Comparison

Visual Timer vs GladeFocus

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

Head to head
About

Visual Timer

This app offers a visually engaging countdown timer with multiple unique styles to represent the passage of time. Customize colors, backgrounds, and alarm sounds for various activities like focus work, cooking, or kids' routines.

Highlights
  • Nine unique visual timer styles
  • Customizable colors and backgrounds
  • Over 50 alarm sound options
  • Adjustable durations from seconds to hours
  • Presets and recent duration quick-picks
  • Designed for focus, cooking, kids, and workouts
Features
Read full description

Visual Timer - Time you can actually see Make every minute count with a timer that's actually worth looking at. Visual Timer turns the wait into the show: nine beautiful, hand-crafted styles that each visualize time in a different way. Pick your style: • Circular - a classic clock-face wedge that drains as time runs out • Liquid - a wave-tinted pool that drains as the clock ticks • Pixel - a grid of pixels disappears one by one • Rain - thousands of tiny grains rain down and pile up to fill the screen • Blocks - falling pieces stack up to fill the screen • Maze - a snake winds across the screen until it fills every cell • Rings - concentric rainbow rings, one per minute, leaving a colored trail • Sun - the sun arcs across the sky, drifting from dawn through dusk to night • Path - a dot glides along a trail — follow the built-in curve or draw your own • Spread - a colorful infection blooms from a few seeds until it fills the screen Make it yours: • Pick any color for the timer fill or background • Use your own photos as a backdrop or foreground • Choose from 50+ alarm sounds, from a gentle chime to a rooster • Custom durations from a few seconds to several hours • Quick-pick recent durations and built-in presets Built for any moment: • Focus and deep work - visual progress without distraction • Cooking - set it on the counter and just glance over • Kids - turn time-outs, brushing teeth, or screen-time limits into something they actually watch • Workouts - clear interval timing without staring at numbers • Meditation - calm, smooth visuals that don't pull attention • Studying - Pomodoro sessions that look like part of the desk A timer that feels at home on your phone. Designed top-to-bottom for iOS - Liquid Glass controls, fluid animations, and dark-mode-first aesthetics.

About

GladeFocus

This app helps you stay focused by blocking distracting apps and websites. Earn virtual currency by completing focus sessions to grow a personalized digital garden and compete on a global leaderboard. Achieve milestones and unlock special trees to enhance your virtual landscape.

Highlights
  • Fully locked app and website blocking
  • Gamified focus sessions with Acorn rewards
  • Grow and customize a digital garden
  • Global and friend leaderboards
  • Scheduled, recurring, and Pomodoro sessions
  • Cross-device synchronization
Read full description

GladeFocus turns "I'll stop scrolling in a minute" into focus you can actually see grow. Start a session, and GladeFocus blocks your distracting apps and websites until your time is up. Every minute you stay focused earns Acorns and grows a garden that's entirely your own. Finish sessions, plant seeds, watch your trees mature, and climb the monthly leaderboard. Your focus is the only thing that grows it. FULLY LOCKED BLOCKING - Blocks distracting apps with no easy way to bypass - Blocks distracting websites in every browser, not just one - Blocking holds even if you try to wriggle out mid-session - Build blocklists once and reuse them for any session GROW YOUR GLADE - Every focused minute earns Acorns - Spend Acorns in the Seed Shop and plant your garden - Trees grow as you keep focusing, then harvest for more Acorns - Hit focus milestones to earn golden keepsake trees CLIMB THE LEADERBOARD - See how your focused time stacks up against the community - Monthly rankings that reset so there's always a fresh start - Compete with friends globally for rewards BUILT FOR REAL FOCUS - Schedule future sessions, recurring sessions, and pomodoro sessions - A session history so you can see your streaks and your slips - Your Glade: watch your focused time add up over the days - Clean, distraction-free design that gets out of your way SYNCS EVERYWHERE GladeFocus shares one account across iPhone, Mac, and Chrome. Your blocklists, sessions, garden, and history follow you across every device. GLADE PRO Upgrade to Glade Pro for unlimited blocklists and advanced session types (scheduled, recurring, and pomodoro). Pro is an auto-renewable subscription billed through your Apple ID. Everything else in the app, including all blocking and free session types, works without Pro. Sign in with Apple. No ads, no third-party tracking. Ready to actually get the thing done? Plant your focus. Start a session. Terms of Service: https://gladefocus.com/terms

Screenshots

Visual Timer4 screens
GladeFocus4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: GladeFocus at 5.0 against Visual Timer's 4.6. GladeFocus also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.4). Visual Timer's advantage is monetization model (free vs freemium) and ratings volume (46 vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Visual Timer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and GladeFocus sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $10.00 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

GladeFocus holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Visual Timer has 46 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Visual Timer ships an update every 2 weeks, GladeFocus every 4 weeks. Both last shipped on October 7, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Visual Timer versus GladeFocus: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVisual TimerGladeFocus
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (46 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings46 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 4 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.415.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size21 MB35 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperApplorium LtdWILLIAM LIU

Customer experience

Visual Timer

All ratings46 ratings
Positive91.3%
Neutral4.3%
Negative4.3%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative0.0%

GladeFocus

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Visual Timer

One-time1
  • Visual Timer Unlock$5.99
2 purchases

GladeFocus

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Monthly$10.001 Month
  • Pro Yearly$60.001 Year

Questions

Is Visual Timer free?
Visual Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is GladeFocus free?
GladeFocus is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Visual Timer or GladeFocus?
GladeFocus is rated higher. Visual Timer averages 4.6 out of 5 from 46 ratings, while GladeFocus averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Visual Timer or GladeFocus have ads?
Neither Visual Timer nor GladeFocus shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Visual Timer or GladeFocus?
Visual Timer ships an update every 2 weeks, and GladeFocus every 4 weeks. Most recently, Visual Timer was updated on October 7, 2026 and GladeFocus on October 7, 2026.

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