Comparison

DoThread vs FocusStack

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

Head to head
About

DoThread

This app offers a flexible journaling experience to track moods, habits, and life events. Organize your thoughts with custom threads, gain insights through analytics, and stay consistent with daily reminders. Your data is private and syncs across devices.

Highlights
  • Customizable threads for notes, moods, and metrics
  • Fast capture with text, photos, and mood logging
  • Number tracking with custom units
  • Location and weather data integration (opt-in)
  • Apple Shortcuts and Siri integration
  • Powerful analytics and trend visualization
  • Daily reminders for consistency
  • iCloud and WebDAV sync
Features
Read full description

A journal that keeps up with you. Write an entry, tap a mood, tick off the swim, log the weight — DoThread holds all of it in threads you shape yourself. Free to start. No account, no one else's servers. WRITE PROPERLY Markdown where you want it: headings, lists, quotes, bold. Up to four photos in a single entry. Place and weather attach themselves, if you let them. LOG IN ONE TAP Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets record a mood or a check-in without opening the app. Put the Control Centre control on your Action Button and it is a single press. Ask Siri, or build it into a Shortcut. AN ENDLESS PAGE Canvas threads drop the timeline entirely: an endless page you write anywhere on, in handwriting-style fonts if you like. Photos, stickers and sticky notes drag, resize and rotate. Give the page a colour and a texture, and export all of it as one PDF. SIX KINDS OF THREAD Journals, mood trackers, daily check-ins, number trackers, checklists and freeform canvases. Pin the ones you live in to the top. Each with its own colour, its own moods if the standard ones don't fit, and Face ID on the private ones. SEE WHAT YOU'D MISS Two months of moods on one calendar. A streak you can watch grow. Numbers charted week by week. Search every word you have ever written, across every thread at once. YOURS, PROPERLY Everything syncs across your devices with iCloud, or to your own server over WebDAV if you would rather. Export to Markdown, or take a full backup you can restore. Nothing is locked in. DOTHREAD PRO One subscription unlocks everything: canvas threads, unlimited threads of every type, widgets, four photos per entry, analytics, custom moods, Face ID protection and WebDAV. A daily reminder, if you want one. Dark mode, Dynamic Type and VoiceOver throughout. Available in English, German, Spanish, French, Italian and Dutch. --- For technical assistance, reach our team at contact@chelodo.com Privacy Policy: https://chelodo.com/apps/dothread/privacy-policy Terms of Service: https://chelodo.com/apps/dothread/terms

About

FocusStack

This app helps you identify and focus on your most important tasks by distinguishing between essential work and distractions. It allows you to rank priorities, track time spent on each task, and offers ambient music to enhance concentration.

Highlights
  • Identify and rank top 3 essential tasks
  • Unlimited backlog for other tasks
  • Drag-and-drop task organization
  • Automatic time tracking per task
  • Ambient music with visual themes
  • Home screen widget for task visibility
  • Basic analytics for focus time
Features
Read full description

What made Steve Jobs so successful? It comes down to one principle: clearly distinguishing between signal and noise. When the Apple team was designing the iPod, the table was full of feature ideas: "Should it have an FM radio? A voice recorder?" Steve Jobs recognized those additions for what they were: noise. They added complexity without strengthening the product's core value. He removed them. The signal was clear and uncompromised: a device that plays music beautifully. The signal is the three to five non-negotiable tasks that drive real results in the near term and move the mission forward. The noise is everything else: unnecessary emails, unproductive meetings, social media, minor fluctuations, and even "opportunities" that don't align with the primary objective. FocusStack helps you identify the signal—your top 3 tasks—and cut the distractions. It's a simple framework for ranking and prioritizing what actually matters. **Pick Your Top 3 (The Signal)** Enter your tasks for the day. Then, review the task list and choose three tasks that actually move the needle. These are your signal—the non-negotiables. Drag them to the top of your tasks to prioritize. Everything else goes in your backlog (the noise). Each task tracks time automatically so you know how long you've been working on what matters. **Music While You Work** Enable do not disturb and move to the focus tab of the app. Ambient lofi music loops and your time is tracked while you focus on each task. Swipe left or right to switch songs—each one changes the background colors. Or just mute it if you prefer silence. Swipe up or down to change the task you are focusing on. Stay on this page as focus time accumulates, preventing mindless checking of other apps. **See What You've Done** Check out the analytics tab to see how much time you've spent focusing today and this week. Look back at completed tasks to see what you actually finished. **Widget** There's a home screen widget that shows your top 3 focus tasks. Handy when you don't want to open the app and keeps your tasks for the day visible on your home screen. After all focus tasks are completed, widget displays a gratifying checkmark. **What It Does:** • Keep track of your top 3 focus tasks • Unlimited tasks in your backlog • Drag and drop to organize • Automatic time tracking per task • Ambient music with visual themes • Home screen widget • Basic analytics (today's time, weekly total) • Lock screen music controls • Swipe to navigate between tasks and songs The goal isn't to be busy; it's to be effective. When you consistently distinguish signal from noise, your energy is directed toward what actually produces tangible outcomes. Identify the signal, cut the distractions, and put your weight behind what truly moves the needle. I built this because I needed something simple. Just tasks and focus time. If that sounds useful to you, give it a try.

Screenshots

DoThread4 screens
FocusStack4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: FocusStack at none against DoThread's 2. FocusStack also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. DoThread sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. FocusStack asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

FocusStack holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 2 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
DoThread versus FocusStack: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDoThreadFocusStack
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (4 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings4 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 5 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.617.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB27 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperChelodoMICHAEL FRANCIS MCGOVERN

Customer experience

DoThread

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

FocusStack

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

DoThread

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly7 Days trial$5.991 Month
  • Yearly7 Days trial$59.991 Year
None

FocusStack

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is DoThread free?
DoThread is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is FocusStack free?
FocusStack is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, DoThread or FocusStack?
FocusStack is rated higher. DoThread averages 4.8 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while FocusStack averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do DoThread or FocusStack have ads?
Neither DoThread nor FocusStack shows ads.

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