Comparison

Focus Lock 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

Focus Lock

This app helps you limit screen time and block distracting applications to improve focus and productivity. It allows you to set schedules, block specific apps, and track your progress towards reducing digital distractions.

Highlights
  • Block distracting apps
  • Limit screen time
  • Set automatic schedules
  • Digital detox without deleting apps
  • Track weekly progress
  • Save session shortcuts
Features
Read full description

For over 7 years, Focus Lock is the original #1 app for limiting screen time and the easiest way to block distracting apps on your phone. With Focus Lock, you can block all or selected apps for a period of time, allowing you to focus, get more done, and simply be present without distractions. Whether you’re working from home, studying, focusing, reading, sleeping, hanging with family, or taking a detox from social media, Focus Lock will make your life a whole lot easier. HEAR IT FROM OUR COMMUNITY: // “I am a better person, friend, mother, and employee because of this app. I flip it on at outings with friends and family and it has truly restored my ability to break away from the chains of cell phone addiction. I could never recommend this app enough.” // “It’s honestly the best app ever. I appreciate how much it helps me focus. That I’m able to block my apps for an hour a day helps me be more productive and feel better.” // “Total insulation from distractions.” // “It prevents any and all distractions without deleting apps.” // "It saved my life, I got so much work done, and it changed my relationship with my phone." THE BENEFITS OF FOCUS LOCK - reduce your screentime select distracting apps to block - set up an automatic schedule to make Focus Lock part of your daily routine - take a digital detox without needing to delete any apps from your phone - heighten your productivity, focus, and ability to be more present HOW IT WORKS - Block Your Apps: start a session by selecting the apps you want to block and the duration of your session - Save Shortcuts: easily save a session to quickly access the same setup again for future blocks - Whitelist Apps: select all or specific apps you want to block, organized by app category - Tagged Goal: add a tag to your session to remember what you did - Activities: view your recent sessions organized by date, tag, and duration - Weekly Progress: view your progress by completed days of the week - Day Streak: stay on track and compete against yourself with a day streak - Daily Goal: set up a goal for how much screentime you’d like to improve GO PREMIUM Focus Lock is created by the team behind Flipd (App of the Day 2021). It takes a team to build and maintain our apps, which is why we ask for a subscription to support our work. Your initial trial will give you up to five free sessions, after which you’ll need to upgrade to continue using Focus Lock. We never sell data and we don’t serve ads, so your premium subscription will go toward supporting the services we provide you. Without your premium subscription, Focus and Flipd wouldn’t be able to exist! If you were previously a Flipd subscriber and are wondering about a subscription migration, contact us at info@flipdapp.co. SUBSCRIPTION PRICING $9.99 per month or $49.99 per year These prices are for United States customers. Pricing in other countries may vary and actual charges may be converted to your local currency depending on the country of residence. Subscriptions will be charged to your credit card through your iTunes account. Your subscription will automatically renew at the subscription price unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You will not be able to cancel the current subscription once activated during the subscription period. Manage your subscriptions in your iOS Account Settings after purchase. Terms and Conditions: http://www.flipdapp.co/terms-privacy Support Contact: info@flipdapp.co

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

Focus Lock4 screens
Session Pomodoro Focus Timer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Session Pomodoro Focus Timer at 93% against Focus Lock's 23%. Session Pomodoro Focus Timer also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.3) and update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 weeks). On price, ratings volume, 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 Lock sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days and Session Pomodoro Focus Timer sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Session Pomodoro Focus Timer holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 290 and 364 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 23% of Focus Lock's written reviews are positive against 93% of Session Pomodoro Focus Timer's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Focus Lock ships an update every 2 weeks, Session Pomodoro Focus Timer every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Focus Lock versus Session Pomodoro Focus Timer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFocus LockSession Pomodoro Focus Timer
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (290 ratings)4.8 (364 ratings) — better
Positive reviews22.8% of reviews93.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings290364 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS16.013.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size67 MB107 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFlipd AppsTranslucent LLC

Customer experience

Focus Lock

All ratings290 ratings
Positive82.1%
Neutral1.4%
Negative16.6%
Written reviews329 reviews
Positive22.8%
Neutral10.9%
Negative66.3%

Session Pomodoro Focus Timer

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

User reviews

Focus Lock

From 290 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Helps with focus and productivity
  • 🔒 Effective at blocking distracting apps
  • 👍 Useful for studying and work
  • 💡 Customizable lock durations

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Apps don't return to original order
  • 🐛 Inconsistent app locking functionality
  • 🐛 Resets notification settings
  • 💰 Expensive subscription model

Session Pomodoro Focus Timer

From 364 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Most complete Pomodoro timer
  • 👍 Excellent focus app with great features
  • 🔒 Helps with ADHD and focus
  • 👍 Beautiful, intuitive, and user-friendly design
  • 👍 Seamless sync across devices

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional syncing issues between devices
  • 🔒 Expensive subscription model, no one-time purchase option
  • 👎 Some features like app blocking not working as expected
  • 👎 Tedious to adjust session times

Bugs and requests

Focus Lock

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Apps not returning after lock duration
  • Inability to unlock or reactivate apps
  • Frequent crashes or glitches

Requested features

3 requests
  • Allow selective app locking
  • Provide scheduling options for automatic locks
  • Improve app organization after lock ends

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

10 purchases

Focus Lock

Subscriptions9
  • Weekly subscription$4.997 Days
  • Monthly Subscription$4.991 Month
  • Monthly subscription$9.991 Month
Show 6 more
  • The Success Bundle$12.491 Month
  • Yearly Subscription$24.991 Year
  • Yearly subscription$49.991 Year
  • Yearly Subscription - 3 days free3 Days trial$59.991 Year
  • Yearly Subscription - 7 days free7 Days trial$59.991 Year
  • The Success Bundle$87.991 Year
One-time1
  • Focus Lock Premium Lifetime$99.99
2 purchases

Session Pomodoro Focus Timer

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

Questions

Is Focus Lock free?
Focus Lock is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Session Pomodoro Focus Timer free?
Session Pomodoro Focus Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Focus Lock or Session Pomodoro Focus Timer?
Session Pomodoro Focus Timer is rated higher. Focus Lock averages 4.3 out of 5 from 290 ratings, while Session Pomodoro Focus Timer averages 4.8 from 364 ratings.
Do Focus Lock or Session Pomodoro Focus Timer have ads?
Neither Focus Lock nor Session Pomodoro Focus Timer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Focus Lock or Session Pomodoro Focus Timer?
Focus Lock ships an update every 2 weeks, and Session Pomodoro Focus Timer every 5 days. Most recently, Focus Lock was updated on October 15, 2026 and Session Pomodoro Focus Timer on October 13, 2026.

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