Comparison

Focus Timer vs LightYou

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

Organize tasks, plan focus time and review your day with FocusMind. Choose up to three priorities, assign tasks to time boxes and use the session timer. View your schedule on the timeline, then check completed tasks, focus time and daily reviews. See your progress in charts and widgets. FocusMind Premium Includes unlimited daily focus time and access to history older than 3 days. • Length: 1 month or 1 year, renewed automatically each period • Price: see in-app pricing for your region • Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase • Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period • Subscriptions may be managed and auto-renewal turned off in your Account Settings on the App Store Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.pentarab.com/focusmind/terms Privacy Policy: https://www.pentarab.com/focusmind/privacy

About

LightYou

Save, organize, and understand web articles with AI. This app transforms your reading into a searchable knowledge vault, offering a distraction-free reader, annotation tools, and spaced repetition for long-term retention. It prioritizes user privacy with local storage and optional WebDAV sync.

Highlights
  • One-tap article saving
  • Customizable reader view
  • Highlighting and annotation
  • AI-powered chat and summaries
  • Spaced repetition review
  • WebDAV sync for cross-device access
  • Offline reading
Features
Read full description

LightYou — Your Reading Library, Reimagined Save every article worth reading. Highlight what matters. Ask AI anything about your library. LightYou turns the web into your personal, searchable knowledge vault. ▸ SAVE IN ONE TAP Share from Safari, Twitter, or anywhere on iOS. LightYou extracts the article content — no ads, no clutter, just the words. ▸ BEAUTIFUL READER Customize font, size, and theme (light, sepia, dark). Reader view strips out distractions so you can focus on what matters. ▸ HIGHLIGHT & ANNOTATE Select any text to highlight it in three colors. Add private notes. Your highlights become a searchable knowledge base. ▸ AI-POWERED UNDERSTANDING Chat with any article — ask questions, get summaries, translate passages, or explain difficult concepts. Powered by your choice of LLM API. ▸ SPACED REPETITION REVIEW LightYou surfaces articles worth revisiting on a spaced schedule, so the ideas you care about stay with you long-term. ▸ HOME SCREEN WIDGET A beautiful iOS widget keeps your top review items one glance away — with native dark mode support. ▸ WEBDAV SYNC Sync articles, highlights, and notes across all your devices via your own WebDAV server. Your data stays yours — no third-party accounts required. ▸ PRIVACY FIRST All articles stored locally on your device. AI requests use your own API keys. Optional WebDAV sync uses your own server. We never see your data. ▸ OFFLINE READING Saved articles are cached locally — read anytime, anywhere, with no connection. ▸ BEAUTIFUL IN BOTH LANGUAGES Full Chinese and English support, with typography that respects each language. Whether you're a researcher, student, writer, or just a curious reader, LightYou helps you go from "I'll read this later" to actually reading, understanding, and remembering. Start building your library today.

Screenshots

Focus Timer4 screens
LightYou4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: LightYou at none against Focus Timer's 4. LightYou also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (17.6 vs 26.0). Focus Timer's advantage is update cadence (every 6 days vs every 3 weeks). On price and ads 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. Focus Timer sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. LightYou asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Focus Timer ships an update every 6 days, LightYou every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 5 level
Focus Timer versus LightYou: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFocus TimerLightYou
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS26.017.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB60 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPentarab涛 李

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Focus Timer

Subscriptions3
  • Weekly Premium$2.997 Days
  • FocusMind Premium (Monthly)$4.991 Month
  • FocusMind Premium (Yearly)$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • FocusMind Premium (Lifetime)$39.99
None

LightYou

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Focus Timer free?
Focus Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is LightYou free?
LightYou is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Focus Timer or LightYou have ads?
Neither Focus Timer nor LightYou shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Focus Timer or LightYou?
Focus Timer ships an update every 6 days, and LightYou every 3 weeks. Most recently, Focus Timer was updated on September 22, 2026 and LightYou on September 12, 2026.

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