Comparison

Focused vs SecondBrain

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

Head to head
About

Focused

This app helps you track, analyze, and share your focus sessions. It offers advanced analytics, app blocking during sessions, and multiple timer modes including Pomodoro. Set daily and weekly goals to improve your productivity and understand your time management.

Highlights
  • Track focus sessions
  • Advanced analytics and insights
  • Block distracting apps
  • Pomodoro and other timer modes
  • Organize sessions with tags
  • Create and share session summaries
  • Set daily and weekly focus goals
Read full description

Turn screen time into focus time. Focused helps you start real focus sessions, block distracting apps while you work, and track the progress you make every day. Whether you are studying, reading, working, building a business, or trying to spend less time scrolling, Focused gives you a simple system for locking in and finishing focused work. What you can do with Focused: Block distracting apps during focus sessions Track your daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly focus time. Use unlimited, timed, or Pomodoro-style sessions Tag sessions like Deep Work, Study, Reading, or Research See analytics that show when you focus best Share your focus with custom focus shareables. Set goals that help you build a routine you can keep Focused is for people who are tired of feeling scattered and want a clearer, calmer, more consistent way to work. *Focused is a subscription-based app. After onboarding, an active subscription is required to access the app’s features, including starting focus sessions, viewing analytics, sharing your focus with shareables, blocking distracting apps, and other Focused features.* Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://focusedtermsofservice.notion.site/Privacy-Policy-2d2372924bc48032aa9ef7bcebbf8e2d

About

SecondBrain

This app automatically transcribes, titles, and files your spoken thoughts, creating a self-organizing note system. It can convert voice notes into calendar events, provide daily summaries, and allow you to chat with your saved information.

Highlights
  • Automatic transcription and titling
  • AI-powered self-organizing notes
  • Voice to calendar event creation
  • Daily morning briefing summaries
  • Chat with your notes for answers
  • 3D brain graph visualization
  • Full-text search
  • Cross-app sharing
Features
Read full description

Most of what you hear, think and plan today is gone by tomorrow. Speak your mind. SecondBrain writes it down, gives it a title, and files it for you. No folders to manage. No typing. Just talk, and your thoughts organize themselves. The AI note app for people who think out loud. WHY SECONDBRAIN • Capture in seconds: speak, type, or share a thought and it is saved instantly • Zero organizing: AI transcribes, titles, and files every note into a self-building folder tree • Voice to schedule: say "dentist Tuesday 4pm" and it creates real events in Calendar and Reminders • Morning briefing: wake up to a daily summary of your day and what matters • Ask your brain: chat with your notes and get answers from everything you have saved • Brain graph: explore your ideas as a living 3D map of connected notes • Search everything: full-text search finds any note in an instant • Share from anywhere: send text, links, images, or audio from any app into SecondBrain • 20+ languages: speak in your language and get replies in your language BUILT FOR BUSY MINDS Founder juggling clients, student capturing lectures, or just someone with too many thoughts to hold? SecondBrain is the frictionless place to put them all. Brain-dump on the go and let the AI do the filing. WORKS WHERE YOU DO Your notes sync to the web at app.secondbrain.icu. Pro users can connect SecondBrain as memory for AI assistants through the MCP connector. SECONDBRAIN PRO Go unlimited: unlimited notes, unlimited AI capture and answers, plus the AI assistant connector. Start with a free trial, then subscribe yearly or monthly. Cancel anytime. Payment is charged to your Apple ID. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your App Store account settings. Terms of use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy policy: https://secondbrain.icu/privacy

Screenshots

Focused4 screens
SecondBrain4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: SecondBrain at free with in-app purchases against Focused's subscription. SecondBrain also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 3 weeks) and rating (5.0 vs 4.6). Focused's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, ratings volume 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. Focused sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per month and SecondBrain sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SecondBrain holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 6 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Focused ships an update every 3 weeks, SecondBrain every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Focused versus SecondBrain: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFocusedSecondBrain
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (5 ratings)5.0 (6 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings56 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 3 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS1715.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size82 MB73 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMatthew MoronesFederico Cesarini

Customer experience

Focused

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

SecondBrain

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Focused

Subscriptions5
  • Focused$12.991 Month
  • Focused$14.991 Month
  • Focused$29.991 Year
Show 2 more
  • Focused$39.991 Year
  • Focused$49.991 Year
3 purchases

SecondBrain

Subscriptions3
  • SecondBrain Pro$8.991 Month
  • SecondBrain Pro Yearly3 Days trial$34.991 Year
  • SecondBrain Pro Yearly3 Days trial$44.991 Year

Questions

Is Focused free?
Focused is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SecondBrain free?
SecondBrain is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Focused or SecondBrain?
SecondBrain is rated higher. Focused averages 4.6 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while SecondBrain averages 5.0 from 6 ratings.
Do Focused or SecondBrain have ads?
SecondBrain shows ads; Focused does not.
Which is updated more often, Focused or SecondBrain?
Focused ships an update every 3 weeks, and SecondBrain every 3 days. Most recently, Focused was updated on October 1, 2026 and SecondBrain on October 10, 2026.

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