Comparison

Otto vs Session 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

Otto

Enhance your productivity with this distraction-free focus app. It utilizes the Pomodoro Technique, breaking work and study into 25-minute intervals to help you avoid procrastination and achieve your goals efficiently.

Highlights
  • Distraction-free focus
  • Pomodoro Technique intervals
  • Improve productivity
  • Avoid procrastination
  • Plan work and study time
  • Achieve desired results
Features
Read full description

Get Things Done! Distraction-free focus app for users who want to improve on their productivity and ability to get work done in the shortest possible amount of time. Break up your study and work time into 25 minute intervals using the "Pomodoro Technique". Practice work-life balance in daily tasks. - Focus when you need to - Work effectively - Avoid procrastination - Plan your time - Tackle work and study with ease - Get the results you want Work email: jerry.wu6@hotmail.com

About

Session Pomodoro Focus Timer

This app helps users improve focus and productivity by guiding them through timed work sessions and breaks. It blocks distracting websites and apps, mutes notifications, and automates workflow elements like Do Not Disturb and music playback. Users can also track their time and review their progress.

Highlights
  • Timed work and break sessions
  • Website and app blocking (Mac only)
  • Mute Slack notifications
  • Automated Do Not Disturb
  • Music playback automation
  • Apple Calendar sync
  • Session progress tracking
Features
Read full description

- Do you procrastinate and spend your time mindlessly? - have problem with focusing? - often get distracted while trying to focus? - maybe you are burned out because you worked too much and forget to take necessary break? - or, maybe have an ADHD? Session can help you with your focus problem. Trusted daily by tens of thousands of engineer in Silicon Valley, independent studios in Madrid, writers in Netherlands, and creative worker + freelancer all over the world. It helps you be more productive by guiding you to work in sessions, block distractions, track your time, and remind you to rest. GET INTO HABIT OF WORKING IN TIME BLOCK Inspired by Pomodoro technique, Session helps you block your time for focus. 25 minutes or 45 minutes is all you need to get closer to your goal KEEP YOUR FOCUS BY BLOCKING WEBSITES AND APPS THAT DISTRACT YOU (MAC ONLY) Session block distracting website and apps when you started a Session. It'll automatically restore your website when you are on rest / session has ended. BLOCK SLACK TEAM Session will automatically mute Slack team you choose when Session has started and open them up again when Session has stopped working. DON'T FORGET TO TAKE A REST Forcing yourself to work on long period of time is ineffective. Rest is as important as work / study. Why? Because rest is a crucial time where you: - store what you have learned in your head, and where - your brain solve difficult problem on the background. Notice that you usually get a new idea and solves problem when you're on walk and shower. Or anywhere where you're away from "work". AUTOMATE YOUR WORKFLOW (AUTOMATIC DO NOT DISTURB, PLAY MUSIC) Imagine having no distracting notifications while working on. It's possible by turning on Do Not Disturb. What if you can turn it on when you started your Session, and disable it after Session ends—all automatically? Or maybe change bulb color, play Apple music when Session has started? Different playlist on break? It's possible with Session. Automate it with AppleScript on MacOS and Apple Shortcut on iOS SEE YOUR SESSIONS ON APPLE CALENDAR WITH ONE WAY SYNC. See automatically create Sessions on Apple Calendar to review how your day has progressed. REVIEW YOUR SESSIONS Are you spending more time on a task than it's worth? Session keep you mindful by tracking your work and ask what you have learned after Session has ended. Session tracks what you have worked on, what have you learned, and for how long. Review your progress and journey that you have made. — Need support? Contact philip@stayinsession.com for assistance! — Learn about what Session can do here: https://www.stayinsession.com/learn — Join our Discord community channel here: https://discord.com/invite/5KASx2T4RU

— Terms: https://www.stayinsession.com/terms Privacy policy: https://www.stayinsession.com/privacy-policy

Screenshots

Otto4 screens
Session Pomodoro Focus Timer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Otto at none against Session Pomodoro Focus Timer's 2. Otto also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8). Session Pomodoro Focus Timer's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 5 days vs every 7 months). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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. Session Pomodoro Focus Timer sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Otto asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Otto holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Session Pomodoro Focus Timer has 364 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Otto ships an update every 7 months, Session Pomodoro Focus Timer every 5 days. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Otto versus Session Pomodoro Focus Timer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOttoSession Pomodoro Focus Timer
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (5 ratings) — better4.8 (364 ratings)
Positive reviews—93.2% of reviews
Number of ratings5364 — better
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS12.0 — better13.4
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB107 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNEXTLINK PTY LTDTranslucent LLC

Customer experience

Otto

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Session Pomodoro Focus Timer

All ratings364 ratings
Positive95.1%
Neutral0.8%
Negative4.1%
Written reviews633 reviews
Positive93.2%
Neutral3.3%
Negative3.5%

Bugs and requests

Otto

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Session Pomodoro Focus Timer

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Issues with editing past sessions
  • Inconsistent behavior when switching between devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Integrate with more productivity apps and to-do lists
  • Add Apple Watch app support
  • Expand customization options for themes and sounds
  • Improve documentation and onboarding for advanced features

In-app purchases

None

Otto

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Session Pomodoro Focus Timer

Subscriptions2
  • Session monthly subscription$4.991 Month
  • Session yearly subscription$39.991 Year

Questions

Is Otto free?
Otto is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Session Pomodoro Focus Timer free?
Session Pomodoro Focus Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Otto or Session Pomodoro Focus Timer?
Otto is rated higher. Otto averages 5.0 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while Session Pomodoro Focus Timer averages 4.8 from 364 ratings.
Do Otto or Session Pomodoro Focus Timer have ads?
Otto shows ads; Session Pomodoro Focus Timer does not.
Which is updated more often, Otto or Session Pomodoro Focus Timer?
Otto ships an update every 7 months, and Session Pomodoro Focus Timer every 5 days. Most recently, Otto was updated on November 3, 2026 and Session Pomodoro Focus Timer on November 3, 2026.

Other comparisons