FocusTimes! vs Gentle Start
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
FocusTimes!
A minimalist Pomodoro timer app designed to enhance focus and productivity. It provides a serene environment with calming sounds to help users work mindfully without distractions. The app operates entirely locally, requiring no login or data transfer.
- Minimalist Pomodoro timer
- Calming background sounds
- Focus and productivity enhancement
- Local data storage
- No login required
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FokusTime is a beautifully minimal Pomodoro timer designed to help you focus deeply and work mindfully. Set against calming sounds, FokusTime creates a serene environment that encourages productivity without stress. Whether you're studying, working, or just taking a break from distractions, FokusTime helps you stay on track using the proven Pomodoro technique. The soothing sounds in the background keep your mind at ease while you focus on what matters most. - No login - No data being transferred - Everything local - Take control of your time and Fokus
Gentle Start
This app provides a simple, one-tap timer to help overcome procrastination. It focuses on the act of starting, counting up from zero without pressure or goals. Designed for those who struggle with initiating tasks, it offers a calm experience with visual themes and ambient sounds.
- One-tap timer start
- Upward counting timer
- Living themes with animations
- Ambient soundscapes
- Live Activities integration
- No streaks or goals
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Starting is the hardest part. Gentle Start makes it one tap. When a task feels too big to begin, this is the smallest possible push. Open the app, tap once, and a calm focus timer counts up from zero. That's it - you've started, and starting was the whole battle. There's no goal to reach. No streak to keep alive. No countdown racing you to a finish line. Gentle Start counts UP, not down - so there's nothing to fail and no way to fall behind. Stay thirty seconds or thirty minutes. Both count. Both are real. HOW IT WORKS - Tap to begin: one button, no setup, no plan, no account. - The timer counts up quietly inside a living, animated scene. Nothing on screen pressures you - it's just proof that you're doing it. - Stop whenever it feels right. You showed up, and that's enough. WHY IT'S DIFFERENT Most focus timers and productivity apps are built around finishing - streaks, daily goals, charts, pomodoro countdowns, reminders that nag. For a brain that already feels behind, that pressure is the very thing that makes starting feel impossible. So Gentle Start leaves it out. No metrics staring back at you. No guilt. No catching up. Just a gentle way across the one line that actually matters: from not-started to started. WHO IT'S FOR Made for procrastinators, people with ADHD and executive dysfunction, students facing down an assignment or a long study session, writers staring at a blank page, and anyone who knows the strange, heavy weight of simply beginning. Whether you call it procrastination, task paralysis, or "I just can't start" - if "just start" has never once worked as advice, this was built for you. CALM BY DESIGN - 28 living themes: drifting clouds, falling snow, rising bubbles, a quiet night sky, and more - soft animated scenes that are easy on the eyes while you work. Or pick random and come back to a fresh space each session. - Ambient soundscapes: rain, fireplace, forest, and other gentle audio to ease you into focus. - A companion while you work: a tiny animated sun keeps you company in the Dynamic Island and on your Lock Screen during a session - with a whole sky of suns to choose from. - Home Screen widgets and Live Activities keep your session calm and glanceable without opening the app. - Works with Siri and the Action Button, so you can start without even looking. WHAT GENTLE START WILL NEVER DO - No streaks - No daily goals - No guilt, no shame - No ads - No subscriptions - No account or sign-up - No tracking Your sessions stay on your device. There's nothing to log into, and nothing watching you work. Gentle Start isn't here to make you do more. It's here to make starting feel possible, especially on the days it doesn't. Tap once. Start small. That counts. Gentle Start is on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. Wherever you are, make your next start a gentle one.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: FocusTimes! at none against Gentle Start's 1. FocusTimes! also leads on ratings volume (3 vs 1). On price, rating, ads 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. Gentle Start sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. FocusTimes! asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for FocusTimes! against 5.0 for Gentle Start. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 1 respectively.
| Parameter | FocusTimes! | Gentle Start |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (3 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 3 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | — | Every 3 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 143 MB | 46 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Puspa Kafley | JOHNNY LI |
Customer experience
FocusTimes!
Gentle Start
In-app purchases
FocusTimes!
No in-app purchases
Gentle Start
- Gentle Start Premium$4.99
Questions
Is FocusTimes! free?
Is Gentle Start free?
Which has better reviews, FocusTimes! or Gentle Start?
Do FocusTimes! or Gentle Start have ads?
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