Comparison

Exocus vs StudySync

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

Head to head
About

Exocus

This app transforms focus sessions into a gamified experience, visualizing your concentration as a planet's evolution. Earn rewards, unlock new designs, and overcome procrastination with engaging, pixel-art visuals and a unique reward system.

Highlights
  • Gamified focus timer
  • Planet evolution visualization
  • Pixel art design
  • Stage-based incentives
  • Unlockable planet designs
  • Hardcore Mode for increased stakes
Features
Read full description

Exocus is a pixel-art, gamified focus timer app. Here, your focus is no longer boring, repetitive, or meaningless because every moment of your focus will transform your very own planet. Do you struggle with staying motivated when you commit to doing something valuable in the long run, like learning new words, practicing an instrument, working out, or mastering a new language? Initially, you're full of enthusiasm, but soon, your passion wanes. Memorizing words becomes a chore, the instrument is neglected, workouts turn into a burden, and progress in the new language stalls... You start doubting yourself: “Maybe I just don’t have what it takes to stick with long-term commitments.” That’s not true! Let us explain the real reasons. ● Lack of Immediate Rewards: You understand the long-term value of these tasks, but how much does this half-hour of focus matter right now? ● Repetition Leads to Boredom: When the initial novelty wears off, the repetitive nature of the task can make you feel bored and tired. ● Overly Negative Focus: Focusing on what you haven't accomplished rather than acknowledging what you have done can lead to negative self-evaluation and loss of motivation. Let Exocus Help You! ====== Exocus Solutions ====== Exocus is a gamified focus timer that visualizes your concentration as a planet's evolution, helping you achieve long-term, pain-free focus. ● Emotional Design and Sense of Meaning After each focus session, you’ll see the story of what happened to your planet during that time. Even five minutes of focus equals 38.53 million years of evolution for your planet, so your focus is crucial. Want to raise the stakes? You can enable “Hardcore Mode,” where failing to focus might cause your planet to be destroyed! ● Stage-Based Incentives Short-term Incentives: After each focus session, the planet’s landscape changes and tells you its story. Medium-term Incentives: After several hours of focus, the planet undergoes more significant transformations, like forming magma, oceans, and land. Long-term Incentives: After around ten hours of focus, the planet completes its evolution. You can then add it to your star system, with each project corresponding to a star system, showcasing your long-term accumulation in that project. ● Continuous Freshness We offer hundreds of unique planet designs, satisfying your curiosity and desire to collect with constant surprises. See a planet's full appearance only after evolving it through focused efforts. Earn Stardust coins by focusing to unlock new planet seeds, motivating continuous concentration. ====== What Makes Exocus Special? ====== ● Meticulously Crafted Design Exocus uses a unique pixel art style, maintaining simplicity while incorporating delightful little Easter eggs for you to discover. We believe the beauty of Exocus can bring joy, which will ultimately translate into more focused time. ● Fun Game Elements Exocus embraces gamified design in a bold yet restrained and professional manner. We hope the game elements help you enjoy focusing, and we also care deeply about your ability to truly focus. We’ve eliminated anything that could distract you because we genuinely want to focus on achieving long-term goals with you. ● Flexible Focus Modes Exocus supports countdown timers, stopwatch mode, and the Pomodoro technique. In the Pomodoro technique, you can flexibly set focus and break durations and specify longer breaks after several focus cycles. ● Convenient Project Management Each project corresponds to a planet. You can track different categories of focus time with projects and quickly switch between projects on the home screen by swiping left or right. ● Personalized Statistics Based on your focus data, we provide personalized charts to help you understand your focus patterns and stay motivated to maintain consistent focus. Terms of Use: https://byland.work/exocus/terms-en.html Support: exocus@byland.work

About

StudySync

Features
Read full description

StudySync - Turn Study Time into Game Time StudySync transforms studying into a shared, focused, and rewarding experience. Instead of studying alone and getting distracted, StudySync places you on a virtual island where students study together in real time. Every session builds accountability, consistency, and momentum - just like a game. Study Together, Stay Accountable Join a virtual library and study live with others using a built-in focus timer. Once a session starts, any phone interaction - switching apps, pulling down notifications, or leaving the screen - ends the session. No shortcuts. Just real focus. Stay Focused as a Community Use the Nudge feature to gently remind others in the library to stay focused. Everyone helps everyone lock in. Track Progress That Actually Matters StudySync helps you see your effort turn into results: - Personal study stats and analytics - Daily study heatmap to build consistency - Study log tracking across sessions Watch your habits improve over time. Share Motivation, Not Distractions The Good Vibes Fountain lets you share motivation, encouragement, or your goals with others on the island - no pressure, just positive energy. Compete and Grow Together Track your study hours on the global leaderboard and stay motivated alongside students worldwide. Why StudySync? - Builds real accountability - Makes studying feel rewarding and social - Designed to reduce distractions, not add them If social media is addictive, studying can be too. Turn Study Time into Game Time with StudySync.

Screenshots

Exocus4 screens
StudySync4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: StudySync at none against Exocus's 7. Exocus's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.6). On price, 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

Both are free to download. Exocus sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. StudySync asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Exocus ships an update every 3 weeks, StudySync every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Exocus versus StudySync: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterExocusStudySync
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (131 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews96.2% of reviews—
Number of ratings131 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size80 MB113 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperByland Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.Eldon Lim

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Exocus

One-time7
  • Newcomer Pack$0.29
  • Cosmoney x 5$0.99
  • Cosmoney x 30$4.99
Show 4 more
  • Cosmoney x 100$13.99
  • Exopass$15.99
  • Exopass + Cosmoney x 200$34.99
  • Exopass$34.99
None

StudySync

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Exocus free?
Exocus is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is StudySync free?
StudySync is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Exocus or StudySync have ads?
Neither Exocus nor StudySync shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Exocus or StudySync?
Exocus ships an update every 3 weeks, and StudySync every 2 months. Most recently, Exocus was updated on September 25, 2026 and StudySync on September 15, 2026.

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