Comparison

TimeBox vs EmpiricCommander File Manager

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

Head to head
About

TimeBox

Features
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Stop juggling endless tasks. Start mastering your day. TimeBox is a minimalist time management app designed for people who want to work with intention, not just stay busy. Built around the proven time-blocking method, TimeBox helps you plan your perfect day in minutes. WHY TIMEBOX? Most productivity apps encourage you to pile on more tasks. TimeBox does the opposite. With a strict limit of 3 top priority tasks per day, you're forced to choose what truly matters. The result? Less stress, more focus, better results. CORE FEATURES โ€ข Time-Blocking Made Simple - Schedule your day in focused blocks of time โ€ข 3-Task Daily Limit - Ruthlessly prioritize what actually needs to get done โ€ข Brain Dump - Capture all your ideas without cluttering your daily plan โ€ข Smart Notifications - Stay on track with gentle reminders for your time blocks โ€ข Progress Tracking - See your completion rate and build momentum โ€ข Daily Archive - Review past plans and celebrate your progress โ€ข Beautiful Design - Clean, calming interface that respects your attention PERFECT FOR Professionals overwhelmed by endless to-do lists Students managing multiple projects and deadlines Entrepreneurs who need to focus on high-impact work Anyone who wants to feel more in control of their time People seeking work-life balance through intentional planning THE TIMEBOX PHILOSOPHY We believe that true productivity isn't about doing more, it's about doing what matters. By limiting your daily priorities to just three tasks, TimeBox helps you: Make better decisions about how to spend your time Reduce anxiety from overwhelming task lists Build the habit of intentional planning Achieve meaningful progress every single day

About

EmpiricCommander File Manager

Features
Read full description

A real file manager for iPad - and for Mac and iPhone. Two panes side by side, drag between them, and move files where they belong without exporting or round-tripping through the Files app. PHOTOS OFF YOUR PHONE The Files app cannot see your photo library. EmpiricCommander can: browse your albums like folders and copy them to a USB-C drive, your NAS, SFTP, S3 - any destination, no account required. Originals are copied byte for byte with EXIF and location intact, a second run copies only what is new, and Free Up Space deletes a photo only after the copy has been read back and verified. THE WHOLE LOOP, NO MAC NEEDED Clone a repository over HTTPS or SSH, open a file in the built-in editor with syntax highlighting, stage your changes, commit, and push - on iPad and iPhone, without a separate terminal app. A commit log with a rendered branch and merge graph shows what happened, per-file diffs show exactly what changed, and merge conflicts are resolved in-app, per file. A REAL SSH TERMINAL An interactive shell to your server, from inside the file manager, on Mac, iPad and iPhone. iOS ships no ssh binary, so this is a full client implementation rather than a wrapper around a system tool. CONNECT TO WHAT YOU ALREADY HAVE SMB network shares (your NAS, Mac, or Windows PC), SFTP with key authentication, S3 and S3-compatible storage, FTP, WebDAV, Azure Blob, Dropbox, and more - browsed, copied, and moved like local folders. Your connection list syncs across your devices through iCloud; passwords stay in the Keychain and are never uploaded. BUILT FOR REAL FILE WORK - Dual-pane on Mac and iPad, with a tab bar on iPhone. - Streaming transfers, including remote to remote, with progress that survives leaving the app. - Folder Sync in four modes, and Compare Folders with SHA-256 verification so you can prove a copy is byte-for-byte identical. - Batch rename with regex, numbering and dates, previewed before it runs. - Browse inside ZIP archives like folders; create ZIP and TAR/GZ; read password-protected archives. - Duplicate finder, disk-usage treemap, checksums, permissions editor. - Quick Look plus rich preview for CSV, JSON, Markdown, YAML, TOML and source code. - Full hardware-keyboard support on iPad: arrows, shift-selection, Tab, Esc, Return, Space. ON-DEVICE AI Describe a batch rename in plain words, or summarize a document, using Apple Intelligence. It runs entirely on your device: no account, no API key, no per-use cost, and your filenames and file contents never leave the device. ONE PURCHASE, THREE PLATFORMS Buy once and use EmpiricCommander on your Mac, iPad and iPhone - one device of each type. Not a subscription. This major version and all of its updates are included. PRIVACY No tracking. Diagnostics are strictly opt-in.

Screenshots

TimeBox4 screens
EmpiricCommander File Manager4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: EmpiricCommander File Manager at every 2 days against TimeBox's every 6 weeks. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. TimeBox sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and EmpiricCommander File Manager sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

TimeBox ships an update every 6 weeks, EmpiricCommander File Manager every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference ยท 5 level
TimeBox versus EmpiricCommander File Manager: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTimeBoxEmpiricCommander File Manager
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 2 days โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size16 MB32 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAdam MarkockiBurlac Mihail

In-app purchases

3 purchases

TimeBox

One-time3
  • Espresso Shot$2.99
  • Fuel the Code$4.99
  • Java Top-Up$12.99
1 purchases

EmpiricCommander File Manager

One-time1
  • EmpiricCommander Pro$29.99

Questions

Is TimeBox free?
TimeBox is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is EmpiricCommander File Manager free?
EmpiricCommander File Manager is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do TimeBox or EmpiricCommander File Manager have ads?
Neither TimeBox nor EmpiricCommander File Manager shows ads.
Which is updated more often, TimeBox or EmpiricCommander File Manager?
TimeBox ships an update every 6 weeks, and EmpiricCommander File Manager every 2 days. Most recently, TimeBox was updated on September 25, 2026 and EmpiricCommander File Manager on September 11, 2026.

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