Comparison

Pomodoro Timer vs Focus Monke

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

Head to head
About

Pomodoro Timer

This app helps you improve focus and productivity using the Pomodoro technique. It offers customizable work and break intervals with a distraction-free interface to help you manage your time effectively for work or study.

Highlights
  • Customizable Pomodoro and break lengths
  • Distraction-free minimalistic design
  • Support for short and long breaks
  • Time management using the Pomodoro method
  • Helps improve concentration and reduce stress
Features
Read full description

Pomodoro Timer is a focus timer for work and study: 25 minutes of work, a short break, and a long one every four rounds. You change any of those numbers. Nothing to sign up for. The timer runs against a fixed end time, so locking the screen, switching apps or iOS closing the app in the background does not stop it. WHAT IT DOES • Pomodoro timer with your own work, short break and long break lengths • Focus modes: ready-made presets and your own, each with its own lengths and sounds • Seven ambient sounds generated live — rain, waves, brown noise and more • Live Activity and Dynamic Island: the phase and the time left on your Lock Screen • Home Screen widget • Stats by day and week: sessions finished and time focused • Auto-continue with a countdown before the next phase, or straight through • A notification the moment a session ends COMMON QUESTIONS Does the timer keep running with the screen locked? Yes. It counts against a fixed end time, so locking the phone, switching apps or even iOS closing the app in the background does not stop it. Leave notifications on and you get the alert when the session ends. Do I need an account? No. There is no login and no sign-up. Does it work offline? Yes. What is free and what is Premium? The timer, the breaks, the ambient sounds and the stats are free, with ads. Premium removes the ads and unlocks every focus mode and as many custom modes as you want. You can also unlock a mode temporarily by watching a short video. Can I change the 25 minutes? Yes, and the breaks too. The classic numbers are only the default. Where do I get help? Settings has a Help screen inside the app, with the questions people actually write in about. Terms of Use: https://ghapps1.wordpress.com/terms-condition/ Privacy Policy: https://ghapps1.wordpress.com/privacy-policy/

About

Focus Monke

This app uses a gamified approach to the Pomodoro technique, turning focus sessions into underwater dives. Earn rewards and build a vibrant reef by staying focused, with distracting apps automatically blocked. It's designed for those who struggle with distractions and need gentle encouragement.

Highlights
  • Gamified Pomodoro timer
  • App blocking via Screen Time
  • Reef building and fish collection
  • Reward system with bananas and bonuses
  • Streak tracking without guilt
  • Customizable app blocking
Features
Read full description

Your focus grows a tiny ocean. Focus Monke is a pomodoro timer with a heart. Every focus session is a dive: press start and Monke, a little guy in a big brass diving suit, takes his submarine down. He stays down as long as you stay focused. Surface at the end, and the reef you're building is a little more alive than you left it. HOW A DIVE WORKS - Pick your time, press START. That's the whole job. A classic 25-minute pomodoro, a two-hour deep session, whatever the day needs. - Your distracting apps go quiet. Focus Monke uses Apple's Screen Time to block apps for exactly as long as you're diving. When you surface, they come back. No willpower required. - Finish the dive and the good part happens: bananas, a spin of the bonus wheel, and sometimes a brand-new fish. BUILT FOR DISTRACTED BRAINS If your brain treats "just five minutes of scrolling" as a legally binding contract, welcome aboard. Focus Monke was made for the easily distracted, ADHD very much included. Short sessions still count. Rewards land every single time, not someday. No shame, no productivity sermons. Just a monke who believes in you. YOUR REEF Every fish in your aquarium was earned by focusing. Commons, rares, a few legends from the deep. Each one is hand-drawn and swims around your reef like it has somewhere to be. Feed them bananas. Name your tank. Take a selfie with Monke. It's your ocean, and you made it out of homework. DIVE TOGETHER Focus is easier when someone else is also focusing. Join a session and your monke takes a seat in the sunken ship alongside up to nine other divers, timers running, everyone quietly at work. Dive in at 2am and there's still a crew to sit with. Nobody can message you. Nobody can distract you. Just the quiet, specific comfort of a room where everyone is doing the thing they came to do. Leave whenever you like. The ship keeps sailing. DRESS UP YOUR MONKE Tap Monke and the dressing room opens. Hats, hair, glasses, beards, earrings, costumes, backgrounds, and diving gear that gets stranger the deeper you go. Every item is bought with bananas, and bananas come from focusing. There is nothing to buy with real money in there, ever. Your look follows you into the submarine, onto your stats, and into the ship next to everyone else's. STREAKS WITHOUT GUILT Show up and your streak grows, with milestones actually worth reaching. Miss a day and nobody yells at you. The reef is the reason to come back, not a red badge. CERTIFIED DIVER Focus Monke is free to use. Going Certified supports one small developer and one small monke, and unlocks: - 3x bananas and bigger bonuses after every dive - Choose exactly which apps get blocked, or let a dive block them all - The gold diving suit (Monke looks fantastic in it) - Special items in the shop And thanks to Certified Divers, there are no ads. For anyone. Ever. Certified Diver is available as an auto-renewing subscription (monthly or yearly) or a one-time lifetime purchase. Subscriptions are charged to your Apple Account and renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in Settings > Apple Account > Subscriptions. GOOD QUESTIONS - Does it work offline? Yes, everything except group sessions. Airplane mode is honestly great for focusing. - Do I need an account? No. Open the app, start a dive. - Where does my data go? App blocking runs entirely on your device through Apple's own Screen Time. We never see what you do on your phone, and nothing is sold to anyone. Group sessions share just what the crew can see: your diver name, your flag, your monke's look. THE SMALL PRINT, WARMLY Hand-drawn art. One developer. One monke doing his best. If Focus Monke helps, tell a friend. The reef grows one dive at a time, and so does this little app. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://focusmonke.com/privacy.html

Screenshots

Pomodoro Timer4 screens
Focus Monke4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Focus Monke at 100% against Pomodoro Timer's 0%. Focus Monke also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months). Pomodoro Timer's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.6). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support 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. Pomodoro Timer sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days and Focus Monke sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pomodoro Timer holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Focus Monke has 12 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 0% of Pomodoro Timer's written reviews are positive against 100% of Focus Monke's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pomodoro Timer ships an update every 3 months, Focus Monke weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 16, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Pomodoro Timer versus Focus Monke: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPomodoro TimerFocus Monke
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better4.6 (12 ratings)
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings112 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsWeekly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.617.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB297 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGrima HdezBen Haun

Customer experience

Pomodoro Timer

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral100.0%
Negative0.0%

Focus Monke

All ratings12 ratings
Positive91.7%
Neutral8.3%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Pomodoro Timer

Subscriptions3
  • Pomodoro PRO week sub$0.997 Days
  • Pomodoro PRO month sub$1.991 Month
  • Pomodoro PRO year sub$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • Pomodoro Pro Lifetime$28.99
4 purchases

Focus Monke

Subscriptions3
  • Certified Diver Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Certified Diver Annual7 Days trial$17.991 Year
  • Certified Diver Annual1 Year trial$17.991 Year
One-time1
  • Certified Diver Lifetime$29.99

Questions

Is Pomodoro Timer free?
Pomodoro Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Focus Monke free?
Focus Monke is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pomodoro Timer or Focus Monke?
Pomodoro Timer is rated higher. Pomodoro Timer averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Focus Monke averages 4.6 from 12 ratings.
Do Pomodoro Timer or Focus Monke have ads?
Pomodoro Timer shows ads; Focus Monke does not.
Which is updated more often, Pomodoro Timer or Focus Monke?
Pomodoro Timer ships an update every 3 months, and Focus Monke weekly. Most recently, Pomodoro Timer was updated on September 16, 2026 and Focus Monke on September 29, 2026.

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