Focus Timer vs Persist
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Focus Timer
Enhance focus and build productive habits with a tool that integrates a calendar, timer, and app blocker. Plan your day, track your time, and block distractions to reduce mental load and improve presence.
- Integrates with Apple Calendar
- Creates focus timers from events
- Standalone focus timer option
- App blocking (scheduled and spontaneous)
- Supports ADHD and neurodivergent minds
- Reduces mental load
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Studious is designed to help you stay focused and build studious habits by combining your calendar, to-do list and a focus timer in a single app. 1 – Plan your day Studious connects to Apple Calendar, Apple Reminders and Google Calendar to help you stay organized easily. 2 – Stay focused Use the Studious timer to help you focus during events and block distracting apps. Stay in control of your focus session by adding more time or by ending early, Studious will automatically update your schedule for you. 3 – Get insights Understand how you spend your time by comparing your screen time to your focus time, and set limits on distracting apps. Using Studious can help you: → Create structure to support ADHD and neurodivergent minds → Work or study with greater sustained focus → Reduce mental load and decision fatigue Privacy Policy: https://getstudious.app/privacy Terms of Service: https://getstudious.app/terms
Persist
This app helps you structure your day by categorizing tasks into Must-Do, Not-to-do, and Maybe. Visualize your productivity with heatmaps and keep important notes, principles, and goals easily accessible. Connect your actions to your identity to track personal growth and cultivate a focused mindset.
- Task prioritization (Must-Do, Not-to-do, Maybe)
- Productivity heatmaps
- Persistent notes for quotes and goals
- Identity linking to tasks
- Elegant and user-friendly design
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Achieve everyday clarity with Persist: Everyday Clarity. Structure your day by prioritizing Must-Do, Not-to-do, and Maybe tasks, ensuring you focus on what truly matters. Visualize your time and energy with beautiful heatmaps to understand your productivity patterns. Keep your quotes, principles, and goals accessible with persistent notes, always just a swipe away. Link your identities to your tasks and see how you evolve by becoming what you do and pay attention to. Key Features: 1. Built-in Prioritization: Organize your tasks into Must-Do, Not-to-do, and Maybe categories. 2. Heatmap Visualization: Gain insights into your productivity with intuitive heatmaps. 3. Persistent Notes: Keep important quotes, principles, and goals readily accessible. 4. Identity Linking: Connect tasks to your personal identities and track your growth. 5. Elegant Design: Enjoy a beautiful and user-friendly interface that enhances your experience. Why Choose Persist? • Growth Mindset: Cultivate a mindset geared towards continuous improvement. • Enhanced Focus: Eliminate distractions and concentrate on your priorities. • Increased Willpower: Strengthen your self-discipline to achieve your goals. • Find True Purpose: Align your daily actions with your long-term aspirations. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Persist at 5.0 against Focus Timer's 4.3. Persist also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs fortnightly) and review sentiment (100% vs 80%). Focus Timer's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, ratings volume, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Focus Timer sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Persist sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Persist holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 17 and 9 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 80% of Focus Timer's written reviews are positive against 100% of Persist's.
Focus Timer ships an update fortnightly, Persist every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on July 8, 2026 and July 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Focus Timer | Persist |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (17 ratings) | 5.0 (9 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 80.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 17 — better | 9 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 14.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 39 MB | 121 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Florent Perillat | Sang Doan |
Customer experience
Focus Timer
Persist
In-app purchases
Focus Timer
- Monthly$2.991 Month
- Monthly$4.991 Month
- Yearly7 Days trial$19.991 Year
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- Yearly7 Days trial$29.991 Year
- Lifetime$49.99
Persist
- Persist Pro7 Days trial$9.991 Year
- Pro Lifetime$14.99
