Comparison

Focus Traveller vs Yarn

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

Head to head
About

Focus Traveller

This app helps users stay focused during work or study sessions by using a gamified timer. Users can collaborate with friends in real-time, track their progress, and enjoy immersive environments and curated audio to enhance concentration.

Highlights
  • Gamified focus timer
  • Collaborative study groups
  • Progress tracking
  • Customizable audio
  • Home screen widgets
  • Immersive environments
  • Multitask friendly mode
Features
Read full description

Do you struggle to stay concentrated when you’re working alone? Do you find yourself wishing for a study buddy to keep you motivated late at night? Focus Traveller is a productivity timer designed to help you find your flow. The longer you focus, the higher your traveller climb. Together, we get things done. Invite up to 10 friends to form a Focused Travel Group. Support one another, hold each other accountable, and reach new heights together. Key Features: Seamless Transitions: Effortlessly switch between focus sessions and rest periods. Flexible Modes: Choose between a traditional countdown or an open-ended stopwatch. Group Expeditions: Start a journey with friends and stay focused in real-time together. Curated Audio: Connect to Apple Music to play your personal focus tracks. Progress Tracking: Comprehensive daily logs to help you monitor your growth. Quick Access Widgets: Start a session directly from your Home Screen. Immersive Environments: Choose from various seasonal scenes to match your mood. Dark Mode: Increase your immersion and reduce eye strain with a sleek dark interface. Multitask Friendly: Use "General Focus Mode" to stay productive even when switching to other apps. Focus Status: Keep the Focus Traveller screen visible to let classmates or colleagues know you’re focusing Behind the Scenes The stunning animations, illustrations, and character designs are crafted by award-winning artist Kuan Hung Chen. Follow his work on Instagram @jimmykuang and stay updated with us @focustravellerco. Focus Traveller Pro features are available as a monthly subscription or as a one-time purchase. Your iTunes account will be charged at confirmation of purchase. The subscription will automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the billing period. You can go to your iTunes Account Settings to manage your subscription & turn off auto-renew. To restore all your previous purchases use the "Restore Purchased" button located at the bottom of the subscription button in the Pro popup page or go to the Focus Traveller Settings to tap on "Restore Purchased" Standard Apple Terms of Use (EULA) https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Yarn

This app helps you understand and reduce phone addiction by prompting you to journal before accessing distracting apps. It uses AI to provide thoughtful prompts, allows voice or text entries, and offers features to set bedtime boundaries and enter focus sessions.

Highlights
  • Journal to unlock distracting apps
  • AI-powered journaling prompts
  • Set bedtime app boundaries
  • Focus sessions to block apps
  • Voice or text journaling
  • Understand emotional triggers for phone use
Features
Read full description

Meet Yarn, a screen time intervention app that makes you journal to unlock addictive apps. You can’t break a habit you don’t understand. Every time you reach for your phone, there’s an emotion driving it - boredom, anxiety, avoidance. Yarn untangles the emotional threads that cause us to reach for our phone. We made Yarn as an answer to a question: what if language models could end phone addiction? One that would meet us in these moments with nothing but a few tools to help us scroll less, and a wish: that journaling would leave us more present, introspective, and sentimental. JOURNAL TO UNLOCK Pause before scrolling by writing a quick journal entry to unlock your distracting apps. SET BEDTIME BOUNDARIES Schedule your apps to lock at bedtime, helping you wind down without the temptation to scroll late into the night. ENTER FOCUS SESSIONS Completely block distracting apps while you work. Start one yourself, or ask Yarn to. TALK TO YARN Your journal and your conversations with Yarn live in one place. Yarn remembers what you've written and what you're working through, so every conversation picks up where the last one left off. PINNED NOTES Keep what you need to hear at the top of your journal - a dopamine menu, your long-term goals, a note to read before you scroll. Yarn remembers them too. VOICE OR TEXT Journal however feels natural—type out your thoughts or use voice recordings when writing feels like too much. Note that usage of Yarn is subject to the following agreements: Terms of Use: https://www.alcovecomputer.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://www.alcovecomputer.com/privacy Apple's Standard End-User License Agreement: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Focus Traveller4 screens
Yarn4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Yarn at weekly against Focus Traveller's every 2 months. Yarn also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 86%). Focus Traveller's advantage is ratings volume (4K vs 8). On price, rating, 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 Traveller sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Yarn sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Focus Traveller against 5.0 for Yarn. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Focus Traveller has 4K ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 86% of Focus Traveller's written reviews are positive against 100% of Yarn's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Focus Traveller ships an update every 2 months, Yarn weekly. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Focus Traveller versus Yarn: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFocus TravellerYarn
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (4K ratings)5.0 (8 ratings) — better
Positive reviews85.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings4K — better8
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.1
Further details — not scored
Size566 MB32 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperWEI JEN CHENAlcove Computer Company

Customer experience

Focus Traveller

All ratings4,044 ratings
Positive97.4%
Neutral1.6%
Negative0.9%
Written reviews909 reviews
Positive85.7%
Neutral8.7%
Negative5.6%

Yarn

All ratings8 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Focus Traveller

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Random data resets
  • Inconsistent time tracking
  • Landscape mode issues

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add pomodoro timer functionality
  • Introduce more background options
  • Allow manual time entry/editing
  • Implement Lock Screen widget
  • Add ability to block distracting apps

Yarn

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Focus Traveller

Subscriptions3
  • Focus Traveller Pro Monthly$0.991 Month
  • Focus Traveller Pro Yearly7 Days trial$7.991 Year
  • Focus Traveller Pro Yearly3 Days trial$7.991 Year
One-time7
  • Seal$0.99
  • Fox$0.99
  • Corgi$0.99
Show 4 more
  • Bear$1.99
  • Tiger$1.99
  • Caty$1.99
  • Life Time Access$14.99
4 purchases

Yarn

Subscriptions4
  • Yarn Pro Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Yarn Pro Monthly 20267 Days trial$12.991 Month
  • Yarn Pro Annual 20267 Days trial$59.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Yarn Pro Annual$59.991 Year

Questions

Is Focus Traveller free?
Focus Traveller is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Yarn free?
Yarn is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Focus Traveller or Yarn?
Yarn is rated higher. Focus Traveller averages 4.9 out of 5 from 4K ratings, while Yarn averages 5.0 from 8 ratings.
Do Focus Traveller or Yarn have ads?
Neither Focus Traveller nor Yarn shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Focus Traveller or Yarn?
Focus Traveller ships an update every 2 months, and Yarn weekly. Most recently, Focus Traveller was updated on October 24, 2026 and Yarn on October 24, 2026.

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