Focused Work vs Open Summary
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Focused Work
This app helps users improve focus and productivity through structured timed sessions. It offers customizable timers, goal setting, and distraction blocking to build healthy work habits.
- Customizable focus sessions
- Pomodoro and Flowmodoro templates
- Distraction blocking
- Reflection and goal tracking
- Statistics and charts
- Live Activities and widgets
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## Featured by App Store in 150+ Countries & Regions # Hot This Week # Apps We Love Right Now # Big Apps From Small Teams # New Apps, Features, and Content ## What People Are Saying "A simple, but valuable utility for creating timed focus sessions of productivity." - MacStories "Focused Work helps you stay on track better than ever" - iMore "Focused Work makes it easy to create and manage Focused Sessions." - 9to5Mac "A tool that helps overcome that first step." - Knapsack Focused Work is a powerful timer that helps you focus and be productive. It's purpose-built for people who want to focus for long periods and struggle with this. Add structure to your day with "Focus Sessions" that encourage you to complete goals, tasks, and help you divide your time into Focus, Break, and Prepare stages. Pick from a selection of templates, including a simple timer, Pomodoro - inspired by the Pomodoro Technique, Flowmodoro - inspired by the Flowtime Technique, and other various sessions. You can also create repeatable sessions specifically tailored to your needs. Add stages, set time limits, and much more. Ultimately, Focused Work helps you be more accountable by reminding you to focus, reflect, and build healthy productivity habits by completing various daily goals. **Core Features** · A simple, powerful timer that keeps you on-task Choose what to focus on. Start the timer. Get stuff done! · Curated Basic Sessions to get started Run a Pomodoro session, Flowmodoro session, or even just a simple timer · Create Focus Sessions Tailor them to your needs with a plethora of configurable options · Reminders Be reminded to stay focused, when to take breaks, and also to start a focus session! · Reflection Track what went well for you during your focus session and what you can improve upon · Scratch Pad Jot down thoughts that come to mind during your session and return to them after · Daily Goals Completing your daily focus goals earns you a streak and helps you form healthy productivity habits · Statistics & Charts Review recent productivity across the past week, month, and year · Block Distractions Select apps and websites you want to restrict access to during a session · In-app Shortcuts Automation Automatically perform actions as you progress through your session, such as turning on Focus · Link with Toggl Track Explore advanced time tracking by linking with Toggl to create time entries, assign projects and tags · Productivity Export Export completed sessions in CSV format **iOS & iPadOS Features** Focused Work is available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, with extensive support for each platform; · Live Activities Control your session from the Lock Screen or Dynamic Island · Interactive Widgets Control your session, view daily goals, and start a session from the Home Screen · Control Center Widgets Start a session or access the Scratch Pad with Control Widgets · StandBy Interact with your session while iPhone is in StandBy · Spotlight Search Quick start and interact with sessions from search · Focus Filters Filter which sessions can be viewed & started based on the active Focus · App Shortcuts & Siri Start and interact with a session via various shortcuts that can also be linked together · Picture-in-Picture Show a floating timer above other apps with Picture-in-Picture mode · Session Alerts on all devices Start a session on one device and receive update alerts on others with Focused Work installed · iCloud Syncing Sync productivity stats & created sessions between devices · Privacy Focused Your data is securely stored and managed via iCloud. No account registration. · And much more Mac Support, Share Sheet controls, App Icons, Keyboard Shortcuts, VoiceOver, Split View & Slide Over, Low Power Mode, Drag & Drop, Dark Mode, URL Schemes If you have any questions, please reach out to focusedworkapp@michaeltigas.com.au Privacy Policy: https://focusedwork.app/privacypolicy/ Terms of Use: https://focusedwork.app/terms/
Open Summary
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Open Summary turns your meetings into clean, shareable minutes — and keeps everything on your device. It records a meeting in parts, transcribes each part, stitches them together, and summarises the result into well-structured Markdown meeting minutes you can share or export. PRIVATE BY DESIGN • No backend and no accounts. We run no servers and collect no data. • Your audio, transcripts, and minutes are stored as plain, human-readable files on your device — visible in the Files app. • Your API keys live in the iOS keychain and are never logged. • Audio and requests go straight from your device to the provider you choose. Nothing passes through us, because there's nothing to pass through. BRING YOUR OWN PROVIDER • Start free: Groq's free tier does both transcription and summarisation on a single key — no credit card. • Or use OpenAI, Anthropic, OpenRouter, a self-hosted Whisper server, or Ollama. • Works with any OpenAI-compatible transcription endpoint and with Anthropic or any OpenAI-compatible chat endpoint. • Built-in cost estimates help you pick a model with no surprises. BUILT FOR REAL MEETINGS • Background recording — keeps going when the app is backgrounded or your phone is locked. • Import existing audio and add it to a meeting. • Long recordings are automatically split for transcription on audio boundaries (no re-encoding, no quality loss). • Edit transcripts and name speakers before summarising. • Choose your summary language. EXPORT AND SHARE • Share or copy minutes as Markdown or PDF. • Export a whole meeting — or all your meetings as a backup — as a single ZIP bundle. Open Summary is for anyone who wants useful meeting notes without handing their conversations to yet another cloud service.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Open Summary at none against Focused Work's 10. Focused Work's advantage is device support (4 vs 2). On price, ads 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
Both are free to download. Focused Work sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Open Summary asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | Focused Work | Open Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (607 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 84.9% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 607 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Weekly | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 155 MB | 48 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Michael Tigas | Amir Iskandar |
Bugs and requests
Focused Work
Reported bugs
4 issues- Login screen freezes
- Incompatible with older devices
- Stuck on a session: Gap time
- Desktop doesn't sync with phone
Requested features
4 requests- Need iwatch app
- Calendar integration?
- Dark mode option
- Advanced analytics dashboard
Open Summary
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Focused Work
- Focused Work Pro (1 month)$2.991 Month
- Focused Work Pro - Monthly$4.991 Month
- Focused Work Pro (1 month)$6.991 Month
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- Focused Work Pro (1 year)3 Days trial$19.991 Year
- Focused Work Pro - Yearly3 Days trial$29.991 Year
- Focused Work Pro (1 year)3 Days trial$39.991 Year
- Little Tip$0.99
- Medium Tip$4.99
- Focused Work Pro Lifetime$89.99
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- Focused Work Pro Lifetime$119.99
Open Summary
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Focused Work free?
Is Open Summary free?
Do Focused Work or Open Summary have ads?
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