Comparison

Focus Timer vs OnLock

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

Head to head
About

Focus Timer

Features
Read full description

Lock In is a beautifully simple app designed to help you focus with intention and track your time meaningfully. Whether you're studying, working, or building better habits, Lock In keeps you grounded, one session at a time. Features at a Glance:Use our dual-mode Focus Timer or Stopwatch, manage your daily tasks, and visualize your time with powerful progress views that show every minute you’ve earned back. From Live Activities to deep session history, Lock In is built for momentum, not distractions. Features at a Glance: Daily Task Manager • Add, reorder, and group tasks by day • Swipe to create subtasks or remove items • Completion toggles with smart parent/child sync • Keyboard-aware quick add bar Focus Sessions: Timer or Stopwatch • Lock in your time with countdown or count-up modes • Animated progress ring with pause/resume controls • Use while editing tasks • Session time is saved, second-accurate Session History • View detailed logs per day: task completion, start-end times, durations • Swipe to delete any session Life & Time Statistics • See how many days you’ve been alive • Weekly, Monthly, and Yearly heatmaps • Visualize progress across the year Smart Reminders & Notifications • “Session Complete” and 8 PM check-in reminders • Never forget to lock in again Home & Lock Screen Widgets • Live Activity tracking via Dynamic Island and StandBy • Control widget to start/stop focus sessions Fully Themed & iPad Ready • Clean dark/light mode toggle • Optimized layout for iPhone and iPad Private by Design • Everything is stored locally using Core Data • No accounts, no ads, no distractions Start small. Stay consistent. Lock in, get out.

About

OnLock

This app enforces focus by locking distracting applications at the operating system level. It uses AI to verify study sessions with photos, ensuring your progress is genuine and building an earned streak. Features include scheduled blocks, intent journaling, and focus intelligence insights.

Highlights
  • OS-level distraction blocking
  • AI-verified study sessions
  • Streak building
  • Scheduled recurring blocks
  • Intent journaling
  • Focus intelligence insights
  • Home screen widgets
Features
Read full description

Studying doesn't fail because you're lazy. It fails because Instagram is one swipe away, and willpower is not a strategy. OnLock is the block you can't talk yourself out of. When a session starts, OnLock locks your distractions at the operating system level using Apple's Family Controls. No "5 more minutes." No uninstall trick. The shield holds until you finish. But blocking is the easy part. The hard part is proving the work was real. Before any session counts toward your streak, OnLock's AI reviews a photo of what you did. No proof, no credit. THE SHIELD • Un-bypassable OS-level enforcement built on Apple's Family Controls • Locks the apps that derail you: social, games, browsers, anything • Holds through restarts, app deletion, and panic uninstalls • Schedule recurring blocks for the hours you always slip AI PROOF • Submit a photo of your notes, work, or finished problem set • AI verifies the session was genuine study before your streak counts • Catches the "I just sat there" sessions you'd rather forget • Builds a streak you actually earned THE INTERVENTION • A quiet pause before every session to ask if this is really study time • Journal your intent so distraction has to argue with your own words • Reflect after to see what is actually working THE WHY ON A TIMER • Plot your exams on a real countdown • Every session lands against the clock • See what each lost hour costs you FOCUS INTELLIGENCE • Learns your peak hours, worst blockers, and patterns • Tells you when to study and when to stop pretending • Your data, your insight, never shared ALWAYS ON • Home screen widgets in three sizes • Lock screen complications for glanceable streaks • Quick Study: one tap and you're locked in THE AESTHETIC A calm, editorial interface designed to feel nothing like the apps it replaces. No infinite scroll. No screaming notifications. No dopamine arcade. Just focus. PRIVACY • Screen time data stays on your device • Built on Apple's native Family Controls and Screen Time APIs • Photos for AI proof are reviewed and discarded • No tracking, no sale, no leak FREE Every feature above is included, free. No subscription, no upsells, no locked tools. Stop trying harder. Start being unable. OnLock. The focus you can't undo. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://onlock-api.joshuawang2048.workers.dev/legal/privacy

Screenshots

Focus Timer4 screens
OnLock4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: OnLock at every 5 weeks against Focus Timer's every 6 months. OnLock also leads on iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.5). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Focus Timer ships an update every 6 months, OnLock every 5 weeks. Both last shipped on October 2, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Focus Timer versus OnLock: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFocus TimerOnLock
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 5 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.516.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB48 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperElementra LLCTing Ting Xu

In-app purchases

None

Focus Timer

No in-app purchases

None

OnLock

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Focus Timer free?
Focus Timer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is OnLock free?
OnLock is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Focus Timer or OnLock have ads?
Neither Focus Timer nor OnLock shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Focus Timer or OnLock?
Focus Timer ships an update every 6 months, and OnLock every 5 weeks. Most recently, Focus Timer was updated on October 2, 2026 and OnLock on October 2, 2026.

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