Comparison

Bear Focus Timer vs Pomodoro Focus Timer

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

Head to head
About

Bear Focus Timer

This app helps you stay focused by using a unique face-down timer. It incorporates forest-style white noise to enhance concentration and rewards you with praise cards upon completion of focus sessions. Customize your work and break times for optimal productivity.

Highlights
  • Face-down focus mode
  • Pomodoro focus and break cycles
  • White noise sounds
  • Customizable durations
  • Praise cards
  • Apple Watch support
Features
Read full description

Turn your phone over. Leave the screen behind. Focus with Tom. Bear Focus Timer is a simple Pomodoro timer for work, study, reading, writing, and everyday tasks. Choose a session, place your iPhone face down, and let Tom the bear keep you company while the timer runs. When focus time ends, take a break and receive an illustrated praise card. FLIP TO FOCUS • Choose your focus time and place your iPhone face down to begin • Keep the screen out of sight while you work or study • Build a small physical ritual around starting a focused session CUSTOM POMODORO CYCLES • Alternate focus sessions with breaks • Adjust focus and break durations • Choose a rhythm that fits the task in front of you FOREST-STYLE WHITE NOISE Add an optional nature-inspired background sound to your session. The calm audio and hand-drawn black-and-white design create a simple setting for time spent on one task. TOM AND PRAISE CARDS Tom is friendly, but he notices when it is time to concentrate. Complete a session to receive an illustrated praise card, then save a favorite card to Photos. Praise cards are available in English, Korean, and Japanese. APPLE WATCH SUPPORT Use the Apple Watch version when you want focus and break timing on your wrist. Available alerts and session behavior can vary according to your device and operating system settings. USE IT FOR • Study sessions and exam preparation • Reading, writing, and creative work • Work sprints and personal projects • Chores or any task that benefits from a defined focus period and break Bear Focus Timer keeps the experience straightforward: set your time, turn the phone over, focus, and take a break with Tom. Support: BearFocusTimer@gmail.com

About

Pomodoro Focus Timer

This app combines a minimalist timer with a to-do list to enhance focus and productivity. It utilizes the Pomodoro Technique to help users manage tasks and work sessions effectively, offering customizable breaks and session lengths. Real-time syncing ensures your progress is available across all your Apple devices.

Highlights
  • Customizable focus and break sessions
  • Integrated to-do list with task pinning
  • Apple Watch app with complications
  • Home Screen & Lock Screen widgets
  • Live Activity and Dynamic Island support
  • Real-time iCloud sync
  • Focus session statistics and heatmap
Features
Read full description

Focus better. Do more. One beautifully simple app. Pomodoro Focus Timer combines a clean, minimal work timer with a built-in to-do list — so you can plan your tasks and stay focused without juggling separate apps. Built on the proven Pomodoro Technique, it helps you work and study with minimal distraction and maximum productivity, whether you're at the office, in class, or working from home. No clutter. No noise. Just you and your next focus session. HOW IT WORKS 1. Add the tasks you want to work on 2. Pin a task to keep it front and center 3. Start the timer (the classic 25 minutes — or set your own) 4. Take a 5-minute break when it rings (fully customizable) 5. Mark your task complete and repeat A TIMER THAT WORKS THE WAY YOU DO • Customizable focus sessions, short breaks, and long breaks • Auto-start your next break or session — stay in flow, hands-free • Long breaks after every few sessions, on your schedule • Pause, skip, or reset anytime • Keep-screen-on mode and optional completion sounds • A simple, minimal timer that gets out of your way BUILT-IN TO-DO LIST • Add, edit, reorder, and complete tasks in seconds • Pin your most important task to the timer screen • Swipe to complete — or check tasks off right from a widget • Your tasks, always in sync across your devices FULL APPLE WATCH APP • Start, pause, stop, and skip the timer from your wrist • Add tasks and mark them complete — no iPhone needed • Watch face complications for timer, tasks, and your streak • Use your watch as a remote for the timer on your phone WIDGETS & LIVE ACTIVITIES • Home Screen & Lock Screen widgets for timer, tasks, and stats • Live Activity + Dynamic Island — see your countdown and pinned task at a glance • Control Center timer toggle (iOS 18) • Tap to play, pause, skip, or complete a task right from a widget STATS THAT KEEP YOU MOTIVATED • Track focus sessions for today and all-time • Current streak and best streak • GitHub-style activity heatmap • Scrubbable charts by day, week, month, and year • See your most-worked-on tasks and personalized insights SIRI SHORTCUTS • "Hey Siri, start a focus timer" — go completely hands-free SYNCS EVERYWHERE • Real-time iCloud sync across iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch • Your tasks, settings, and stats follow you everywhere MADE TO BLEND IN • Beautiful Dark Mode everywhere • 8 accent colors to match your style • Clean, distraction-free design Whether you're studying for exams, powering through deep work, or just trying to beat procrastination, Pomodoro Focus Timer is the simple, minimal productivity companion that keeps you on track. Terms of Use: https://pawan.info/legal/pomodoro/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://pawan.info/legal/pomodoro/privacy.html

Screenshots

Bear Focus Timer4 screens
Pomodoro Focus Timer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Pomodoro Focus Timer at Free against Bear Focus Timer's $2.99. Pomodoro Focus Timer also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.3) and review sentiment (82% vs 70%). Bear Focus Timer's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 6) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). On ratings volume, update cadence, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Pomodoro Focus Timer is free to download; Bear Focus Timer costs $2.99 up front. Pomodoro Focus Timer sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Bear Focus Timer asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pomodoro Focus Timer holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 155 and 294 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 70% of Bear Focus Timer's written reviews are positive against 82% of Pomodoro Focus Timer's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bear Focus Timer ships an update fortnightly, Pomodoro Focus Timer monthly. Both last shipped on September 30, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Bear Focus Timer versus Pomodoro Focus Timer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBear Focus TimerPomodoro Focus Timer
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.3 (155 ratings)4.9 (294 ratings) — better
Positive reviews70.3% of reviews82.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings155294 — better
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPod, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS15.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size119 MB60 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEUIHYUNG JUNGPawanpreet Singh

Customer experience

Bear Focus Timer

All ratings155 ratings
Positive83.2%
Neutral5.8%
Negative11.0%
Written reviews407 reviews
Positive70.3%
Neutral13.8%
Negative16.0%

Pomodoro Focus Timer

All ratings294 ratings
Positive96.9%
Neutral2.0%
Negative1.0%
Written reviews68 reviews
Positive82.4%
Neutral7.4%
Negative10.3%

User reviews

Bear Focus Timer

From 155 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🐻 Cute and charming bear design
  • 🔕 Ability to disable phone notifications during focus sessions
  • 🎨 Soothing background sounds/white noise
  • ⏱️ Simple and effective Pomodoro timer
  • 🎉 Motivational reward cards after completing sessions

Room to improve

  • 🔍 Difficulty seeing timer/time remaining when phone is face down
  • 🔋 Timer stops when phone is locked or app is in background
  • 🔇 Weak/inaudible alerts for break time ending
  • 🤔 Lack of customization options (e.g. timer durations)
  • 📊 No history or tracking of completed sessions

Pomodoro Focus Timer

From 294 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ✨ Clean, minimalist design
  • 👍 Simple and intuitive interface
  • 💰 Completely free with no ads
  • ⏱️ Effective focus and productivity tool
  • 🎯 Core Pomodoro functionality works well

Room to improve

  • 🔔 Notification sound too quiet/similar to other alerts
  • 🐛 Timer stops when screen locks
  • ⌚ Apple Watch notifications unreliable
  • 🎨 No dark theme option
  • 🔋 Battery drain concerns

Bugs and requests

Bear Focus Timer

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Timer not starting reliably when phone is flipped
  • Settings menu not functioning properly after updates
  • Compatibility issues on certain devices/iOS versions

Requested features

5 requests
  • Option to start/stop timer without flipping phone
  • Ability to customize white noise/background sounds
  • Sync and history tracking across devices
  • Notifications/alerts for break time ending
  • Detailed usage statistics and progress tracking

Pomodoro Focus Timer

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • Timer doesn't work when screen is off or app is in background
  • Apple Watch notifications don't arrive until app is reopened
  • Pause/resume function doesn't actually pause the timer
  • App crashes occasionally
  • Tasks with similar names don't create properly
Show 4 more
  • Pomodoro counter resets at 500
  • Creating tasks can be glitchy
  • Timer doesn't stay running on Apple Watch
  • Notification doesn't trigger until app is opened

Requested features

15 requests
  • Dark theme/dark mode
  • Vibration option on timer completion
  • Horizontal/landscape mode support
  • Background sound options (rain, ocean waves, etc.)
  • Customizable notification sounds and volume
Show 10 more
  • Statistics and activity tracking (daily/weekly/monthly charts)
  • Task history and suggestions
  • Continuous timer option
  • App blocker for distraction prevention
  • Mac version with sync capability
  • Donation option in app
  • Tips section for Pomodoro technique
  • Reset to default button
  • Queue tasks from timer screen
  • Keep timer running when app is closed

In-app purchases

None

Bear Focus Timer

No in-app purchases

6 purchases

Pomodoro Focus Timer

Subscriptions2
  • Pomodoro Pro (Monthly)3 Days trial$0.991 Month
  • Pomodoro Pro (Yearly)7 Days trial$9.991 Year
One-time4
  • Snack-Sized Tip$3.99
  • Lunch-sized Tip$9.99
  • Pizza-sized Tip$14.99
Show 1 more
  • Pomodoro Pro - Lifetime$29.99

Questions

Is Bear Focus Timer free?
Bear Focus Timer costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pomodoro Focus Timer free?
Pomodoro Focus Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Bear Focus Timer or Pomodoro Focus Timer?
Pomodoro Focus Timer is rated higher. Bear Focus Timer averages 4.3 out of 5 from 155 ratings, while Pomodoro Focus Timer averages 4.9 from 294 ratings.
Do Bear Focus Timer or Pomodoro Focus Timer have ads?
Neither Bear Focus Timer nor Pomodoro Focus Timer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Bear Focus Timer or Pomodoro Focus Timer?
Bear Focus Timer ships an update fortnightly, and Pomodoro Focus Timer monthly. Most recently, Bear Focus Timer was updated on September 30, 2026 and Pomodoro Focus Timer on September 30, 2026.

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