Focus Traveller vs Starbound
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Gamified focus timer
- Collaborative study groups
- Progress tracking
- Customizable audio
- Home screen widgets
- Immersive environments
- Multitask friendly mode
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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/
Starbound
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Focus is hard to keep up when nothing comes of it. Starbound turns the time you spend concentrating into something you can see growing. Every session you finish builds a station on the planet Veltora. Put the phone down, do the work, and come back to a skyline that wasn't there yesterday. THREE WAYS TO WORK Pomodoro - focus and break lengths you set, four cycles to a lap Countdown - one fixed stretch, however long you need Stopwatch - open-ended, for work that doesn't fit a box BUILD AS YOU FOCUS Six stations to raise, from a first Outpost to Veltora Prime Each finished focus session builds one, and the day fills up beside it Abandon a session and nothing gets built - the skyline only counts real hours EARN WHILE YOU WORK 3 XP for every focused minute 1 Stardust for every five Thirty ranks to climb, from Cadet to Starbound SPEND IT Suits and ships in the shop, bought with Stardust Change your loadout whenever you like - your ship flies with your timer SEE THE WEEK HONESTLY Hours focused this week against last week Month and year views when you want the longer look A trend line instead of a vague sense of how it went BRING FRIENDS ALONG Find people by nickname and send a request See who's in a session right now - friends stay visible while they're focused, even with their phone in a pocket Star the ones you want at the top Starbound gets out of your way while you work: during a focus phase the shop and stats are out of reach, so the app can't become the distraction. Sign in with Apple, Google, or your email. Turn on notifications and Starbound tells you the moment a phase ends - even with the app closed.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Starbound at none against Focus Traveller's 11. Starbound also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). On price, ads, device support 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. Focus Traveller sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Starbound asks for nothing beyond the download.
Focus Traveller ships an update every 2 months, Starbound fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Focus Traveller | Starbound |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (4.1K ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 85.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 4.1K — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 16.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 566 MB | 55 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | WEI JEN CHEN | Kushrajsinh Jhala |
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
Starbound
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Focus Traveller
- 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
- Seal$0.99
- Fox$0.99
- Corgi$0.99
Show 4 moreShow fewer
- Bear$1.99
- Tiger$1.99
- Caty$1.99
- Life Time Access$14.99
Starbound
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Focus Traveller free?
Is Starbound free?
Do Focus Traveller or Starbound have ads?
Which is updated more often, Focus Traveller or Starbound?
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