Focus Matrix vs Kanban
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Focus Matrix
Organize your tasks efficiently using a priority matrix based on urgency and importance. This app helps you focus on what truly matters by categorizing tasks and providing tools for scheduling, reminders, and detailed tracking. Sync across devices and export your lists for seamless productivity.
- Eisenhower Box priority matrix
- Task categorization and sorting
- Drag-and-drop task management
- Due dates and reminders
- Recurring tasks
- Cross-device synchronization
- Task export to PDF
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Focus Matrix is a smart personal organizer based on the so-called Eisenhower box, a personal productivity strategy created by Dwight Eisenhower, the 34th President of the United States. The principle uses a special priority matrix that helps break your tasks into several groups depending on their urgency and importance, and work your way through your daily agenda in the most efficient way possible. This app will help you focus on what really matters, and get rid of the things that can be painlessly delegated to others or postponed indefinitely until you have time for them. Task Organization • Two views: Matrix and List of Sections • “Unsorted” section to hold incoming tasks until you categorize them • Move tasks between sections using drag-and-drop • Maximize sections to focus on specific content Task Scheduling and Reminders • Assign due dates to tasks • Set “All day task” for whole-day planning • Create recurring tasks with customizable repeat options • Set reminders to never miss an important deadline Advanced Task Features • Automatically move a task to 'Urgent' as its deadline approaches, with timely notifications • Automatically move a task to 'Urgent' when a linked task is completed • Track task creation and completion dates for detailed management • Paste multiline text as individual tasks to speed up input Sorting, Filtering, and Tags • Sort tasks by title, due date, or manually • Use tags to organize tasks effectively • Filter tasks by tags and statuses (completed/uncompleted) • Save and quickly apply custom filter presets for easy navigation Synchronization and Integration • Sync data across all your devices • Sync tasks with Calendar • Integrate with Be Focused*: Sync tasks between apps and start timer in Be Focused directly from Focus Matrix Exporting and Reporting • Export task lists to PDF or print them for offline use • Configurable statistics and reports for completed tasks Security and Privacy • Password and Face ID protection for secure task management Platform Compatibility • Fully available for Mac and iOS Pro Version Features • Cross-device synchronization • Synchronization of tasks with Calendar • Integration with Be Focused*: Sync tasks between apps and start timer in Be Focused directly from Focus Matrix Focus Matrix is free to download and use forever. However, if you want to access the Pro features on all your iPhones, iPads, and Macs, you can upgrade to the Pro version. The Pro subscription comes in three different options: Monthly, Yearly with a 7-day trial, and Lifetime (one-time payment). Payment will be charged to your App Store account and will automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Subscription may be managed and auto-renewal may be turned off in your App Store account settings. Privacy Policy: https://xwavesoft.com/privacy-policy.html Terms of Use: https://xwavesoft.com/terms-of-use.html * Be Focused helps you get things done by breaking up individual tasks among discrete intervals. It’s available for Mac and iOS devices in App Store. Integration with Be Focused requires the Pro version of Be Focused, sold separately.
Kanban
This app helps you organize daily to-dos, work projects, and goals with a simple, intuitive interface. It offers extensive customization and various views to manage tasks efficiently and see your progress clearly.
- Folders, categories, and tags for organization
- Multiple task views (list, grid, board)
- Unlimited tasks and subtasks
- Sync across devices via iCloud
- Reminders and calendar integration
- Customizable home screen and widgets
- Dark mode and native design
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Meet Doneit, a feature-packed projects and tasks manager that focuses on simplicity and organization. With Doneit, you don't need to worry about your tasks lists ever being messy because we have designed the app to help you better organize all of your daily to-do's, work projects, and more, and its main goal is to help you become more efficient and start accomplishing all of your tasks and goals quicker, no matter how small or big they are, because Doneit will definitely help you see the full picture of what should be done now and what can wait until the later day. Doneit offers a delightful user interface that will feel right at home on your Apple devices. It's simple and intuitive, and it will let you start using Doneit at its full potential with no introduction needed and in just a matter of time. The app offers an extensive variety of different features that are designed to help you become more organized and efficient. Doneit features folders, smart categories, categories, tags, priorities, statuses, attributes, tasks, and subtasks. There are various tasks organization options available throughout the app, as well as quite a few customization options that will give you an incredible opportunity of making the app feel more unique to you. KEY FEATURES: - Up to 2 categories to help you better organize your tasks - 3 different tasks views that include list, grid, and board views - Unlimited number of tasks - Unlimited number of subtasks that can be added to help you accomplish your main tasks quicker - Sync across multiple devices connected to a single iCloud account - Sync with the system's Reminders app - Ability to schedule a reminder that will send you a notification when the task is due - Support for all-day reminders - Ability to add your tasks and subtasks as events in the system's Calendar app - Huge variety of tasks sorting options - Different filters for your tasks lists - Ability to import all of your reminders from the system's Reminders app - Ability to import all of your calendar events from the system's Calendar app - Ability to add notes to each of the tasks and subtasks, as well as to the tasks lists - Ability to add links to your tasks and subtasks - Just archive or hide unnecessary tasks that you don't want to delete yet - Various Home Screen customization options that will let you quickly hide sections that you are not interested in at all - Fully customizable screens for adding and editing the tasks & subtasks - Home Screen quick actions - Multiple swipe actions - Ability to pin important tasks and subtasks - Fully native design - Beautiful dark mode - Standalone watchOS app - Support for Siri shortcuts - Support for app shortcuts on iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 - Support for focus filters - More than 5 Home and Lock Screen widgets for you to view all of your tasks - Available on iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and macOS PREMIUM FEATURES: - Add an unlimited number of categories - Advanced board view - Timeline view for your tasks - List actions - Advanced tasks filters - Securely share and collaborate on your categories with others via iCloud - Get access to folders, smart categories, tags, priorities, statuses, and custom task & subtask attributes - Ability to add different attachments to tasks and subtasks, such as files, photos, scanned documents, and drawings - Schedule recurring reminders with custom repeat intervals - Ability to edit items in bulk - 10 different app icons for you to choose the one that you prefer the most - 15 amazing tint colors for the app's user interface - Ability to set a custom appearance (Dark, light or system) If you have any questions or concerns regarding our app, we are always here to help you! Just reach out to us at info@designtech.so. Privacy policy: https://designtech.notion.site/DesignTech-Privacy-Policy-18bc124eba40809eba48e6af249ebd2c. Terms of service: https://designtech.notion.site/DesignTech-Terms-of-Service-18cc124eba4080c58316f2ed81f84bff.
Screenshots
Verdict
Focus Matrix and Kanban both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 82% of Focus Matrix's written reviews are positive against 46% of Kanban's. Focus Matrix also leads on ratings volume (1.6K vs 280) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.0). Kanban's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 7 months). On price, rating, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Focus Matrix sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Kanban sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Focus Matrix against 4.5 for Kanban. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Focus Matrix has 1.6K ratings behind it against 280, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 82% of Focus Matrix's written reviews are positive against 46% of Kanban's.
Focus Matrix ships an update every 7 months, Kanban fortnightly. Both last shipped on October 14, 2026.
| Parameter | Focus Matrix | Kanban |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (1.6K ratings) — better | 4.5 (280 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 82.2% of reviews — better | 46.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1.6K — better | 280 |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 33 MB | 205 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Denys Ievenko | DesignTech SIA |
Customer experience
Focus Matrix
Kanban
User reviews
Focus Matrix
From 1.6K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Keeps me on track
- 👍 Easy to use
- 👍 Helps prioritize tasks
- 👍 Integrates well with calendar
- 👍 Simple and effective
Room to improve
- 🐛 Sync issues across devices
- 🐛 Crashes and bugs
- 🔒 Security concerns with sync
- 💡 Need for more customization options
- 💡 Lacking recurring tasks
Kanban
From 280 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎨 Beautiful and clean UI design
- 🔧 Highly customizable with extensive options
- 📱 Cross-platform support (Mac, iPad, iPhone)
- 🏷️ Flexible task organization with tags, folders, categories
- 📊 Multiple view options (Kanban, timeline, grid, list)
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and instability
- 🔄 Unreliable sync between devices
- ❌ Unintuitive and confusing user interface
- 📚 Lack of documentation and tutorials
- ⚠️ Data loss and disappearing tasks
Bugs and requests
Focus Matrix
Reported bugs
4 issues- Sync issues causing data loss
- Frequent crashes
- Inability to log in across devices
- Calendar integration not working as expected
Requested features
7 requests- Ability to have multiple matrices (e.g. work, personal)
- Recurring tasks
- More export options (e.g. CSV)
- Dark mode
- Better sync reliability across devices
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- Subtasks or nested tasks
- Ability to archive completed tasks
Kanban
Reported bugs
25 issues- Tasks disappear or get lost during sync
- Sync fails between Mac and iPhone/iPad
- Subtasks not syncing across devices
- Kanban board columns duplicating
- Timeline view broken with tiny blocks and poor layout
Show 20 moreShow fewer
- iCloud sync errors (CKErrorDomain error 11)
- Categories and sections randomly appearing/disappearing
- Double-clicking tasks on Mac doesn't open edit dialog
- App freezes when switching between categories
- Slow performance and high CPU usage on Mac
- Sidebar freezing after one click
- Deleted items still showing after manual sync
- Badge count not clearing properly
- Drag and drop not working for timeline events
- Import from Apple Reminders loses folder structure
- Reminders integration only imports titles, not details
- Crashes when accessing Calendar or Reminders features
- Tasks moving to wrong categories unexpectedly
- Completed tasks not updating status properly
- Dialog boxes not closable with ESC key
- Attachment downloads not working
- Photo selection closing without attaching
- Premium features not accessible despite purchase
- Restore purchase feature broken
- Slow responsiveness on M1 Mac
Requested features
24 requests- Drag and drop functionality for tasks and boards
- Better Kanban board implementation with custom column ordering
- Sample templates for new users
- Improved timeline view with zoom controls
- Export functionality (PDF, XLSX, CSV)
Show 19 moreShow fewer
- Windows version
- Web version
- Better subtask management and creation
- Recurring task flexibility (specific days, custom patterns)
- Attachment support (images, documents, PDFs)
- Dark mode customization options
- Quick task creation shortcuts
- Email integration and drag-drop from email
- GitHub/GitLab integration
- Outlook integration
- Language options (English alternative to poor translations)
- Restore/undo functionality for archived items
- Improved Apple Watch support
- Live activities support
- Task filtering by multiple tags
- Ability to reorder boards and categories visually
- Shared collaboration features
- Backup to external cloud storage
- Keyboard shortcuts for faster workflow
In-app purchases
Focus Matrix
- Monthly Pro$2.991 Month
- Yearly Pro7 Days trial$17.991 Year
- Lifetime Pro$34.99
Kanban
- Monthly3 Days trial$3.991 Month
- Monthly$3.991 Month
- Yearly7 Days trial2 variants$14.991 Year
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Yearly$14.991 Year
- Doneit Premium$29.99
- Premium Lifetime3 variants$29.99








