Comparison

Project Planner vs Progressive Focus

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

Head to head
About

Project Planner

Manage multiple projects and track their progress with a focus on independent development. Break down large goals into actionable tasks and organize your workflow with customizable tags and a clean interface. Ideal for solo creators and indie developers.

Highlights
  • Flexible task management
  • Smart tagging system
  • Customizable color-coded tags
  • Visual progress tracking
  • Backlog management
  • Distraction-free interface
Features
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Most projects stall not because you lack motivation — but because "finish the project" is too vague to ever act on. You open a blank to-do list, dump in a dozen tasks, and within a week it's either abandoned or buried under newer ones. Milestones is built around a different idea: every project deserves structure, and structure is what makes finishing possible. A smarter way to plan Milestones introduces a three-tier hierarchy — Projects, Milestones, and Tasks — that mirrors how real work actually happens. A project isn't one thing; it's a series of phases. Each phase has its own focus, its own deadline, its own definition of done. Milestones makes that structure explicit so you always know where you are and what's next. Break goals into phases Every project is divided into named milestones — the chapters of your work. Whether you're building an app, writing a thesis, planning an event, or launching a side project, milestones give you a natural way to chunk the journey into stages you can actually complete one at a time. Track progress visually Each milestone has its own live progress bar showing task counts and completion percentage. At a glance, you can see how much you've done, how much is left, and which phases are moving. No more guessing whether you're close or far. Focus on what matters right now Mark one milestone as Active. It pins to the top of your project, pulses with a live indicator, and becomes your single point of focus. Everything else stays visible but secondary — giving you clarity without losing context. Organized from every angle Milestone statuses — Draft, Planning, In Progress, In Review, Released — give each phase a clear stage in the lifecycle. Tasks are sorted into To Do, In Progress, and Done sections automatically. Tag tasks to group related work across a project. Store unscheduled ideas in the project backlog so nothing falls through the cracks. Designed to look as good as it works Give every project its own icon — choose from a curated set of symbols or use your own photo — paired with a custom color. Your project list becomes a visual dashboard that's satisfying to open every day. Manage projects with AI Milestones includes a built-in MCP server — connect Claude and other AI agents on your Mac to create projects, add tasks and move milestones forward just by asking. Your project planner, now AI-native. Built for iPhone, iPad, Mac & Apple Vision Pro On iPad, Mac and Vision Pro, Milestones expands into a full three-column layout: your project list, milestone list, and task list all visible at once. On iPhone, everything is one tap away. Sync seamlessly across both with iCloud. Whether you're a developer shipping a product, a student finishing a dissertation, a designer managing client work, or anyone with a goal worth finishing — Milestones gives your projects the structure they've always needed.

About

Progressive Focus

Features
Read full description

Progressive Focus is a Pomodoro timer built for people who don't fit in a rigid 25-minute box. Instead of locking you into fixed cycles, Progressive Focus suggests a focus block based on how you've been working — and you can adjust it in one tap. The algorithm does the math. You make the call. WHY PROGRESSIVE FOCUS • Adaptive blocks. Each session is tailored to your flow. The app proposes, you decide. • Shorter breaks than the block you actually worked. You earned a break — not an excuse to lose momentum. • Everything is editable. Block length, break length, project — before, during, after. No friction. • No account. No sign-up. No cloud sync you didn't ask for. Everything stays on your device. • Works offline. No server, no latency, no tracking. FOR YOUR FOCUS • Live Activities on iPhone — see your timer at a glance without unlocking. • Clean, distraction-free UI optimized for both iPhone and Mac. • Gentle audio cues and haptics at the end of each phase. • Light and dark themes that follow your system setting. • Onboarding that takes 30 seconds, not 5 minutes. PROJECTS AND STATS • Tag sessions with projects — see where your time actually goes. • Daily and weekly stats with beautiful Swift Charts. PRIVACY Progressive Focus collects nothing. No analytics. No advertising. No third-party SDKs. Your data lives in one place: your device. PRICING All Pro features are unlocked for your first 7 days, so you can see whether the upgrade fits how you work. After that, core features stay free forever — no ads, no nags. Free tier includes: the adaptive timer, up to 3 projects, the last 7 days of stats, Live Activities, audio cues and haptics, and system-following light/dark theme. Lifetime unlocks: unlimited projects, full stats history, Dynamic Island controls on iPhone, and retroactive session editing. No subscription. No auto-renewal. Buy once, yours forever. Universal Purchase: one price covers iPhone and Mac. Built with care. No bloat. No dark patterns. Just a better timer.

Screenshots

Project Planner4 screens
Progressive Focus4 screens

Verdict

The call

Project Planner and Progressive Focus are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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

Both are free to download. Project Planner sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Progressive Focus sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Project Planner ships an update every 5 days, Progressive Focus every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Project Planner versus Progressive Focus: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterProject PlannerProgressive Focus
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (17 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews80.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings17 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterEvery 6 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size72 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperYassine ZeriouhPiotr Przybyla

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Project Planner

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Monthly$5.991 Month
  • Premium Yearly$29.991 Year
One-time2
  • Premium Lifetime$29.99
  • Premium Lifetime$79.99
1 purchases

Progressive Focus

One-time1
  • Progressive Focus Pro$9.99

Questions

Is Project Planner free?
Project Planner is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Progressive Focus free?
Progressive Focus is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Project Planner or Progressive Focus have ads?
Neither Project Planner nor Progressive Focus shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Project Planner or Progressive Focus?
Project Planner ships an update every 5 days, and Progressive Focus every 6 days. Most recently, Project Planner was updated on October 20, 2026 and Progressive Focus on October 3, 2026.

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