Terrible Focus vs Focus Cat
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.
Focus Cat
This app helps you build healthier phone habits by rewarding focused sessions with in-app currency. Use earned coins to temporarily unlock distracting apps, while maintaining streaks and keeping a virtual cat happy.
- Guard distracting apps
- Earn coins for focus sessions
- Unlock apps with earned coins
- Track daily streaks
- View bypass history
- Daily goals and achievements
- Collectible cat companions
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Focus Cat helps you build better phone habits with a simple loop: focus first, earn screen time, and keep your cat happy. Choose the apps you want to guard, start a focus session, and earn coins when you complete it. Use those coins to unlock guarded apps for a limited time when you actually need them. If you bypass your guard, your streak resets and your cat gets sad. If you stay consistent, your streak grows and your cat thrives. Features: - Guard distracting apps with Screen Time - Complete focus sessions to earn coins - Spend coins to temporarily unlock guarded apps - Track your daily streak and weekly progress - View bypass history so you can see what pulled you away - Daily goals and achievements for extra motivation - Cute collectible cat companions Focus Cat is built for people who want a gentler, more playful way to reduce mindless scrolling and protect their attention.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Terrible Focus at 5.0 against Focus Cat's 4.0. Terrible Focus also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1). Focus Cat's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 6 days) and ratings volume (3 vs 1). On price, review sentiment, 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
Both are free to download. Focus Cat sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Terrible Focus asks for nothing beyond the download.
Terrible Focus holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 3 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
Terrible Focus ships an update every 6 days, Focus Cat every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Terrible Focus | Focus Cat |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | 4.0 (3 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 3 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 days | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 16.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 40 MB | 96 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Verena Ortlieb | Jedidiah Kyle Julian |
Customer experience
Terrible Focus
Focus Cat
In-app purchases
Terrible Focus
No in-app purchases
Focus Cat
- Lifetime Access$2.99









