Focus Matrix vs Hour Stack
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.
Hour Stack
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Track the hours you work without the complexity of traditional time-tracking apps. Hour Stack is a simple, private way to keep a personal record of your work hours. Start an entry when your workday begins, let Hour Stack keep track of the time, and finish the entry when you’re done. No employee monitoring. No complicated project management. No ads, tracking, or analytics. Just your time. Track Your Workday Enter your start time and end time manually, or start an open time entry and finish it when your workday is over. With Live Activities enabled, you can keep an eye on your active work session without having to repeatedly open the app. Know How Much You’re Working Hour Stack automatically calculates your worked hours and weekly totals, giving you a clear picture of how much time you’re putting in. Choose whether to deduct lunch from your workday so your totals reflect the hours that matter to you. See Your Trends The Trends tab helps you understand your work patterns over time and see how your hours are adding up. Sync with iCloud Keep your Hour Stack data available across your Apple devices with iCloud Sync. Private by Design Your work history is personal. Hour Stack has: No advertisements No tracking No analytics No unnecessary accounts No employee monitoring Hour Stack is designed to help you understand your time—not to help someone else monitor it. Your hours. Your data. Your time. Hour Stack now comes to Apple Watch. Start and stop your timer from your wrist, add watch-face complications for quick access, and see your active timer at a glance.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Hour Stack at none against Focus Matrix's shown. Hour Stack also leads on update cadence (every 4 weeks vs every 7 months). Focus Matrix's advantage is iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.0). On price, 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
Both are free to download. Focus Matrix sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Hour Stack sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Focus Matrix ships an update every 7 months, Hour Stack every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Focus Matrix | Hour Stack |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (1.6K ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 82.1% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1.6K — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | Every 4 weeks — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 33 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Denys Ievenko | Andrew Williams |
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
Hour Stack
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Focus Matrix
- Monthly Pro$2.991 Month
- Yearly Pro7 Days trial$17.991 Year
- Lifetime Pro$34.99
Hour Stack
- Tip Jar - $1.99$1.99
- Tip Jar - $3.99$3.99
- Tip Jar - $5.99$5.99









