Comparison

Focus timer vs Super Memo

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Focus timer

Enhance concentration with a Pomodoro-style timer. Choose from various ambient sounds to create a focused work or study environment. Customize focus and break durations, and receive end-of-timer reminders with a selection of sounds.

Highlights
  • Pomodoro timer with customizable intervals
  • Ambient soundscapes for focus
  • Customizable focus and break times
  • End-of-timer reminders with sound options
  • Minimalist interface with flip animation
  • Background running support
Features
Read full description

Focus timer is a tomato timer based app that helps you concentrate on your work and study. When you want to start concentrating on, you can choose an environment, accompanied by beaches, trains, rainy days, bonfire, country cricket sounds, and you will be comfortable concentrating on. Features: - Tomato timer, break down work into intervals, traditionally 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks. - Support custom time, easy to set the focus time, rest time. - Set the reminder after the end of the timer, a variety of sounds to choose from. - Minimal interface design, timer display clear with flip animation - Supports background running

About

Super Memo

Keep important short notes visible on your lock screen and in notifications. Ideal for lists and reminders that need frequent checking without opening an app.

Highlights
  • Add notes to Notification Center
  • View notes from lock screen
  • Organize notes with tags
  • Mark notes as done with strikethrough
  • Share notes as Markdown
  • Save URLs via Share Extension
  • Import line-by-line lists
Features
Read full description

See the note you need today the moment you check your phone. Super Memo is for short notes you look at repeatedly: shopping lists, things to bring, tasks for today, quick checklists, URLs, and small reminders you do not want buried inside a full note app. Select the notes that matter now and keep them available from the lock screen and Notification Center, so you can check them without opening the app and searching through a long list. Use it when a reminder is too heavy and a long note is too easy to forget. A grocery list while you are walking through a store. Things to pack before you leave. A short set of steps you need to follow. A URL you want to keep with the rest of your notes. A few tasks that should stay visible today. What you can do with Super Memo: - Add selected notes to Notification Center - Check frequently viewed notes from the lock screen - Organize notes with tags such as shopping, work, home, or travel - Mark notes as done with strikethrough — completed notes stay visible but dimmed - Share notes as Markdown with tag headings and checkbox support - Customize up to four floating action buttons for quick access to your most-used actions - Save URLs from Safari and other apps with the Share Extension - Import line-by-line lists from a text file - Move finished notes to the archive - Delete notes you no longer need - Create an iCloud backup and restore it when needed Super Memo is intentionally simple. It is not trying to replace a full notebook, calendar, or project manager. It works best for the small pieces of information you want to see quickly and repeatedly. If you need to write a long document, use a note app. If you need an alarm at a specific time, use a reminder. If you want a short note to stay close at hand, use Super Memo. Strikethrough lets you mark notes as done without deleting them. A completed shopping item or finished step stays in the list but appears dimmed, so you always know what is left. When you are done, move the checked items to the archive in one step. When you want to share a set of notes, export them as Markdown. Tags become headings, and notes marked with strikethrough are written as [x] checkboxes. Useful for sending a list to someone else or pasting it into another app. Tags help keep the list manageable as your notes grow. You can separate shopping, errands, work, home, travel, and personal notes, then choose only the items that should appear in Notification Center. Finished items can be archived so your active list stays focused, while older notes remain available when you need them. The Share Extension makes it easy to send a URL or text from another app into Super Memo. When you find a page, product, recipe, or reference you want to check later, save it with a tag and keep moving. Text import is useful for preparing a list on another device or in another app, then bringing it into Super Memo as individual notes. For small notes that need to stay visible, not buried, keep them on your lock screen and in Notification Center with Super Memo.

Screenshots

Focus timer4 screens
Super Memo3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Super Memo at every 5 days against Focus timer's every 5 weeks. Super Memo also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6). Focus timer's advantage is ratings volume (1.8K vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Focus timer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Super Memo sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Super Memo holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Focus timer has 1.8K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 77% of Focus timer's written reviews are positive against 85% of Super Memo's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Focus timer ships an update every 5 weeks, Super Memo every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Focus timer versus Super Memo: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFocus timerSuper Memo
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (1.8K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews77.0% of reviews84.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.8K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 5 days — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size44 MB16 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer书敏 贾Toshihiko Arai

Customer experience

Focus timer

All ratings1,829 ratings
Positive89.4%
Neutral3.8%
Negative6.8%
Written reviews570 reviews
Positive77.0%
Neutral6.8%
Negative16.1%

Super Memo

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive84.6%
Neutral7.7%
Negative7.7%

Bugs and requests

Focus timer

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Timer stops when device is locked or app is minimized
  • Inconsistent timer behavior when switching between apps

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to set custom alarm/notification sounds
  • Option to disable background sounds
  • Automatic start/stop of focus and break timers
  • Customizable timer duration
  • Dark mode or theme options

Super Memo

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Focus timer

One-time1
  • Professional Version$2.99
1 purchases

Super Memo

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$2.99

Questions

Is Focus timer free?
Focus timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Super Memo free?
Super Memo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Focus timer or Super Memo?
Super Memo is rated higher. Focus timer averages 4.6 out of 5 from 1.8K ratings, while Super Memo averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Focus timer or Super Memo have ads?
Both Focus timer and Super Memo show ads.
Which is updated more often, Focus timer or Super Memo?
Focus timer ships an update every 5 weeks, and Super Memo every 5 days. Most recently, Focus timer was updated on October 12, 2026 and Super Memo on October 2, 2026.

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