Comparison

Focus Quest vs Ascend

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

Head to head
About

Focus Quest

This app combines a study timer with RPG elements to help users improve self-control and reduce phone distractions. Earn in-game resources by focusing to train a hero and upgrade equipment, making productivity more engaging.

Highlights
  • Gamified focus timer
  • RPG hero training
  • Equipment forging
  • Task and time management
  • In-game achievements and rewards
  • Phone addiction management
Features
Read full description

Have phone addiction? Want to improve self-control? Want to remove distraction? Let Focus Quest help! Focus Quest is a study timer and RPG mashup. Save Focusland by turning your focus time into resources to train the hero and upgrade the equipment. Begin your focus adventure, and let us help you manage time and stay focused on the most important things in life. A gamified focus app helps you better improve productivity, self-control, and concentration on study and work. Sometimes self-discipline is just not enough to keep us away from phones. This is when gamification comes in. The in-game achievements encourage users to stick with the app, better manage their time and get things done. FEATURES: * Beat phone addictions and stay in control, help you with study, uni, and work * Stay focused - Collect hero resources when you put down the phone and focus * Train hero - Use resources to train your hero * Forge gears - Collect gear materials to forge powerful gears * Save the world - Fight off monsters and bring time order back to Focusland * Records - Stay on track of the time you focused so that you can better plan your tasks * Rewards - gamified tasks and rewards help you stay on track of your focus goals SUBSCRIPTION PRICING AND TERMS: Focus Pass offers USD $3.99 monthly subscription for accessing exclusive resources and premium features. End of trial and subscription renewal: This price is 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. Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user’s Account Settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. Privacy policy: https://site.shikudo.com/privacy-policy Terms of use: https://site.shikudo.com/terms-of-use

About

Ascend

Features
Read full description

Most productivity apps track what you do. Ascend makes it feel worth doing. Every focus session, every habit, every small win earns real XP — so the discipline you're building turns into progress you can actually see. Start a focus timer, work in Pomodoro intervals, log the habit, and watch yourself level up across the parts of life that matter to you. It's the motivation of a game, pointed at your real goals. HOW IT WORKS 1. Pick what matters — choose your focus areas: Health, Mind, Social, Creativity, Productivity. 2. Do the work — run a Pomodoro or stopwatch session, or log an activity in a tap. 3. Earn XP & level up — every action builds streaks, skills, and your overall level. 4. Keep the streak alive — milestones unlock stories and celebrations that keep you coming back. FOCUS TIMER & POMODORO - Countdown, stopwatch, and fully customizable Pomodoro (set your own focus/break lengths). - Live Activity & Dynamic Island keep your session on the Lock Screen. - Break reminders so you actually rest, then get back to it. BUILD HABITS THAT STICK - 40+ ready-made activities, or create your own with custom icons. - A daily streak for every habit, with 7 / 30 / 100 / 365-day milestones. - Unlock motivational stories as your streaks grow. LEVEL UP YOUR LIFE - Earn XP for everything you do and climb the levels. - Grow individual skills and focus-area attributes over time. - Celebrate level-ups, milestones, and completed goals. PLAN YOUR DAY - Set a simple plan for today or tomorrow and check items off. - Create longer-term goals with targets and deadlines. - One-tap activity sets (like "Morning Routine") get you started fast. AI ACTIVITY ASSISTANT - Just describe your day in plain words — it turns your sentence into logged activities, ready to review and save. SEE YOUR PROGRESS - Weekly summaries, calendar heatmaps, and trend charts. - Skill rankings and focus-area breakdowns. STAY ON TRACK - Gentle evening reminders to log your day. - Daily planning reminders so tomorrow starts ready. YOUR DATA, SECURELY BACKED UP - Sign in to back up and restore across devices. - Or start instantly as a guest — no account required. ASCEND PRO Unlock everything with Pro: the AI assistant, automatic cloud backup, daily and long-term plans, one-tap activity sets, unlimited custom activities, and the full focus Timer. Free to start; upgrade whenever you're ready. Whether you want to focus better, beat procrastination, or finally make habits stick, Ascend turns the effort into a game you actually want to keep playing. Download Ascend and start leveling up today. Ascend Pro is an auto-renewing subscription with monthly and annual options; prices are shown in the app and you can cancel anytime. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Focus Quest4 screens
Ascend4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Ascend at none against Focus Quest's shown. Ascend also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 2 months). Focus Quest's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 26.2). On price 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 Quest sells 32 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Ascend sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Focus Quest ships an update every 2 months, Ascend every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Focus Quest versus Ascend: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFocus QuestAscend
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (505 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews83.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings505 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS13.0 — better26.2
Further details — not scored
Size230 MB30 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperShikudo Co., Ltd.Alex Volkov

Bugs and requests

Focus Quest

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Training button not working during tutorial
  • Time not accurately tracked in some cases
  • Crashes on startup for some users

Requested features

6 requests
  • More music and white noise options
  • Ability to change character appearance
  • Longer storyline and quests
  • Offline mode or better sync capabilities
  • Pomodoro timer integration
Show 1 more
  • Ability to pause/resume focus sessions

Ascend

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

32 purchases

Focus Quest

Subscriptions3
  • Focus Pass$4.991 Month
  • Focus Pass Yearly7 Days trial$24.991 Year
  • Focus Pass Yearly7 Days trial$28.991 Year
One-time29
  • Weekly Pack 1$0.99
  • Stage Currency Pack 1$0.99
  • Stage Gear Pack 1$0.99
Show 26 more
  • Stage Gear Scroll Pack 1$0.99
  • Stage Glyph Pack 1$0.99
  • Weekly Pack 3$0.99
  • Raid Pack 1$0.99
  • Stage Material Pack 1$0.99
  • Monthly Pack 1$1.99
  • Stage Currency Pack 2$1.99
  • Currency Pack 3$1.99
  • Currency Pack 4$1.99
  • Currency Pack 1$1.99
  • Currency Pack 5$1.99
  • Gem 1$1.99
  • Currency Pack 2$1.99
  • Raid Pack 2$2.99
  • Material Pack 1$2.99
  • Weekly Pack 4$4.99
  • Glyph Pack 2$4.99
  • Skill Pack 1$4.99
  • Skill Pack 3$4.99
  • Skill Pack 2$4.99
  • Battle Pass Raid 1$6.99
  • Raid Pack 3$6.99
  • Gem 3$9.99
  • Monthly Pack 2$14.99
  • Fund 1$19.99
  • Battle Pass Time Rift 1$29.99
2 purchases

Ascend

Subscriptions2
  • Ascend Premium Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Ascend Premium Yearly7 Days trial$39.991 Year

Questions

Is Focus Quest free?
Focus Quest is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Ascend free?
Ascend is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Focus Quest or Ascend have ads?
Focus Quest shows ads; Ascend does not.
Which is updated more often, Focus Quest or Ascend?
Focus Quest ships an update every 2 months, and Ascend every 3 days. Most recently, Focus Quest was updated on October 29, 2026 and Ascend on October 10, 2026.

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