sessions
- Productivity analytics by day/hour

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pro mode | $8.99 | one-time |


## What do users think of Productivity Challenge Timer?

Overall sentiment: positive

**Pros**

- 🚀 Efficient and reliable
- 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly
- 💡 Gamified approach motivates users
- 📊 Comprehensive statistics and tracking
- 🤖 Snarky and humorous personality

**Cons**

- 🔊 Disruptive ads in free version
- 🔔 Overly aggressive notifications
- 🔒 Lack of cloud sync/backup
- 🕰️ Inability to pause or extend sessions

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Occasional sound issues
- Slow loading of historical data
- Inconsistencies between iOS and Android versions

**Most requested features**

- Apple Watch support
- Customizable timer durations
- Ability to add notes to sessions
- Weekend/holiday mode to avoid demotions
- More advanced goal-tracking and analytics

## Recent user reviews (10 of 265)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/productivity-challenge-timer/id1117766356/reviews.md

### 5/5 — It works.

*2026-07-22, version 2.8.0*

Brought to you by the creator of hit indie RPG game Occidental Heroes. Allegedly used by the developer herself, but evidently is not working as Occidental Heroes updates once per French Revolution

Works well for me though, would recommend

### 5/5 — Life changed

*2026-07-07, version 2.8.0*

Title

### 5/5 — I Love Using This App!

*2026-03-20, version 2.8.0*

I’ve had it for several years but for some reason I had stopped using it. I started using it again a few weeks ago and I love it!!  Idk why I ever stopped. It’s a fun pomodoro timer and a great way to track where you’re spending your time and energy. Plus I get a kick out of the developers wry humor.

### 3/5 — It’s unapologetically intense

*2025-12-26, version 2.8.0*

It’s a good app I suppose. It does take you apart if you miss a couple days. You won’t just go down a rank or two, you’ll go down like 6 or 8. Kind of a shame it’s this intense, as I feel it can be demoralizing to be punished so brutally. Personally, now I want to get to work less than ever before

### 5/5 — Great gamification

*2025-11-06, version 2.8.0*

Love the soviet aesthetic, only issue is for some reason the sounds randomly don't play on ios. The ticking sound, session completion, the alerts don't make any sound and all sounds are enabled.

### 5/5 — Best app

*2025-10-28, version 2.8.0*

Perfect app

### 1/5 — Average productivity app

*2025-10-25, version 2.8.0*

For god sake increase the timer duration mate..

### 4/5 — Nice experience

*2025-09-25, version 2.8.0*

Easy to use

### 5/5 — The stick approach

*2025-07-31, version 2.8.0*

The slightly mean approach of this app instead of gentle encouragement is terrific. No joke it got me through college. Great developer too!

### 5/5 — This app helped me finish my PhD

*2025-07-31, version 2.8.0*

I enjoy the gamification and the Soviet Russian aesthetics.  It’s the only pomodoro timer that worked for me when I was grinding through my dissertation writing. 

If you like lighthearted sarcasm, backhanded compliments, and passive-aggressive comments, then this app is definitely your gem.

## Frequently asked questions about Productivity Challenge Timer

### What does the Productivity Challenge Timer do?

This app gamifies your work sessions to help you be more productive and focused. It challenges you to work harder, tracks your work habits, and allows you to earn ranks and achievements based on your performance. You can also track how much time you spend on specific projects.

### What are the key features of this app?

Key features include a gamified challenge system with ranks and achievements, detailed tracking of work habits, project-specific time logging similar to a timesheet, and analytics that show your most productive days and hours. It emphasizes focused, uninterrupted work sessions.

### Is this app free to use?

The app is free to download and use, but it does offer in-app purchases. The description does not specify what these purchases entail, but they are available for users who wish to enhance their experience.

### What kind of work habits does this app promote?

This app is designed to promote working harder and longer, rather than a healthy work-life balance. It does not recognize weekends or holidays and will demote you if you take time off. Its sole purpose is to push you to maximize your work output.

### Can I pause or finish work sessions early?

No, this app does not allow you to pause work sessions or finish them early. The shortest work session you can set is 10 minutes, and the app is designed for uninterrupted focus. This feature is intentionally restrictive to prevent users from getting sidetracked.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 2.8.0 — 2025-07-21

Stay-away mode, so productivity goblins know to leave you alone
Two new achievements

### 2.7.3 — 2022-11-03

Bug fixes and maintenance updates

### 2.7.2 — 2022-03-14

- Bug fixes

### 2.7.1 — 2021-12-06

- Project search filter
- Bug fixes

### 2.6.5 — 2021-04-26

Two other ticking sounds
Background ticking
Sub-projects will inherit suspension/completion of their parent
Less likely to demote you when you work through midnight
Bug fixes and maintenance updates

## Apps similar to Productivity Challenge Timer

| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [FocusPomo · Pomodoro Timer](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/focuspomo-pomodoro-timer/id1528322796) | 4.8 (7,420) | Free | Productivity |
| [Be Focused – Deep Focus Timer](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/be-focused-deep-focus-timer/id973130201) | 4.7 (4,317) | Free | Productivity |
| [Pomodoro - Focus Timer](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pomodoro-focus-timer/id1265128036) | 4.7 (10,789) | Free | Productivity |
| [Be Focused Pro - Focus Timer](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/be-focused-pro-focus-timer/id953426154) | 4.6 (2,972) | $19.99 | Productivity |
| [Flipd: focus & study timer](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/flipd-focus-and-study-timer/id1071708905) | 4.5 (6,954) | Free | Productivity |
| [Focus To-Do: Focus Timer&Tasks](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/focus-to-do-focus-timer-and-tasks/id966057213) | 4.8 (14,555) | Free | Productivity |

## More apps by Vladimir Jovanovic

- [Air Defense Command](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/air-defense-command/id1151009825)
- [Occidental Heroes](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/occidental-heroes/id1355481701)
- [Air Offense Command](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/air-offense-command/id1483975642)
- [Severance Pain](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/severance-pain/id6443958616)

All apps by Vladimir Jovanovic: https://appshunter.io/developer/1117368400

## Related topics

[work timer project](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/work-timer-project)

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-09.*