FocusList vs The Simplest Note
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
FocusList
Plan your day and boost productivity with timed work intervals and breaks. Track your progress, analyze estimates, and identify your peak work times.
- Daily planning with task estimation
- 25-minute work intervals with 5-minute breaks
- Timeboxing for focused work sessions
- Retrospective analysis of estimates and time spent
- Real-time sync with Mac app
- Productivity statistics
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# Simplest Pomodoro app that sync with Mac in real-time (visit focuslist.co) # Get more DEEP WORK done. FocusList is your one app to plan the day and be more productive using 25 minutes intervals, timeboxing and retrospective. Here's how: Plan: Start the day by planning your activities throughout the day. Give each task an estimate. Plan your entire day, and try to get everything on your list done. Focus: Go through your tasks in 30 minute blocks. (25 minutes work + 5 minutes break). It helps you focus by separating work time and rest time. Retrospect: With stats, you can go back in time and see how good your estimates were, how much time you've spent on each task, and when is your best time in the day to get work done.
The Simplest Note
This app helps you focus on essential information by providing a clean interface for notes, to-do lists, and planners. It features widgets for home and lock screens, iCloud sync, and supports light and dark modes for a better user experience.
- Minimalist UI
- All information on one screen
- Home and lock screen widgets
- iCloud synchronization
- Light and dark appearance support
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HOW TO USE: Select only the essential information for your daily life and update it as needed." USE CASE: Quick Note, To-Do List, Shoping List, Wish List, Habit List, Planner, Timetable, Original Template etc. SIMPLICITY IS BEST • No unnecessary UI elements or features EVERYTHING ON ONE SCREEN • Focus on what's really important THE SHORTER, THE BETTER • Delete "done" things AVAILBALE ON LOCK SCREEN AND HOME SCREEN • Supports various types of widgets AVAILBALE ON iPHONE AND iPAD • Supports iCloud synchronization BETTER FOR YOUR EYE • Supports light and dark appearance
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: The Simplest Note at 100% against FocusList's 52%. The Simplest Note also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.4) and update cadence (every 3 days vs monthly). FocusList's advantage is price (Free vs $1.99) and ratings volume (31 vs 1). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
FocusList is free to download; The Simplest Note costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
The Simplest Note holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: FocusList has 31 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 52% of FocusList's written reviews are positive against 100% of The Simplest Note's.
FocusList ships an update monthly, The Simplest Note every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | FocusList | The Simplest Note |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $1.99 |
| Rating | 3.4 (31 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 52.4% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 31 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.1 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 35 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Median Tech, s.r.o. | Megumi Hattori |
Customer experience
FocusList
The Simplest Note
In-app purchases
FocusList
No in-app purchases
The Simplest Note
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is FocusList free?
Is The Simplest Note free?
Which has better reviews, FocusList or The Simplest Note?
Do FocusList or The Simplest Note have ads?
Which is updated more often, FocusList or The Simplest Note?
Other comparisons
