Comparison

Focus Timer vs TimelineNote

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

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 • Pick up to three priorities for today: your Big 3. • Put tasks into time boxes on a timeline, each with a real start and end. • Unfinished tasks come back to the list with a miss recorded, so the ones you keep dodging rise instead of sinking. FOCUS • Start a box and the session counts down to its end, on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island too. • Add at most three new tasks mid-session, so the running block doesn't turn back into an inbox. • Widgets for your Big 3, today's focus progress and a quick way into your tasks. LOOK BACK • A short review after each session: what got done, what went back and how it went. • A monthly calendar shows focus time and finished tasks day by day. • Insights chart your focus by week, month and year. ON IPHONE AND MAC • With Premium, iCloud keeps tasks, time boxes and sessions in sync between your iPhone and your Mac. • FocusMind for Mac adds a floating focus bar and a timer in the menu bar. • Import a TickTick backup or a CSV file, and export your data any time. • 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. • 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

TimelineNote

This app organizes your notes and memories on a visual timeline, making it easy to revisit past ideas. Capture text, photos, and voice memos, then explore your data with unique visualizations to discover patterns and connections.

Highlights
  • Visual timeline organization
  • Text notes with Markdown
  • Photo and voice memo attachments
  • Speech-to-text transcription
  • Customizable categories and tags
  • Insightful data visualizations
Features
Read full description

TimelineNote is a personal note-taking and journaling app that organizes notes on a visual timeline. Unlike traditional note apps that use folders or flat lists, TimelineNote displays every note as a card on a scrollable chronological timeline, allowing users to revisit ideas and memories by when they were created. The app solves the problem of losing chronological context in note-taking. Users can capture text notes with Markdown formatting, attach photos, and record voice memos with automatic speech-to-text transcription. Notes are organized by customizable categories and tags. The Insights feature provides six unique visualizations of the user's notes: Mind Map, Data Charts, Word Cloud, Knowledge Graph, Statistics Dashboard, and Markdown Reader — helping users discover patterns and connections in their writing over time. The target audience is individuals who journal, take meeting notes, capture ideas, or keep a personal diary — students, writers, and knowledge workers. This is a single-user productivity app with no social or collaborative features.

Screenshots

Focus Timer4 screens
TimelineNote4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: TimelineNote at none against Focus Timer's 4. TimelineNote also leads on iOS requirement (17.0 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 · 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. TimelineNote asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Focus Timer ships an update every 5 days, TimelineNote every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Focus Timer versus TimelineNote: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFocus TimerTimelineNote
PriceFreeFree
Rating—3.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, MaciPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPentarabXuchen Sun

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

TimelineNote

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Focus Timer free?
Focus Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is TimelineNote free?
TimelineNote is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Focus Timer or TimelineNote have ads?
Neither Focus Timer nor TimelineNote shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Focus Timer or TimelineNote?
Focus Timer ships an update every 5 days, and TimelineNote every 2 months. Most recently, Focus Timer was updated on October 9, 2026 and TimelineNote on October 6, 2026.

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