Comparison

Focus Bottle vs Cortex

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

Head to head
About

Focus Bottle

Features
Read full description

Welcome to Focus Bottle Focus Bottle is a cute and delightful focus app that combines Focus Timer, Pomodoro Technique, Time Management, Growth Tracking, and Blind Box Gameplay. Each time you complete a focus session, you'll receive an adorable reward ball from a blind box and store it in your personal Focus Bottle β€” celebrating your effort, persistence, and growth. β—† Focus Timer Β· Immersive Experience Start your focus sessions with a clean and calming countdown interface.
Supports lock screen operation, Live Activity, and Dynamic Island to keep track of your focus in real time.
Stay undisturbed with "Scholar Mode". β—† Ball Collection Β· Motivation through Progress Choose a blind box theme before each session.
Every time you complete a focus, you’ll earn a ball reward β€” from series like fruits, animals, magic, houses, and more. β—† Time Bottle System Β· Organize Freely Free users receive one default bottle.
You can unlock bottles of various styles to store and categorize your balls.
Create your personal growth collection. β—† iCloud Sync Β· Secure & Seamless VIP members can sync data to iCloud manually.
Restore your focus history and ball collection across devices β€” safely and reliably. β—† Flexible Timer Β· Calm Background Sounds Set any focus duration freely.
Enhance your sessions with soothing background music and gentle flash/vibration reminders. β—† Minimal Design Β· Adorable Aesthetics Clean and soft UI.
Charming animations and delightful interactions accompany your quiet focus journey. VIP Membership Includes: * Pomodoro Mode * Custom Focus Tags * Unlock All Background Music * Scholar Mode * Full-Dimension Statistics * Home Screen Widget * iCloud Multi-Device Sync * And more features coming soon... Let Focus Bottle accompany you —
to record your time, and celebrate your growth. Focus Bottle Subscription Information * Subscribing to Focus Bottle VIP unlocks premium features, including: Pomodoro focus mode, custom focus tags, full background music access, Study Mode, detailed focus statistics, widget support, iCloud multi-device sync, additional bottle styles, and collection viewing privileges. * VIP subscription is available in Monthly Plan and Yearly Plan, and will auto-renew. * Payment will be charged to your iTunes account upon confirmation of purchase. * Subscriptions automatically renew within 24 hours before the end of the current period unless auto-renewal is turned off at least 24 hours prior. * Users can manage or cancel subscriptions at any time in Settings > Apple ID > Subscriptions. * If your VIP benefits are not activated, please tap "Restore Purchases" in the app. If the issue persists, contact us at gangneng@waysun.tech. * Pricing may vary by region. The final amount is subject to the App Store purchase page. * Once payment is confirmed, VIP benefits will be activated immediately for the duration of your subscription. Lifetime Membership Information * Purchasing a Lifetime Membership unlocks all VIP premium features permanently without the need for renewal. * Users may also individually purchase specific bottle styles as collectibles. These are one-time purchases and valid forever. * All purchases can be synced across devices using the app's "Restore Purchases" function. * Privacy Policy: https://www.waysun.tech/app/focus_bottle/privacy.html * Terms of Use: https://www.waysun.tech/app/focus_bottle/terms-of-use.html

About

Cortex

Features
Read full description

Cortex is a focus timer for deep work and study β€” Pomodoro 25/5, Long Focus 50/10, Short Sprint 15/3, an open-ended Flow mode, 19 ambient tracks and a sleep timer. Built for people who think for a living: students revising for exams, developers and designers in deep work, writers, and anyone with ADHD who needs sound and structure to get started. Four timer modes, three focus sounds, session history, streaks, heatmaps and Apple Health are free. Premium adds the AI Adaptive mode, 16 more sounds, the sleep timer, custom presets, Health Insights and the weekly report. No ads, no account, no sign-up. You track your workouts. Your sleep. Your macros. But not your focus. Cortex closes that gap: it measures your sessions, sizes the next one around your recovery, and shows you the hours your attention actually peaks. STRUCTURED FOCUS MODES Pomodoro (25/5) β€” Classic deep work intervals Long Focus (50/10) β€” Extended sessions for complex tasks Short Sprint (15/3) β€” A low-friction way to start on a bad day Flow Mode (no limit) β€” Open-ended, stop when you are done AI Adaptive (Premium) β€” Session length set for you, not guessed Custom Timers (Premium) β€” Your own work rhythm, up to 10 presets AI ADAPTIVE TIMER (PREMIUM) Instead of asking how long you can concentrate, Cortex works it out. With Apple Health connected it reads your heart rate variability and last night's sleep; without Health it falls back to a time-of-day model. Keep finishing your sessions and it extends them. 19 AMBIENT TRACKS Focus: lo-fi beats, acoustic, downtempo, neo-classical, space ambient, cinematic, chillwave, jazz hop, deep pulse, ethereal piano. Sleep: ethereal pads, deep drone, analog wash, submarine, harp lullaby, binaural, distant choir, zen garden, zero gravity. Three focus tracks ship inside the app and are free. The other 16 come with Premium and download on demand, Wi-Fi recommended. Audio keeps playing with the screen locked. SLEEP TIMER (PREMIUM) Six durations from 15 minutes to 2 hours. Sound fades out gradually and stops β€” no alarm at the end. A morning check-in records how you slept and whether you woke up rested; with Apple Health connected, the sleep screen also shows last night's stages and a sleep score. DATA, NOT FEELINGS Focus Score β€” weekly performance metric Peak Hours β€” the hours your attention actually peaks Heatmaps β€” focus patterns across the month Weekly Report β€” personalized recommendations computed on device from your own sessions (Premium; the first week is free) Streaks & Achievements β€” gamified progress that compounds daily CSV export of every session (Premium) APPLE HEALTH, READ ONLY Only when you tap Connect, and only three data types: heart rate variability, resting heart rate and sleep analysis. Cortex never writes anything to Apple Health. Those readings, and the recovery and sleep scores computed from them, stay on your device and are not sent to analytics. The app works fully without Health. 10 languages Β· Neo-brutalist design Β· No ads Β· No data selling Β· Usage analytics can be switched off in Settings Built for people who use Notion, Linear, and Arc β€” not pastel wellness apps Your brain is a machine. We help you run it at peak RPM. --- SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION Cortex Premium is available as Monthly, Annual, or Lifetime purchase. - Payment is charged to your Apple ID at purchase confirmation - Subscriptions automatically renew unless canceled 24+ hours before period end - Manage or cancel anytime in Account Settings after purchase - Privacy Policy: https://cortex-focus.com/privacy/ - Terms of Use: https://cortex-focus.com/terms/

Screenshots

Focus Bottle4 screens
Cortex4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is device support: Focus Bottle at 3 against Cortex's 1. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. Focus Bottle sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Cortex sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Focus Bottle ships an update every 9 days, Cortex every 5 days. Both last shipped on September 13, 2026.

Scorecard1 real difference Β· 5 level
Focus Bottle versus Cortex: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFocus BottleCortex
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysEvery 5 days β€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod β€” betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 β€” better16.4
Further details β€” not scored
Size91 MB78 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperεΉΏθ₯Ώη‚œθΎ°δΏ‘ζ―η§‘ζŠ€ζœ‰ι™θ΄£δ»»ε…¬εΈDmitry Afanasyev

In-app purchases

8 purchases

Focus Bottle

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Plan$2.991 Month
  • Yearly Plan$9.991 Year
One-time6
  • Orange Energy Bottle$0.99
  • Beginner's Bottle$0.99
  • Sunshine Bottle$0.99
Show 3 more
  • Wooden Bottle$0.99
  • Fairy Tale Bottle$0.99
  • Lifetime Plan$14.99
3 purchases

Cortex

Subscriptions2
  • AI Focus Timer Premium7 Days trial$6.991 Month
  • AI Focus Timer Premium7 Days trial$49.991 Year
One-time1
  • AI Focus Timer Lifetime$99.99

Questions

Is Focus Bottle free?
Focus Bottle is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Cortex free?
Cortex is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Focus Bottle or Cortex have ads?
Neither Focus Bottle nor Cortex shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Focus Bottle or Cortex?
Focus Bottle ships an update every 9 days, and Cortex every 5 days. Most recently, Focus Bottle was updated on September 13, 2026 and Cortex on September 13, 2026.

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