Comparison

Diary Calendar vs Focal

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

Head to head
About

Diary Calendar

This calendar app supports the ICS standard for seamless integration with PC calendar software like Outlook and Lightning. It offers detailed date and monthly overviews, allows for time zone-specific appointments, and enables the creation of both one-off and recurring events.

Highlights
  • ICS standard compatibility
  • Date and monthly overviews
  • Time zone management
  • Recurring event creation
  • Searchable appointment list
  • External data storage
Features
Read full description

This app is suitable for calendars according to the ICS standard RFC 5545/5546,  which is used by most computer programs.  This is the prerequisite, so that you can also use your calendar from the PC  with Outlook, Lighting or other software. This calendar inherits the following functions: - Date Overview    All appointments are displayed time-dependent. The list can be searched. The list is kept on the iPhone and can be stored and loaded externally. Appointments can also be transferred from the iPhone - Monthly Overview    Monthly overview helps navigate through calendar dates quickly.  Appointments additional are listed separately.  An overview of appointments of the day couldt be called up on the screen. - Date    Appointments can include date and time or just the date.    These can be stored with or without time zone. So, for example    the date New Year should be used without time zone as the year    actually begins on earth at different times.    In contrast, a birthday with the time zone should be deposited, in    which the jubilarian lives. Thus, at the time of congratulation    nothing goes wrong. - Series date    One-off and serial appointments can be generated.    A recurring event is controlled by a rule by which the repetitive    appointments are generated. These rules fulfill the standard.    So you do not have to dive deeper into the rules, as most common rules could be created by key combination.

About

Focal

Features
Read full description

See the time you have left. Focal is a visual timer: it turns a countdown into something you can look at: a colored disk that shrinks as your time runs out — the same idea as the timer on a classroom wall, in your pocket, on your lock screen, and on your desk while the phone charges. ONE THING AT A TIME A routine in Focal is a chain of short steps, each with its own length. Focal shows you the step you are on and nothing else, then moves to the next one by itself. Morning launch, shutdown, cleaning sprint, a study block — start with ten ready-made routines or build your own. TIME YOU CAN SEE, EVERYWHERE • Full-screen timer in three shapes: disk, bar, or pie • Live Activity and Dynamic Island — the countdown keeps running on your lock screen • Home and Lock Screen widgets for your next routine • Put the phone on its side while charging and StandBy becomes a desk timer • Start from Siri, the Action Button, or Control Center BUILT FOR THE WAY ATTENTION ACTUALLY WORKS • Designed around ADHD time blindness — for when "five more minutes" quietly becomes an hour • Gentle haptics at the halfway mark and in the final minute • When time is up the clock keeps counting, and Focal taps you on the shoulder at five and fifteen minutes — the alarm for when you fall into something too deep • Add a minute without losing your place • Eight themes, including high-contrast and a quiet monochrome one NO INTERNET NEEDED. No account. No cloud. Nothing you make ever leaves your phone — the timer works in airplane mode, because it never needed the internet. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Diary Calendar4 screens
Focal4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Focal at Free against Diary Calendar's $2.99. Focal also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months). Diary Calendar's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 18.0). On ads 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

Focal is free to download; Diary Calendar costs $2.99 up front. Focal sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Diary Calendar asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Diary Calendar ships an update every 3 months, Focal weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 4 level
Diary Calendar versus Focal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDiary CalendarFocal
Price$2.99Free — better
Positive reviews33.3% of reviews—
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS12.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB10 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHans Joachim GerhardtHo Van Dai

In-app purchases

None

Diary Calendar

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Focal

Subscriptions2
  • Focal Pro Monthly$0.991 Month
  • Focal Pro Yearly$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • Focal Pro Lifetime$29.99

Questions

Is Diary Calendar free?
Diary Calendar costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Focal free?
Focal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Diary Calendar or Focal have ads?
Neither Diary Calendar nor Focal shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Diary Calendar or Focal?
Diary Calendar ships an update every 3 months, and Focal weekly. Most recently, Diary Calendar was updated on November 1, 2026 and Focal on November 5, 2026.

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