Comparison

Sideboard vs Pulse Focus

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

Head to head
About

Sideboard

This app displays your upcoming and in-progress meetings, showing the time until your next event or the remaining time in your current meeting. It offers widgets for your home screen and can run in standby mode for continuous visibility of your schedule.

Highlights
  • View upcoming and in-progress meetings
  • Time until next meeting display
  • Current meeting duration tracking
  • Home screen widgets
  • Standby mode for continuous display
Features
Read full description

Sideboard is designed to summarise your upcoming meetings and enhance your productivity See Your Day: Sideboard will quickly show your upcoming or in progress meetings, and show how long until the next meeting (or how long the current meeting has left to run) This lets you see at a glance how your day is looking Put it on your dock: The iOS and iPad app is designed to be run "on the side" - hence the name! Our widgets are even better than the app!: Sideboard has a range of widgets that can be added to your home screen, showing your upcoming meetings, or the current meeting Running in standby mode is perfect for showing you your next meeting!

About

Pulse Focus

Read full description

Pulse Focus helps you stay aware of time through gentle haptic taps on your wrist. Each subtle notification creates a physical connection to time passing, helping you maintain awareness during moments of deep concentration. Ideal for: • People who experience hyper-focus states • Anyone who loses track of time during deep work • Students and professionals • Creative sessions • Coding and development work • Meditation practice Key Features: • Focus sessions from 1-50 minutes • Customizable pulse frequency • Save your favorite setups • Apple Watch complications • Clean, simple interface • Works in background • Option for stronger pulses Pulse Focus gives time a physical presence you can feel. It's a thoughtful approach to time awareness that helps you stay connected to the present moment without interrupting your flow state.

Screenshots

Sideboard3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Sideboard at Free against Pulse Focus's $9.99. Sideboard also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 5 months) and device support (5 vs 3). Pulse Focus's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 26.0). On ads and in-app purchases 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

Sideboard is free to download; Pulse Focus costs $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sideboard ships an update every 2 months, Pulse Focus every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 5 level
Sideboard versus Pulse Focus: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSideboardPulse Focus
PriceFree — better$9.99
Rating4.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPod, Apple Watch
Requires iOS26.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJOHN ANDREW POLLARDDhanish Gajjar

In-app purchases

None

Sideboard

No in-app purchases

None

Pulse Focus

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Sideboard free?
Sideboard is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pulse Focus free?
Pulse Focus costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Sideboard or Pulse Focus have ads?
Neither Sideboard nor Pulse Focus shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Sideboard or Pulse Focus?
Sideboard ships an update every 2 months, and Pulse Focus every 5 months. Most recently, Sideboard was updated on October 20, 2026 and Pulse Focus on October 9, 2026.

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