Terrible Focus vs Flowmodoro
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Terrible Focus
This app uses a unique approach to focus by locking your phone while a virtual potato companion builds a home. Your focus directly contributes to their progress, creating a sense of shared accomplishment without pressure or punishment. It offers a gentle, human-made experience designed to reduce phone-related anxiety.
- Phone locking focus timer
- Virtual companion progress
- Hand-drawn art and animations
- Pause sessions without penalty
- Dynamic, evolving environment
- No streaks or user comparison
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Every app wants something from you. The potato just wants to build a home. They've found a clearing in the forest and need your help. How It Works The potato suggests two tasks. Do you want to "Build the Bed" or "Water the Garden"? Pick one. Set your timer anywhere from 5 to 120 minutes. Your phone locks. While you focus on whatever you actually need to do, the potato works on what you picked. Every minute you focus is a minute they work. When you come back, you see what was built. The potato tries out the new bed. Sits in the chair you made together. Uses the workbench. The Potato Doesn't Die Take a week off? The potato's fine. They don't get sad. They don't punish you. They're just there when you get back, wandering around, reading by the water, living their life. Need to pause mid-session? Tap "Give me a minute." The potato takes a break too. Your life is allowed to exist. The potato doesn't track streaks or compare you to other users. Coming back after a break feels like reuniting with a friend, not admitting defeat. A World That Actually Lives The potato wakes up with the sun. Works on projects. Gets tired. Sleeps at night. You can start a focus session at 2 AM and they'll wake up, ready to work. The clearing changes too. Nature slowly reclaims the edges. Things get a bit messy and need tidying. It becomes more lived-in over time, not frozen in place. This isn't a pet begging for attention. It's a companion who has their own thing going on but genuinely can't build without your focus. Hand-Drawn, All of It Every sprite, every animation, every element was drawn by hand. Hours at a drawing tablet, trying to make something that felt real. You can tell a person made this. The roughness is intentional. What Happens When You Finish After a couple weeks of regular sessions, you'll finish the Home Pack. The clearing becomes a cozy, complete home. The last thing you build is a bridge that reveals a path leading somewhere else. Want to see what's beyond? You can buy the next pack. Want to stay in the clearing? The home is complete. You can keep it tidy, spend time with the potato, or just be in the space you built together. Who This Is For You're tired of fighting your phone. Other focus apps feel like punishment. You want something wholesome that doesn't make you feel worse. Streaks give you anxiety. You need a tool that gets that you're human. What This Isn't This isn't a productivity tracker. Not a habit app. Not a virtual pet demanding you check in daily or it dies. Not gamification pretending to make focus fun. It's just a place where putting your phone down feels like helping someone who needs you. Apps want your attention, your data, your engagement. The potato just wants to finish the table.
Flowmodoro
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Stop letting a 25-minute timer break your flow. Flowmodoro is built on the Flowtime Technique: focus for as long as you're in the zone, then take a break earned from the time you actually put in. Prefer the classic method? A full Pomodoro timer is built in — pick either one and switch anytime. WHY FLOWMODORO The Pomodoro problem: you finally reach deep focus, and the timer forces a break. Your flow is destroyed. The Flowmodoro answer: work until you decide to stop. Your break is calculated from your focus time. TWO WAYS TO FOCUS - Flowmodoro (Flowtime): the timer counts up. Stop when you're done and your break is earned from your focus time. Set your own break ratio. - Classic Pomodoro: focus, short break, long break — your own durations and long-break interval, with presets to start from. FLOW ZONES Watch a session move from Struggle to Warm-up to Flow to Deep Flow as the minutes add up. You can see the moment you actually arrive — and you'll think twice before stopping. DEEP FOCUS: BLOCK DISTRACTING APPS Choose the apps that pull you away and they won't open while the timer is running. Strict Mode removes the escape hatch, and a daily override limit keeps you honest when it doesn't. WHITE NOISE Nine ambient sounds — brown, pink, white, rain, ocean, underwater, wind, stream and fire — with volume control. It also keeps focus and break switching automatically while your phone is locked. LOCK SCREEN AND HOME SCREEN - Live Activity: your timer on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island - Home Screen widget: start, pause and stop without opening the app - Today's focus time and session count at a glance STATISTICS THAT SHOW PROGRESS - Daily and weekly trends - Monthly and yearly trends, activity heatmap and best streak - Category breakdown: see where your hours actually go - Session history you can edit - Export a full JSON backup or a CSV for analysis, and import to restore - Optional iCloud sync across your devices CATEGORIES Tag every session — Work, Study, Exercise, Reading, or your own — and filter any statistic by category. EIGHT LANGUAGES English, 한국어, 日本語, 中文, Deutsch, Français, Português, Русский. WHO IS THIS FOR - Students preparing for exams - Professionals who need deep work - Freelancers and creators - People with ADHD or focus challenges - Pomodoro users frustrated by interruptions FLOWMODORO PRO - Monthly and yearly statistics with category breakdown - Dark mode and theme colors - Auto-start the next focus session after a break - Export and import your data - No ads Available monthly, yearly, or as a one-time lifetime purchase. THE FLOWTIME TECHNIQUE 1. Start your focus session 2. Work until you naturally need a break 3. Get a break length calculated from your focus time 4. Come back refreshed and start again No more fighting the timer. Flow with your focus. Questions or feedback: raynearsoft@gmail.com This app is subject to Apple's standard terms and conditions (EULA). For more information, see Apple's Standard Terms and Conditions(https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/).
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Terrible Focus at none against Flowmodoro's 3. Terrible Focus also leads on ads (none vs shown). Flowmodoro's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 4 months) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price 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
Both are free to download. Flowmodoro sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Terrible Focus asks for nothing beyond the download.
Terrible Focus ships an update every 4 months, Flowmodoro every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Terrible Focus | Flowmodoro |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 34 MB | 121 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Verena Ortlieb | RaynearSoft LLC |
In-app purchases
Terrible Focus
No in-app purchases
Flowmodoro
- Monthly Premium$2.991 Month
- Yearly Premium$19.991 Year
- Lifetime Premium$39.99









