Comparison

Focus Timer vs Calendar Busy Sync

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

Head to head
About

Focus Timer

Features
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Plan your day in time boxes, focus on one block at a time and see where the time went, on iPhone and now on Mac. PLAN THE DAY β€’ Pick up to three priorities for today: your Big 3. β€’ Put tasks into time boxes on a timeline, each with a real start and end. β€’ Unfinished tasks come back to the list with a miss recorded, so the ones you keep dodging rise instead of sinking. FOCUS β€’ Start a box and the session counts down to its end, on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island too. β€’ Add at most three new tasks mid-session, so the running block doesn't turn back into an inbox. β€’ Widgets for your Big 3, today's focus progress and a quick way into your tasks. LOOK BACK β€’ A short review after each session: what got done, what went back and how it went. β€’ A monthly calendar shows focus time and finished tasks day by day. β€’ Insights chart your focus by week, month and year. ON IPHONE AND MAC β€’ With Premium, iCloud keeps tasks, time boxes and sessions in sync between your iPhone and your Mac. β€’ FocusMind for Mac adds a floating focus bar and a timer in the menu bar. β€’ Import a TickTick backup or a CSV file, and export your data any time. β€’ A Premium subscription or lifetime unlock covers both iPhone and Mac. FocusMind Premium Includes unlimited daily focus time, history older than 3 days and iCloud sync between iPhone and Mac. β€’ Length: 1 month or 1 year, renewed automatically each period β€’ Price: see in-app pricing for your region β€’ Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase β€’ Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period β€’ 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

Calendar Busy Sync

Features
Read full description

Connect separate work, client, and personal calendars and mirror only busy time across the calendars you choose. Calendar Busy Sync creates private Busy holds on your other calendars for accepted commitments so you can avoid double-booking without exposing event details.

Screenshots

Focus Timer4 screens
Calendar Busy Sync3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Calendar Busy Sync at none against Focus Timer's 4. Calendar Busy Sync also leads on iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.0). Focus Timer's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 months). On price, 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 Timer sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. Calendar Busy Sync asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Focus Timer ships an update every 5 days, Calendar Busy Sync every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences Β· 3 level
Focus Timer versus Calendar Busy Sync: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFocus TimerCalendar Busy Sync
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 5 days β€” betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo β€” better
DevicesiPhone, MaciPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.016.0 β€” better
Further details β€” not scored
Size10 MB10 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPentarabSous Chef Studio, Inc.

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Focus Timer

Subscriptions3
  • Weekly Premium$2.997 Days
  • FocusMind Monthly$4.991 Month
  • FocusMind Yearly$39.991 Year
One-time1
  • FocusMind Pro$49.99
None

Calendar Busy Sync

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Focus Timer free?
Focus Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Calendar Busy Sync free?
Calendar Busy Sync is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Focus Timer or Calendar Busy Sync have ads?
Neither Focus Timer nor Calendar Busy Sync shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Focus Timer or Calendar Busy Sync?
Focus Timer ships an update every 5 days, and Calendar Busy Sync every 2 months. Most recently, Focus Timer was updated on October 25, 2026 and Calendar Busy Sync on October 28, 2026.

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