Comparison

Good Job Doggy vs Cortex

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

Head to head
About

Good Job Doggy

Features
Read full description

The World’s Cutest Focus Timer! Focus happily with your adorable puppy. Your puppy helps you overcome procrastination and lack of willpower! When you finish tasks, he dances for you. While you focus, he works on his own tasks too. Meet the cutest focus mate in the world! CHARMING POINTS 1. Healing Timer: The Joy of Praise Studying or working alone can be lonely. But not anymore! Your puppy stays by your side while you focus. When you reach your goal, he celebrates with a wild dance and fireworks! Small wins build solid habits. 2. Gamified Focus: Decorate Your "My Baby" Get 'Bones' for every minute you focus! Use your hard-earned bones to move from a barren land to a lush grassy field. Buy cool costumes (like sunglasses!) to create your own hip puppy. 3. Daily Focus Receipt "You Did It!" Get a sentimental, aesthetic receipt of your intense day. Share it with friends or on Instagram Stories. The cute design is a bonus! PERFECT FOR... - Anyone bored of stiff, boring Pomodoro timers - Students preparing for exams who need "Deep Work" - ADHD users looking for fun motivation - Anyone who wants to fix procrastination with a smile Download "Good Job Doggy" now and adopt your own puppy! We cheer for every moment you focus!

About

Cortex

Features
Read full description

Cortex is a focus timer for deep work and study β€” Pomodoro 25/5, Long Focus 50/10, Short Sprint 15/3, an open-ended Flow mode, 19 ambient tracks and a sleep timer. Built for people who think for a living: students revising for exams, developers and designers in deep work, writers, and anyone with ADHD who needs sound and structure to get started. Four timer modes, three focus sounds, session history, streaks, heatmaps and Apple Health are free. Premium adds the AI Adaptive mode, 16 more sounds, the sleep timer, custom presets, Health Insights and the weekly report. No ads, no account, no sign-up. You track your workouts. Your sleep. Your macros. But not your focus. Cortex closes that gap: it measures your sessions, sizes the next one around your recovery, and shows you the hours your attention actually peaks. STRUCTURED FOCUS MODES Pomodoro (25/5) β€” Classic deep work intervals Long Focus (50/10) β€” Extended sessions for complex tasks Short Sprint (15/3) β€” A low-friction way to start on a bad day Flow Mode (no limit) β€” Open-ended, stop when you are done AI Adaptive (Premium) β€” Session length set for you, not guessed Custom Timers (Premium) β€” Your own work rhythm, up to 10 presets AI ADAPTIVE TIMER (PREMIUM) Instead of asking how long you can concentrate, Cortex works it out. With Apple Health connected it reads your heart rate variability and last night's sleep; without Health it falls back to a time-of-day model. Keep finishing your sessions and it extends them. 19 AMBIENT TRACKS Focus: lo-fi beats, acoustic, downtempo, neo-classical, space ambient, cinematic, chillwave, jazz hop, deep pulse, ethereal piano. Sleep: ethereal pads, deep drone, analog wash, submarine, harp lullaby, binaural, distant choir, zen garden, zero gravity. Three focus tracks ship inside the app and are free. The other 16 come with Premium and download on demand, Wi-Fi recommended. Audio keeps playing with the screen locked. SLEEP TIMER (PREMIUM) Six durations from 15 minutes to 2 hours. Sound fades out gradually and stops β€” no alarm at the end. A morning check-in records how you slept and whether you woke up rested; with Apple Health connected, the sleep screen also shows last night's stages and a sleep score. DATA, NOT FEELINGS Focus Score β€” weekly performance metric Peak Hours β€” the hours your attention actually peaks Heatmaps β€” focus patterns across the month Weekly Report β€” personalized recommendations computed on device from your own sessions (Premium; the first week is free) Streaks & Achievements β€” gamified progress that compounds daily CSV export of every session (Premium) APPLE HEALTH, READ ONLY Only when you tap Connect, and only three data types: heart rate variability, resting heart rate and sleep analysis. Cortex never writes anything to Apple Health. Those readings, and the recovery and sleep scores computed from them, stay on your device and are not sent to analytics. The app works fully without Health. 10 languages Β· Neo-brutalist design Β· No ads Β· No data selling Β· Usage analytics can be switched off in Settings Built for people who use Notion, Linear, and Arc β€” not pastel wellness apps Your brain is a machine. We help you run it at peak RPM. --- SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION Cortex Premium is available as Monthly, Annual, or Lifetime purchase. - Payment is charged to your Apple ID at purchase confirmation - Subscriptions automatically renew unless canceled 24+ hours before period end - Manage or cancel anytime in Account Settings after purchase - Privacy Policy: https://cortex-focus.com/privacy/ - Terms of Use: https://cortex-focus.com/terms/

Screenshots

Good Job Doggy4 screens
Cortex4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Good Job Doggy at none against Cortex's 3. Cortex's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, update cadence, device support and iOS requirement 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. Cortex sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Good Job Doggy asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Good Job Doggy ships an update weekly, Cortex every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences Β· 4 level
Good Job Doggy versus Cortex: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGood Job DoggyCortex
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 5 days β€” better
AdsYesNo β€” better
In-app purchasesNo β€” betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPod β€” betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 β€” better16.4
Further details β€” not scored
Size73 MB78 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperIGODE96Dmitry Afanasyev

In-app purchases

None

Good Job Doggy

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Cortex

Subscriptions2
  • AI Focus Timer Premium7 Days trial$6.991 Month
  • AI Focus Timer Premium7 Days trial$49.991 Year
One-time1
  • AI Focus Timer Lifetime$99.99

Questions

Is Good Job Doggy free?
Good Job Doggy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Cortex free?
Cortex is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Good Job Doggy or Cortex have ads?
Good Job Doggy shows ads; Cortex does not.
Which is updated more often, Good Job Doggy or Cortex?
Good Job Doggy ships an update weekly, and Cortex every 5 days. Most recently, Good Job Doggy was updated on October 12, 2026 and Cortex on October 18, 2026.

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