Comparison

Be Present vs Critter Timer

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

Head to head
About

Be Present

This app helps you focus on tasks by encouraging mono-tasking and providing tools for enhanced concentration. It offers positive affirmations, time blocking with a Pomodoro timer, and science-backed soundscapes to prevent burnout and boost productivity.

Highlights
  • Positive mindset building
  • Pomodoro timer
  • Science-backed methods
  • Relaxing soundscapes
  • Time blocking
  • Prevent burnout
Features
Read full description

Be Present helps you build the daily routines that make focus inevitable. Not another productivity app. Be Present is built around one idea: when your routines are right, focus happens naturally. #What Our Users Are Saying "Be Present has been a game-changer! I'm more productive and feel less anxious." — Jae P. "The focus music transformed my work sessions. I get more done in less time!" — Anna "I finished my final paper despite my ADHD." — Jessie #What Be Present Offers - Morning & Night Routines: Start and end your day with intention - Pomodoro Timer: 25-min focus sessions with breaks up to 90 min - Focus Music: Lofi, binaural beats, and soundscapes for deep work - Prevent Burnout: Structured breaks protect your mental energy - Journal & Gratitude: Reflect and reset daily #Why It Works 47% of people have a daily physical health routine. Only 28% have a mental health one. Be Present closes that gap. SUPPORT: love@littlebeat.io

About

Critter Timer

This app provides a cozy focus timer experience on your Apple Watch with charming, hand-illustrated woodland companions. Engage in focused work sessions while your critter friend studies alongside you, then enjoy gentle break animations that shift the scene to twilight.

Highlights
  • Standalone watchOS app
  • Animated woodland companions
  • Customizable focus and break lengths
  • Time-sensitive notifications
  • Daily session tracking and streaks
  • Auto-start option for seamless transitions
Features
Read full description

Critter Timer is a cozy focus timer for your Apple Watch, starring hand-illustrated woodland companions that move and work alongside you. Tap to start a focus session, and your chosen critter settles into their tiny world — a rabbit by candlelight in a cozy hut, a fox curled up in an English library, or a cat working at a cottage desk. They study while you study. Then it's break time. Your companion stretches, looks out the window, sips tea, gazes at the stars. The scene shifts to twilight. Two minutes, five minutes, however long you set — and back to focus when you're ready. DESIGNED FOR THE WRIST • Standalone watchOS app — no iPhone needed once installed • Beautiful animated scenes optimized for Apple Watch displays • Digital Crown to adjust focus and break lengths • Simple tap-to-start, tap-to-pause controls • Time-sensitive notifications keep you on schedule, even during Focus mode • Subtle haptics throughout — never jarring THREE COMPANIONS, ONE WORLD • A rabbit in a quill-and-ink study, candle flickering, cozy hut at dusk • A fox in a Victorian library, leather chairs and stacked books • A cat at a cottage writing desk, surrounded by warm lamplight FOCUS SESSIONS • 5 to 60 minutes, in 5-minute increments • Choose your length per session BREAK SESSIONS • 1 to 30 minutes • Different scene tone — softer light, looser poses • A gentle reminder to actually rest BUILT FOR DEEP WORK • Track your daily session count and watch your streak grow • Auto-start option flows you straight from focus into break, and back again — no taps, no friction • Resume gracefully if you switch wrists, get pulled away, or your watch sleeps mid-session • Distinct visual tone for focus vs. break so you always know where you are WHY YET ANOTHER TIMER? Most focus timers feel like productivity software. Critter Timer feels like a window into a small, kind world. Whether you're working, studying, reading, journaling, meditating, or just trying to be present for 25 minutes — your companion is right there, doing their thing alongside you. No accounts. No ads. No tracking. No subscription. Just you, your watch, and a small woodland friend. Built with care for people who love their Apple Watch and want a focus tool that respects both their attention and their aesthetic.

Screenshots

Be Present4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Be Present at Free against Critter Timer's $1.99. Be Present also leads on ratings volume (102 vs 1). Critter Timer's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). On 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

Be Present is free to download; Critter Timer costs $1.99 up front. Be Present sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Critter Timer asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Critter Timer holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Be Present has 102 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Be Present versus Critter Timer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBe PresentCritter Timer
PriceFree — better$1.99
Rating4.7 (102 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews77.8% of reviews—
Number of ratings102 — better1
Update frequencyFortnightly—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS16.213.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size104 MB26 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperLittleBeat LLCTodd Seabrook

Customer experience

Be Present

All ratings92 ratings
Positive92.4%
Neutral2.2%
Negative5.4%
Written reviews18 reviews
Positive77.8%
Neutral5.6%
Negative16.7%

Critter Timer

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Be Present

Subscriptions4
  • Monthly subscription1 Month trial$5.991 Month
  • Limited time discounted offer7 Days trial$12.991 Year
  • 7 Day Trial Yearly Plan7 Days trial$19.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Discounted yearly subscription1 Month trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Exclusive Lifetime Plan Offer$12.99
None

Critter Timer

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Be Present free?
Be Present is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Critter Timer free?
Critter Timer costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Be Present or Critter Timer?
Critter Timer is rated higher. Be Present averages 4.7 out of 5 from 102 ratings, while Critter Timer averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Be Present or Critter Timer have ads?
Neither Be Present nor Critter Timer shows ads.

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