Comparison

Catch the Ghost Pomodoro Timer vs Lifeback

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

Head to head
About

Catch the Ghost Pomodoro Timer

Transform focus sessions into a rewarding game. Earn coins, collect historical figures, and build streaks by staying off your phone. Designed for productivity and beating digital distractions.

Highlights
  • Gamified focus timer
  • Collect historical ghosts
  • Earn coins and XP
  • Global leaderboards
  • Mood-based focus sessions
  • Beat phone addiction
  • Digital hourglass timer
Read full description

Tired of boring timers? Turn focus into a game. Catch the Ghost® is a Pomodoro timer that helps you beat phone addiction and boost your productivity by making focus rewarding. Complete sessions, earn coins, and collect the "ghosts" of historical legends. WHAT MAKES CATCH THE GHOST UNIQUE? A FOCUS GAME, NOT JUST A TIMER: Every session is a quest. Stay off your phone to catch a ghost. Build streaks, earn XP, and level up your productivity in a way that's fun, not punitive. COLLECT HISTORICAL LEGENDS: Rulers, artists, scientists, and rebels — every ghost you catch reveals a true quote, a story, and a work of art. Every ghost is earned through focus. You never know who you'll catch next! DESIGNED FOR THE ADHD BRAIN: Our gentle DIGITAL HOURGLASS™ timer helps you find your flow without the anxiety of a traditional countdown. Perfect for deep work, studying, and managing distractions. BEAT PHONE ADDICTION: By making focus genuinely rewarding, our timer helps you build better habits and take back control from digital distractions. SLEEP BETTER: Leave your phone alone all night with the Sleep Timer and wake up to a reward of up to 10x coins. AND MORE: Match ghosts to your mood, compete on global leaderboards for huge coin prizes, and spend your coins in the in-app store to unlock curated ghost packs. NO ADS. EVER. HOW IT WORKS Download for free and start your first focus session right away. Create a free account whenever you're ready to save your ghosts, coins, and progress across all your devices and join the leaderboards. If you love it, subscribe to unlock pro features! SUBSCRIPTION BENEFITS - Monthly ($4.99/month) - Unlock our full Universe of ghosts. - Access History to view your productivity stats over Day, Week, Month, and Year. - Cancel anytime. - Yearly ($34.99/year, 41% off) - Same full access to Universe & History. - First week free for new subscribers. - Cancel anytime in your Apple ID settings. COINS & IN-APP PURCHASES You can use coins to extend grace periods, recover streaks, and unlock ghost packs in the in-app store. Coin packs are available in a range of sizes. YOUR FOCUS QUEST AWAITS Download Catch the Ghost now and transform the way you work, study, and focus. Whether you're a student aiming for better grades, a professional seeking deep work, or anyone looking to build a healthier relationship with their phone, our gamified Pomodoro approach will help you reach your potential. AUTO-RENEWING SUBSCRIPTIONS - Payment is charged to your iTunes account upon purchase confirmation. - Your subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in Settings -> Apple ID -> Subscriptions. - Unused portions of a free trial period are forfeited upon purchase of a subscription. PRIVACY POLICY & TERMS - Privacy Policy: https://www.aeeiee.com/privacy-policy - Terms of Service (EULA): https://www.aeeiee.com/terms-of-service

About

Lifeback

This app enhances your phone's screen time settings to help you focus better and achieve your goals. It offers app restrictions and time limits to reduce distractions and boost productivity. Many users report significant reductions in screen time and improved mental well-being.

Highlights
  • App restrictions and time limits
  • Focus reports and progress metrics
  • Instant app blocking
  • Scheduled blocking via calendar
  • Temporary unblocking for breaks
  • Hard mode for maximum protection
  • Shortcut integration for automation
Features
Read full description

Imagine if your Screen Time Settings on your phone were super powered. That's what we do. 5 hours. That’s the average time you’ll spend looking at your phone today. With a combination of app restrictions and hard time limits, you can begin to focus better and accomplish your dreams, just like our members. Many of the world's top teams and companies companies trust Lifeback. to help protect their focus. You can too. **This app cut my screen time by 3 hours per day – Senior Backend Dev at Google ** **Lifeback cuts off your apps’ internet access to help you stop doomscrolling – WSJ ** **Lifeback Helped Me Quit My Nightly TikTok Habit – Productivity Mag ** BENEFITS 98% of Lifeback members are less distracted 94% are more productive thanks to the app 91% experience improved mental health 82% save at least 2 hours *daily* thanks to the app Added benefits: - Better screen time management - Improve productivity at work - Reduce stress, be more mindful - Better manage ADHD - Set daily working hours, sleep, and routines - Unplug with family and friends - Stay in focus when you need it most - You're happy and in control of your screen time FEATURES - Focus Report: Diagnose your Focus and measure your progress with clear metrics, important context and compare with your peers. - #1 App Blocker: Instantly block apps you choose. - Sessions: Block apps from your phone while you’re focusing, and you can always take a break to unblock them temporarily. - Calendar: Set daily working hours, sleep and routines, block apps automatically, so you don’t have to remember. - Breaks: Use apps without mindless scrolling. Choose the app you want to use and set a timer. - Shortcut Integration: Connect iPhone shortcut automations to start/stop Focus Sessions based on app opens, time, location and more! - Hard Mode: Maximum protection, you can’t cancel or bypass the timer you set. CREATE A PERSONALIZED APP LIST You can customize your Control experience and block all apps and sites on your phone, including: - Facebook - Instagram - Snapchat - TikTok - Youtube - Netflix - Tinder - Hinge - Bumble - Many more: News, Messaging, Dating, Adult/Porn, Money apps etc. PRIVATE & SAFE We use Apple's Screen Time API in order to monitor and block apps you use. Installation is easy and takes a few seconds on your iPhone. Unlike most apps, Lifeback works entirely on your phone and personal browsing data never leaves your device. HEAR IT FROM THE COMMUNITY "Never in a bazillion years did I think I would be below 3 hours of screen time a day. My mood is SO much better." - Sam "Weird to think that an app would make me use my phone less but this app is the only thing helping me focus on deep work days" - Cody "Thanks Lifeback for being the only way my monkey brain can do homework for more than like 20 minutes" - Stevie TERMS, PRIVACY & CONDITIONS – https://lifeback.io/privacy – https://lifeback.io/terms

Screenshots

Catch the Ghost Pomodoro Timer4 screens
Lifeback4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Catch the Ghost Pomodoro Timer at 74% against Lifeback's 53%. Catch the Ghost Pomodoro Timer also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.5). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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. Catch the Ghost Pomodoro Timer sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Lifeback sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $3.00 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Catch the Ghost Pomodoro Timer holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 47 and 79 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 74% of Catch the Ghost Pomodoro Timer's written reviews are positive against 53% of Lifeback's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Catch the Ghost Pomodoro Timer ships an update every 9 days, Lifeback every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Catch the Ghost Pomodoro Timer versus Lifeback: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCatch the Ghost Pomodoro TimerLifeback
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (47 ratings) — better4.5 (79 ratings)
Positive reviews73.9% of reviews — better52.6% of reviews
Number of ratings4779 — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS17.016.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size141 MB43 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperAeeiee, Inc.Control. Alt. Delete. LLC

Customer experience

Catch the Ghost Pomodoro Timer

All ratings47 ratings
Positive95.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative4.3%
Written reviews23 reviews
Positive73.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative26.1%

Lifeback

All ratings79 ratings
Positive87.3%
Neutral2.5%
Negative10.1%
Written reviews19 reviews
Positive52.6%
Neutral10.5%
Negative36.8%

Bugs and requests

Catch the Ghost Pomodoro Timer

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Lifeback

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App closing unexpectedly
  • Focus mode not working as expected
  • Inconsistent app behavior

Requested features

2 requests
  • Better unblock functionality
  • Improved notification system

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Catch the Ghost Pomodoro Timer

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Subscription3 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Annual Subscription7 Days trial$34.991 Year
One-time4
  • 1000 Coins$0.99
  • 5000 Coins$3.99
  • 10000 Coins$6.99
Show 1 more
  • Lifetime Purchase$99.99
13 purchases

Lifeback

Subscriptions13
  • Monthly Plan$3.001 Month
  • Monthly Plan$4.001 Month
  • Monthly Plan$5.001 Month
Show 10 more
  • Monthly Plan3 Days trial$6.001 Month
  • Monthly Plan$7.001 Month
  • Monthly Plan$8.001 Month
  • Monthly Plan$9.001 Month
  • Monthly Plan$10.001 Month
  • Monthly Plan$11.001 Month
  • Monthly Plan$12.001 Month
  • Promo Yearly Plan7 Days trial$40.001 Year
  • Yearly Plan3 Days trial$40.001 Year
  • Yearly Plan3 Days trial$99.001 Year

Questions

Is Catch the Ghost Pomodoro Timer free?
Catch the Ghost Pomodoro Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Lifeback free?
Lifeback is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Catch the Ghost Pomodoro Timer or Lifeback?
Catch the Ghost Pomodoro Timer is rated higher. Catch the Ghost Pomodoro Timer averages 4.8 out of 5 from 47 ratings, while Lifeback averages 4.5 from 79 ratings.
Do Catch the Ghost Pomodoro Timer or Lifeback have ads?
Neither Catch the Ghost Pomodoro Timer nor Lifeback shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Catch the Ghost Pomodoro Timer or Lifeback?
Catch the Ghost Pomodoro Timer ships an update every 9 days, and Lifeback every 6 days. Most recently, Catch the Ghost Pomodoro Timer was updated on October 12, 2026 and Lifeback on October 18, 2026.

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