Routine vs Focusability
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Routine
Organize your life, work, and projects with a unified platform for tasks, calendars, notes, and reminders. Seamlessly integrate with your favorite tools and block out time for focused work.
- Unified task, calendar, and note management
- Time blocking and scheduling
- Integration with popular tools (Gmail, Notion, Trello)
- Cross-device synchronization
- Customizable data entities
- Contact management
- Voice commands and widgets
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Join thousands who rely on Routine to organize their life, work and get more done. Dubbed a must have app by some of the top leaders and knowledge workers, Routine is the perfect app to manage your tasks, calendars, projects, notes & reminders. Routine is designed specifically for individuals leading busy lives, offering a comprehensive set of features to ensure optimal control over their valuable time. YOUR TIME. YOUR TERMS With Routine, users can seamlessly merge and consolidate all their personal and professional calendars, allowing for a more streamlined management of their schedules. While it currently supports Google Calendar, the integration of Microsoft Outlook and iCloud Calendar is just around the corner, further expanding its compatibility. ON YOUR DEVICES. ALWAYS Enjoy the convenience of synchronizing events, tasks, and notes across multiple devices, including macOS, Windows, Web and iOS/Android. EVERYTHING CONNECTED Gain an all-encompassing perspective of your work commitments by connecting and centralizing your work from all the favorite tools: Gmail, Notion, Trello, Linear, Zapier, WhatsApp etc. TIME BLOCKING MADE SIMPLE Take control of your valuable time by effortlessly blocking off periods for your most significant tasks. By simply dragging and dropping items onto your calendar, you can allocate dedicated time slots, ensuring your crucial activities receive the attention they deserve. MANAGE YOUR MEETINGS Routine empowers you to efficiently schedule, manage, and join meetings. Seamlessly handle all aspects of your meetings, from planning and coordination to active participation and recording, transcript and sharing. PRIORITIZING YOUR FOCUS Stay focused on your priorities for the day by leveraging Routine's agenda and widgets. Effortlessly navigate through your daily agenda, keeping track of crucial tasks and appointments. The inclusion of widgets allows for quick access and a constant reminder of what truly matters. CUSTOMIZE TO YOUR NEEDS Extend Routine's capabilities by defining the data entities you want to track and manage, from books to read, movies to watch, customers to go after etc. YOUR CONTACTS NOW HAVE A HOME Seamlessly manage your contacts with Routine's integrated contact management feature. Never again will you forget important details about clients, colleagues, or acquaintances. Keep all relevant information organized and readily accessible at your fingertips. EXTENSIONS, VOICE COMMANDS & MORE Enjoy unparalleled accessibility with Routine's support for Safari extensions, Siri voice commands, lockscreen widgets, and more. Wherever you are and whatever you're doing, Routine ensures that your calendar and productivity tools are just a tap or voice command away, facilitating seamless integration into your daily life. Got questions or suggestions? Drop us an email at support@routine.co.
Focusability
This tool helps you stay focused on tasks by actively monitoring your activity. If you stop engaging with your material, it provides a gentle alert to bring you back. It's designed to build disciplined work habits and improve concentration.
- Active Monitoring method
- Focus Booster activation
- Silence detection alerts
- Productivity analytics
- Privacy-focused audio processing
- Reverse Alarm mode
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Ever find yourself staring at the same page for 20 minutes, realizing you haven't processed a single word? Focusability is a first-of-its-kind productivity tool designed to keep your mind on track using an innovative "Active Monitoring" method. Whether you are a student, a researcher, or a professional, Focusability helps you build a disciplined work habit by keeping your mind physically and mentally engaged with your task. ● HOW IT WORKS: THE POWER OF ACTIVE FOCUS Most people stop speaking the moment they drift into a daydream. Focusability uses this pattern to your advantage: • Activate the Focus Booster: Start your task and commit to studying or reading out loud. • Stay Alert: The app monitors your activity. If you fall silent, Focusability detects the lapse and triggers an alert. • Refocus Instantly: A gentle nudge brings you back to the present moment, saving you hours of wasted time. (Note: Do you tend to daydream out loud? Use our Reverse Alarm mode to stay on task your way.) ● WHY CHOOSE FOCUSABILITY? • Eliminate Time-Wasting: Stop the cycle of "zoning out" and finish hours of work in half the time. • Build Deep Work Habits: Train your brain to sustain high-level concentration for longer periods. • Productivity Analytics: Track your progress and see exactly how much focused time you’ve gained. • Privacy Focused: Your audio is processed locally to detect focus levels—we never record or store your speech. ● PERFECT FOR: • Studying & Memorization: Keep your mind sharp while reviewing notes. • Technical Reading: Stay engaged with complex materials. • Writing & Drafting: Verbalize your thoughts to keep the creative flow moving. • Professional Deep Work: Reach a "flow state" faster and stay there longer. ● A MESSAGE FROM THE DEVELOPER: "I created Focusability to solve my own struggle with daydreaming. It saved me hours of lost productivity every day, and I built this app to help you do the same. Focusability isn't a cure, but it is a powerful tool to help you stay disciplined and reach your goals." ● CONNECT WITH US: We are constantly improving! Use the in-app contact screen to send us your feedback and feature suggestions. ● Your Privacy: No personal data is collected unless you create an account. Once you log in, your email address, username, and category data are stored to safely back up your information and sync it across your devices. If you choose to delete your account, all of your data will be permanently deleted as well.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Focusability at 100% against Routine's 37%. Routine's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Routine holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 7 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 37% of Routine's written reviews are positive against 100% of Focusability's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Routine ships an update weekly, Focusability every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Routine | Focusability |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better | 4.7 (7 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 36.7% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 3 | 7 — better |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 196 MB | 52 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Routine | Emarceen Yusef |
Customer experience
Routine
Focusability
Bugs and requests
Routine
Reported bugs
26 issues- App crashes immediately on launch
- Crashing on boot after setting up Google calendar
- App freezes and data disappears
- Tasks duplicated
- Calendar events not saving
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- Issues with typing and editing
- Tasks from checklist duplicating
- Calendar events not saving
- Tasks not reflecting in Google Task
- Drag and drop feature not working on iOS
- App shuts down when dragging tasks
- Tasks disappear after creation
- Drag scheduling not working
- Create tasks don't populate correctly
- Completed tasks can't be found to mark incomplete
- Task creation prompt appears but task is not found
- Tutorial is unresponsive
- App is unresponsive when typing/editing
- Notes disappear
- App freezes
- Add button doesn't always work
- Stuck on pages
- Deleted calendar event causes app to freeze
- Tasks bugging out and disappearing
- All-day events broken on iOS
- Tasks not saving in the correct screens
Requested features
17 requests- Improve task editing and usability
- Better recurring task management
- Automatic sync with Google Tasks
- Develop iPad version
- Add repeat function for appointments (daily, weekly, etc.)
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- Improve speed and sync performance
- Add tags for different tasks
- Add reminders
- Add iCloud calendar integration
- Visualize remaining time on tasks (like Tiimo/Structured)
- View remaining time with live activities
- Option to minimize picture section at the top
- Option to change colors and theme of the app
- Support for Apple/iCloud calendar
- Local calendar support
- Better text contrasting for UI
- Option to view tasks without the calendar
Focusability
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Routine
No in-app purchases
Focusability
No in-app purchases









