Comparison

Focus Wave vs BlockBuddy

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

Head to head

Social media stopper

About

Focus Wave

Read full description

A simple yet highly effective technique. Use Focus Wave to enhance your focus time. It encourages you to work with the time you have rather than against it and helps you prevent burnout. Set your timer, choose an ambient sound, and track your progress.

About

BlockBuddy

Features

Read full description

This app lets you do a lot of cool stuff, especially blocking all of your apps. You can’t open Instagram, Snapchat, or any other app unless you go through the Doom Stopper app first. There, you can unlock it for a set amount of time (for example, 5 minutes), and it helps you stay away from doom scrolling because when the time is up, you get kicked out of the app and have to go through Doom Stopper again.

Screenshots

Focus Wave4 screens

BlockBuddy3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Focus Wave at every 2 days against BlockBuddy's every 2 months. Focus Wave also leads on iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.2). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Focus Wave ships an update every 2 days, BlockBuddy every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 4 level

Focus Wave versus BlockBuddy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameter	Focus Wave	BlockBuddy
Price	Free	Free
Update frequency	Every 2 days — better	Every 2 months
Ads	No	No
In-app purchases	No	No
Devices	iPhone, iPad — better	iPhone
Requires iOS	16.0 — better	26.2
Further details — not scored
Size	12 MB	4 MB
Age rating	4+	4+
Developer	Santiago Limas	Alexander Kvamme

In-app purchases

None

Focus Wave

No in-app purchases

None

BlockBuddy

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Focus Wave free?

Focus Wave is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

Is BlockBuddy free?

BlockBuddy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

Do Focus Wave or BlockBuddy have ads?

Neither Focus Wave nor BlockBuddy shows ads.

Which is updated more often, Focus Wave or BlockBuddy?

Focus Wave ships an update every 2 days, and BlockBuddy every 2 months. Most recently, Focus Wave was updated on October 10, 2026 and BlockBuddy on October 7, 2026.