Comparison

Focus vs Phone Break

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

Head to head
About

Focus

Features
Read full description

Your brain forgot how to focus. You open Instagram for five minutes. Suddenly, it’s midnight. Focus helps you block distracting apps, reduce screen time, stop doomscrolling, and protect the time you want to spend studying, working, creating, or resting. BLOCK DISTRACTIONS BEFORE THEY STEAL YOUR TIME Choose the apps and websites that distract you most, then create a blocking system that works for your day. β€’ Start an immediate focus block β€’ Schedule recurring focus sessions β€’ Set daily app limits β€’ Control endless scrolling β€’ Protect study, work, and sleep time FOCUS THAT FIGHTS BACK When you try to open a distracting app, Focus interrupts the impulse and helps you return to what matters. Less mindless scrolling. More intentional time. BUILD VISIBLE MOMENTUM Small focus sessions turn into meaningful progress. β€’ Complete focus sessions β€’ Build and maintain streaks β€’ Earn XP and unlock progress β€’ Track your focused time β€’ See the time you are taking back CREATE A SYSTEM THAT WORKS FOR YOU Use Focus for: β€’ Studying and exam preparation β€’ Deep work and creative projects β€’ Reducing social media use β€’ Building healthier screen habits β€’ Staying present during your day β€’ Creating distraction-free routines YOU DON’T NEED MORE WILLPOWER Distractions are designed to keep you scrolling. Focus gives you the structure, friction, and accountability needed to break the automatic loop. Set your limits. Protect your attention. Build better habits. Take your time back with Focus. Some features require a Focus Pro subscription. Subscription details and pricing are displayed before purchase. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://focuslife.space/privacy-policy

About

Phone Break

Features
Read full description

Phone Break helps you create space from the apps you use more than you intend. Choose the apps, categories, or websites you want to pause. YOUR LIMITS, YOUR WAY β€’ Take a timed break for 15, 30, or 60 minutes. β€’ Set a combined daily limit from 15 to 480 minutes. β€’ Set daily limits for individual apps from 5 to 480 minutes. β€’ Block selected items on specific days and hours, including overnight schedules. β€’ Pause for 5, 8, or 10 seconds on each app open (requires an app-opening automation in Shortcuts). β€’ Choose whether to continue or close after each additional 30 minutes of use counted after enabling usage breaks. β€’ In Strict Mode, active timed breaks, scheduled blocking, and reached daily limits cannot be changed or disabled inside the app until they end. β€’ Standard Mode offers one five-minute grace period per day for the combined daily cap, with automatic relock. β€’ See Screen Time suggestions and compare the last seven completed days with the seven before them. Rules work together. Continuing from a pause never removes daily caps or scheduled blocking. For Pause on each open, create a Shortcuts App automation, select Is Opened and Run Immediately, then add Phone Break’s Pause When App Opens action. A step-by-step guide is included in the app. Elapsed clock time alone no longer brings back the opening pause. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Individual app names and usage details are displayed inside Apple's protected Device Activity Report. Selection tokens, restriction settings, and break state stay on your device. There are no accounts, ads, analytics SDKs, external servers, or cloud sync. Screen Time authorization is required. You can revoke access in iPhone Settings or delete the app. Phone Break is a digital wellbeing tool, not a medical product, diagnosis, or treatment.

Screenshots

Focus4 screens
Phone Break3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Phone Break at none against Focus's 3. On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. Focus sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per 7 days. Phone Break asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Focus ships an update every 9 days, Phone Break every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference Β· 5 level
Focus versus Phone Break: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFocusPhone Break
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysEvery 5 days β€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo β€” better
DevicesiPhone, iPad β€” betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.0 β€” better17.0
Further details β€” not scored
Size88 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMohammed Sunain AliAtsushi Hashimoto

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Focus

Subscriptions3
  • Focus Pro Weekly$3.997 Days
  • Focus Pro Monthly3 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Focus Pro Yearly3 Days trial$24.991 Year
None

Phone Break

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Focus free?
Focus is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Phone Break free?
Phone Break is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Focus or Phone Break have ads?
Neither Focus nor Phone Break shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Focus or Phone Break?
Focus ships an update every 9 days, and Phone Break every 5 days. Most recently, Focus was updated on October 24, 2026 and Phone Break on October 12, 2026.

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