Backroom Journal vs FocusMon
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Backroom Journal
Collaborate with others in shared spaces to discuss and propose solutions to societal problems. This app uses AI to analyze conversations and suggest unbiased solutions, making them accessible to everyone.
- Collaborative Rooms for discussion
- AI-powered solution suggestions
- Publicly accessible solutions and conversations
- Social media integration for problem-solving
- Community-driven problem resolution
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Backroom allows people to work together in a Room to discuss and propose a solution to a specific problem they are interested in solving. The goal is to leverage the power of the internet and build on the concept of social media to bring people together from any walk of life and give them the tools to not only communicate with each other, but also work together to create solutions to the problems facing society. To do this, Backroom uses ChatGPT to analyze the conversation between Room participants to suggest a solution to the problem being discussed, helping break the ice and propose an unbiased solution driven by real conversations. Others will then be able to read the solution created by the participants along with the conversation that took place to add context and see the reasoning behind the solution.
FocusMon
This app gamifies phone-free time by opening a rift where monsters appear as long as you stay focused. Collect, evolve, and battle monsters using shards earned from focused sessions. Engage in turn-based battles with friends and players worldwide, and grow stronger together with your monster companions.
- Gamified focus sessions
- Monster collection and evolution
- Turn-based monster battles
- Live Activity timer
- Friend trading and pacts
- Daily and weekly goals
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Put your phone down – and catch monsters for it. FocusMon is a Pomodoro and focus timer that turns your study time into a monster-collecting game. Start a focus session, a rift opens, and as long as you stay focused, monsters step through for you to catch. Leave the app to use your phone and the session breaks – the rift closes empty. Every minute away from your phone becomes progress: studying, homework, exam prep or deep work. STAY FOCUSED • A focus timer for studying, school, college and deep work – set your own session length. • Your session only runs while you stay in the app. Leave early and you walk away with nothing. • Live Activity keeps the timer on your Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island. • Turn screen time into a growing collection. COLLECT, EVOLVE, TRADE • Over 100 unique monsters, each with three evolution stages, plus rare Mythic monsters. • Shards earned from your focus time level up and evolve your monsters. • Trade monsters with friends and complete your Archive. BATTLE FRIENDS AND PLAYERS WORLDWIDE • Turn-based battles with monsters trained by your focus time. • Play casually against friends or climb the ranked ladder from Bronze to Champion. FOCUS TOGETHER • Make a focus pact with a friend: one shared goal, and rewards for both of you when you finish. • See which of your friends are focusing right now. A REASON TO COME BACK EVERY DAY • Buddy monsters level up with every session and unlock exclusive looks and items. • Daily goals, a weekly board and the Rift Pass reward consistent focus. • Season 2: Frost Season with the mythic Kryothys – free for everyone. Made for anyone who wants less phone time: students, people with ADHD, and everyone who finds it easier to focus when it feels like a game. It's never too late to spend less time on your phone.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Backroom Journal at 5.0 against FocusMon's 3.0. Backroom Journal also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 13) and iOS requirement (13.4 vs 26.0). FocusMon's advantage is update cadence (every 6 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, ratings volume, 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
Both are free to download. FocusMon sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Backroom Journal asks for nothing beyond the download.
Backroom Journal holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 2 respectively.
Backroom Journal ships an update every 3 weeks, FocusMon every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Backroom Journal | FocusMon |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | 3.0 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 2 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 6 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 13.4 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 34 MB | 681 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Ethan Downs | Fynn Loosen |
Customer experience
Backroom Journal
FocusMon
In-app purchases
Backroom Journal
No in-app purchases
FocusMon
- FocusMon+7 Days trial$3.991 Month
- FocusMon+ (Yearly)$22.991 Year
- Raid Key$0.99
- Emote Pack — Savage$0.99
- Emote Pack — Party$0.99
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- Emote Pack — Meme$0.99
- 250 Sprite Shards$0.99
- Key Bundle$1.99
- Rift Pass – Frost Season$2.99
- Rift Pass – Ember Season$2.99
- Rift Pass — Season 0$2.99
- 1,250 Sprite Shards$3.99
- 2,500 Sprite Shards$8.99









