Comparison

Focus timer vs NearNotes

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

NearNotes

This app allows you to set reminders tied to specific locations. Receive alerts when you arrive at or leave a chosen place, with options to manage reminders directly from notifications. It prioritizes privacy and battery efficiency.

Highlights
  • Location-based reminders
  • Smart location alerts
  • Fast place selection
  • Actionable notifications
  • Lock screen radar
  • Private iCloud sync
  • Battery-efficient operation
Features
Read full description

Remember it where it matters. NearNotes is a private, location-first reminder app that connects reminders to real places. Create a reminder, choose a location, and receive an alert when you arrive or leave. NEARBY REMINDERS See active reminders ordered by distance, so you immediately know what matters around you. FAST PLACE SELECTION Find places using Apple Maps search, pick directly on the map, use saved places, or paste links from Apple Maps, Google Maps, and Waze. SMART LOCATION ALERTS Choose a specific place or, for supported categories, ask NearNotes to remind you at another nearby similar place. USEFUL ACTIONS Complete, archive, resume, snooze, navigate, or wait for the original place directly from the app and supported notifications. LOCK SCREEN RADAR Show a selected reminder on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island, with distance updates while NearNotes is active. SAVED PLACES Save Home, Work, or any custom place for faster reminder creation. PRIVATE ICLOUD SYNC Reminders and saved places use local-first storage and synchronize through your private iCloud database across your devices. BATTERY-EFFICIENT NearNotes uses Apple’s region-monitoring technology instead of continuously running GPS in the background. PRIVACY FIRST • No separate NearNotes account • No advertising • No cross-app tracking • No continuous location history • Anonymous diagnostics are off by default NearNotes works on iPhone and iPad and includes actionable notifications, quiet hours, adjustable reminder radius, widgets, and private iCloud synchronization.

Screenshots

Focus timer4 screens
NearNotes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: NearNotes at none against Focus timer's 1. NearNotes also leads on ads (none vs shown) and rating (5.0 vs 4.6). Focus timer's advantage is ratings volume (1.9K vs 2) and device support (4 vs 2). On price 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. NearNotes asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

NearNotes holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Focus timer has 1.9K ratings behind it against 2, 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 100% of NearNotes's.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Focus timer versus NearNotes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFocus timerNearNotes
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (1.9K ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews76.9% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.9K — better2
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeks—
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size44 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer书敏 贾Mosaab Yassir Lafrimi

Customer experience

Focus timer

All ratings1,829 ratings
Positive89.4%
Neutral3.8%
Negative6.8%
Written reviews571 reviews
Positive76.9%
Neutral6.8%
Negative16.3%

NearNotes

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

NearNotes

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Focus timer

One-time1
  • Professional Version$2.99
None

NearNotes

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Focus timer free?
Focus timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is NearNotes free?
NearNotes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Focus timer or NearNotes?
NearNotes is rated higher. Focus timer averages 4.6 out of 5 from 1.9K ratings, while NearNotes averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Focus timer or NearNotes have ads?
Focus timer shows ads; NearNotes does not.

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