Comparison

freewrite. vs FocusBuddy.

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

Head to head
About

freewrite.

This app provides a distraction-free writing environment with a focus on timed sessions and AI-powered insights. It offers a clean canvas, rich text formatting, and private local storage to help users capture raw thoughts and discover creative breakthroughs.

Highlights
  • Timer-based writing sessions
  • Distraction-free canvas
  • AI-powered insights
  • Rich text formatting
  • Private local storage
  • Beautiful archives
Read full description

a training ground for the creative mind. daily stream-of-consciousness writing in a space that never judges what comes out — and reads the patterns back to you. five minutes at the page. no editing, no going back, no grading. what pours out is raw material, however dumb, unrelated or half-formed — and the app's only job is to keep that stream safe from friction, second-guessing and everything else asking for your attention. then it shows you what you have been circling. the page a blank page and a timer. no notifications, no formatting to fuss over, no counter watching you. don't-stop mode quietly declines to let you delete, for the nights your hand keeps reaching backwards. voice, for the nights typing isn't it. the nightly ritual before the page, a moment to place how you are. eight ways to answer, including declining to claim a side. it lights the room, never the page. reflections the themes running underneath weeks of writing — the ones nobody consciously links. read back in plain language, once a day, and built only from what is actually there. the tree your practice grows something. every night you write adds to a tree that is yours alone. it never shrinks, and it never counts anything back at you. quotes turn a line from your reading into a card worth keeping. choose the ground, move the type, share it or don't. the archive every entry as a curtain you pull through, lit by the mood of whatever sits at the centre. widgets four of them. your year as a grid of nights, your tree on the home screen, tonight's prompt, and one tap straight to a blank page. gentle prompts a line to push off from on the nights the page is too blank. off, occasional, or regular. reminders that pay attention they stay quiet on the nights you have already written. nothing nags you for something you did. what you write stays on your phone entries are stored on the device and no entry is uploaded in the background. nothing you write is ever used to train anything. asking for a reading is the one exception, and it is always your choice: that single entry is sent to the model that writes it back, for that one request. writing, the timer, the archive, widgets and reminders are free, and stay free. reflections and the quote cards are the subscription. terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ privacy policy: https://humanmadethings.co.uk/freewrite/privacy/

About

FocusBuddy.

Features
Read full description

Buddy has one mission: help you focus without overcomplicating your life! You know that feeling when you want to make progress on something important, but your focus fades after just a few minutes? We've all been there. That's exactly why we created FocusBuddy. FocusBuddy is a Pomodoro timer designed for you. No complicated features, no cluttered interface. Just you, your goal, and well-paced work sessions that respect your way of working. The interface is clean, fast, distraction-free. You open the app, enter your habits, priorities, tasks, hit play and you're off! As soon as you land in the app, your dashboard lets you see your progress and task completion at a glance, pressure-free, with Buddy! Ready to reconnect with your focus? Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

freewrite.4 screens
FocusBuddy.4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: freewrite. at none against FocusBuddy.'s shown. FocusBuddy.'s advantage is iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, 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. freewrite. sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per 7 days and FocusBuddy. sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
freewrite. versus FocusBuddy.: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameterfreewrite.FocusBuddy.
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 9 days—
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS26.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size37 MB12 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperAlex TrubacsAnthony HAEMMERLIN

In-app purchases

2 purchases

freewrite.

Subscriptions2
  • Weekly7 Days trial$3.997 Days
  • Monthly$9.991 Month
3 purchases

FocusBuddy.

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Monthly$0.991 Month
  • Premium Yearly$3.991 Year
One-time1
  • Premium Lifetime$4.99

Questions

Is freewrite. free?
freewrite. is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is FocusBuddy. free?
FocusBuddy. is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do freewrite. or FocusBuddy. have ads?
FocusBuddy. shows ads; freewrite. does not.

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