Comparison

Focality vs Buw

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

Head to head
About

Focality

Features
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Strike a balance between your goals and responsibilities. Effortlessly create long and short term plans. Reflect on your execution, gain insights and improve you and your time management. ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS Define what is important to you and pursue it with consistency. Achieve your life goals with improved time management, whether privately or professionally. FOCUS ON WHAT'S IMPORTANT Don't get sidetracked by everyday tasks. With Focality you always know what you want to achieve and what you should be focusing on right now. UNLEASH YOUR POTENTIAL Improve your time management through frequent reflection and data-driven insights. FEATURES β–» Time Management β–» Goal setting β–» Yearly, monthly, weekly and daily planner β–» Recurring objectives/habits β–» Reflection, journal β–» Data-driven insights Terms of use: https://www.focalityapp.com/en/terms-of-service/

About

Buw

Features
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Meet Buw β€” a scruffy little bird that lives on your iPhone and actually cares whether you focus. Start a session and Buw settles in to work alongside you. Finish it, and Buw glows up into a brand-new form you collect β€” swan, raven, peacock, owl, phoenix. Bail out early… and Buw gets roasted. It's the ugly-duckling arc, on a timer: gentle stakes that make you want to show up. FOCUS YOUR WAY β€’ Pomodoro timer with short and long breaks β€’ Flowtime β€” no countdown, just focus for as long as you're in the zone β€’ Optional auto-start for breaks and the next session β€’ Tag your sessions (Study, Code, Read) to see where your hours go ALWAYS A GLANCE AWAY β€’ Lock Screen Live Activity shows your timer counting down β€’ Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets for your timer, today's focus, and your streak β€’ Buw reacts to everything β€” focusing, pausing, finishing, taking a break, bailing β€’ Optional forest birdsong while you focus COLLECT THE LOOKS β€’ Three things to collect: how Buw looks while you focus, the transformation you earn, and the roast you get when you quit β€’ Every one is unlocked through real focus β€” long sessions, streaks, late nights, comebacks β€’ No shop, no currency, no grind β€” just the hours you put in β€’ Pin your favorites, or let each session surprise you SEE YOUR PROGRESS β€’ A focus heatmap, daily and weekly trends, and a breakdown by tag β€’ A session-by-session timeline you can reflect on and annotate PRIVATE BY DESIGN β€’ Everything runs on your device β€” no analytics, no tracking, no accounts β€’ Syncs across your iPhone and Mac through your own iCloud Buw Pro unlocks the full collection plus complete stats and timeline. The core timer, breaks, Flowtime, ambient sound, and tags are always free. Focus, or get roasted. Your move. Terms of Use (EULA): https://buw.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://buw.app/privacy

Screenshots

Focality4 screens
Buw4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Focality at 11.0 against Buw's 17.0. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. Focality sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Buw sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Focality ships an update monthly, Buw every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference Β· 5 level
Focality versus Buw: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFocalityBuw
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyMonthly β€” betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS11.0 β€” better17.0
Further details β€” not scored
Size27 MB37 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperFlorian SanderMuhammad Masykur

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Focality

Subscriptions2
  • Unlimited$0.991 Month
  • Unlimited$4.991 Month
2 purchases

Buw

Subscriptions1
  • Buw Pro (Yearly)$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • Buw Pro (Lifetime)$12.99

Questions

Is Focality free?
Focality is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Buw free?
Buw is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Focality or Buw have ads?
Neither Focality nor Buw shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Focality or Buw?
Focality ships an update monthly, and Buw every 2 months. Most recently, Focality was updated on November 3, 2026 and Buw on October 31, 2026.

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