Calm Focus vs Cortex
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side β with what reviewers say about each.
Calm Focus
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When the hustle and bustle of the outside world keeps disturbing your thoughts, and your attention gradually scatters amid complicated affairs, "Calm Focus" builds a peaceful corner for your soul, helping you regain inner peace and focus in the fast-paced life.β This app creates an immersive space for self-reflection with three core functions:β - Calm Focus - It provides multiple focus modes, allowing you to set the duration of focus as needed. It is paired with natural white noise (such as the sound of rain, birds chirping in the forest) and a simple timing interface, which helps isolate external interference, enhance concentration during work and study, and make every moment of focus efficient and fulfilling.β - Meditation and Contemplation - It covers a variety of meditation themes, ranging from breath regulation to stress relief, from emotional comfort to relaxation before sleep, and is equipped with professional guiding voices and soothing background music. Follow the guidance to gradually calm your thoughts, relieve anxiety through meditation, and regain inner stability and strength.β - Data Statistics - It automatically records data such as daily focus duration and the number of meditations, and generates intuitive weekly and monthly statistical reports. Through data review, you can clearly understand your focus and meditation habits, providing a reference for optimizing self-management and making growth traceable.β Whether you are eager to improve your concentration or need to soothe your body and mind through meditation, "Jingxin Zhuanzhu (Calm Focus)" can be your capable assistant, accompanying you to meet a better self in tranquility. Privacy PolicyοΌhttps://sites.google.com/view/calm-focus101/%E9%9A%90%E7%A7%81 EULAοΌhttps://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Cortex
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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
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Calm Focus at none against Cortex's 3. On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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
Both are free to download. Cortex sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Calm Focus asks for nothing beyond the download.
| Parameter | Calm Focus | Cortex |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | β | Every 5 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No β better | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod β better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 β better | 16.4 |
| Further details β not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 78 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | ε°ζ ε΄ | Dmitry Afanasyev |
In-app purchases
Calm Focus
No in-app purchases
Cortex
- AI Focus Timer Premium7 Days trial$6.991 Month
- AI Focus Timer Premium7 Days trial$49.991 Year
- AI Focus Timer Lifetime$99.99









