Comparison

Focalist vs Sync

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

Head to head
About

Focalist

This task manager allows for quick editing of to-do items and prioritizes tasks based on context, such as location. It offers instant synchronization and offline access to your lists.

Highlights
  • Instant task editing
  • Location-based tasks
  • Cross-platform sync
  • Offline-first support
  • Prioritized 'Now' view
Features
Read full description

A fast and efficient todo/task manager with reminders. Includes cross-platform sync and location-based tasks. • Edit tasks instantly without getting stuck in an item subscreen. It feels as lightweight as editing a document. • Bring your tasks to you. Everything you need to do is brought to the Now view - like your shopping list when you arrive at the grocery store, or the next task on a project. • Instant sync, with offline-first support. EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Sync

This app helps you compare your planned schedule with your actual daily activities. It visualizes where your time goes, highlighting discrepancies and helping you identify time-wasting habits. Integrate with Apple Health and Calendar for automatic tracking.

Highlights
  • Dual timeline for plan vs. actual
  • One-tap confirmation of planned activities
  • Habit and repeat plan creation
  • Real-time timer tracking
  • Goal setting and to-do lists
  • Apple Health and Calendar integration
  • iCloud sync across devices
Features
Read full description

Few days go exactly as planned. Sync lines up your plan and what you actually did on one timeline, and shows where they part. After a week, the hours that always slip become obvious. Plan your day in the morning, record what you did in the evening, and the two tracks line up side by side. Time that went as planned and time that drifted show in color. ■ Two tracks Plan and actual share one time axis. Drag over the hours, pick an activity, done. ■ One tap to confirm When a plan ends, a notification and a confirm card offer three buttons: Record as planned · Adjust and record · Skip. The buttons are right on the Lock Screen and in widgets. ■ Repeats and habits Turn a plan into a repeat or a habit as you save it. When you edit a repeating plan, choose "Save for this day only" or "Save for all future days." Plans that run past midnight save in one go. ■ Timer Start a timer and the actual track grows in real time. Stop it from the Lock Screen or the Dynamic Island. ■ Goals and to-dos Set weekly, monthly, or yearly time goals per activity and they fill in from your actuals. To-dos can have both a scheduled day and a deadline. ■ Apple Health, Calendar, Reminders Connect Apple Health (HealthKit) and your workouts and sleep — from Apple Watch or any app that writes to Health — flow into the actual track automatically. Read-only: Sync never writes to Health. Calendar events show beneath the plan track; choose which calendars to show, and the activity is picked for you when you import an event. To-dos stay in sync with a Reminders list. ■ Close the day Close your day before bed to see your Sync and time per activity, and leave a one-line note. ■ iPhone and iPad On iPad, Sync uses views made for the larger screen. Turn on iCloud sync to keep records in step on an iPhone and iPad signed in to the same Apple Account. Sync works only between Apple devices. Your records are stored on your device. With iCloud sync on, they move only through your own iCloud. No sign-up, no server of ours.

Screenshots

Focalist4 screens
Sync4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Focalist at Free against Sync's $4.99. Sync's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and update cadence (weekly vs every 4 weeks). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume 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

Focalist is free to download; Sync costs $4.99 up front. Focalist sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month. Sync asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Focalist against 5.0 for Sync. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 2 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Focalist ships an update every 4 weeks, Sync weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Focalist versus Sync: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFocalistSync
PriceFree — better$4.99
Rating5.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings22
Update frequencyEvery 4 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDavid Rickard037

Customer experience

Focalist

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Sync

Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Focalist

Subscriptions2
  • Focalist Premium (Monthly)$1.491 Month
  • Focalist Premium (Annual)$12.001 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Premium$46.00
None

Sync

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Focalist free?
Focalist is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Sync free?
Sync costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Focalist or Sync?
Focalist and Sync are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2 and 2 ratings respectively.
Do Focalist or Sync have ads?
Neither Focalist nor Sync shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Focalist or Sync?
Focalist ships an update every 4 weeks, and Sync weekly. Most recently, Focalist was updated on November 4, 2026 and Sync on November 6, 2026.

Other comparisons