Comparison

Focus Protocol vs Relay Shortcut Trigger

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

Head to head
About

Focus Protocol

Features
Read full description

Silence the noise. Enter the protocol. FocusProtocol is not just a timer. It is a system designed to induce and sustain the flow state. By combining military-grade app blocking with psycho-acoustic audio engineering, FocusProtocol removes willpower from the equation. Zero distractions Engage the Shield to lock down distracting apps and websites instantly. Built on Apple’s native Screen Time API to create a breach-proof environment. Leaving the protocol requires a conscious decision to fail. Neural audio Enter deep work with our proprietary pink noise engine. Unlike white noise, pink noise reduces brain-wave complexity, promoting stable attention while masking interruptions without fatigue. Global pulse You are not alone. View the live active protocols counter and work alongside thousands in real time. Synchronize your energy with a global rhythm of productivity. Rituals and rewards Dopamine is a tool. Use it deliberately. Completion rituals reinforce your success loop and lock in momentum. OLED-optimized Designed for night owls and early risers. A true-black interface reduces eye strain and preserves battery during long sessions. FocusProtocol Control the environment. Enter flow. Execute.

About

Relay Shortcut Trigger

Features
Read full description

Relay turns a spare iPhone or iPad into a hands-free Shortcuts trigger. Run any Shortcut on a repeating interval or at specific times of day, or fire it from another device on your Wi-Fi with a simple, token-protected local web request. No subscription. No account. No cloud. Everything runs on your device and your local network. WHY RELAY Some automations only work when a device actively opens an app or runs a Shortcut β€” showing a camera dashboard every few minutes, rotating a status display, kicking off a sync, opening a kiosk app on a timer. iOS only allows an app to launch Shortcuts while it is in the foreground, so Relay is built to be exactly that: a reliable foreground scheduler you leave running on a dedicated device. SCHEDULER β€’ Unlimited rules, each with its own Shortcut, interval (from 1 minute) or list of exact times β€’ Optional active window per rule (e.g. only 8:00–17:00), overnight windows supported β€’ Wall-clock scheduling: if a fire time passes while the schedule was paused, Relay catches up the moment it becomes active again β€’ Live countdown to the next trigger, per rule and overall LOCAL NETWORK TRIGGER β€’ Built-in HTTP endpoint on your Wi-Fi: GET /run?shortcut=Name β€” from a laptop, home server, Raspberry Pi, or any browser β€’ Token-protected (query token or Bearer header), with one-tap token generation β€’ Bonjour advertising (_relay._tcp) so other devices find the phone even when its IP changes β€’ /health and /next endpoints for monitoring and scripting, plus a built-in status web page β€’ Foreground-only and LAN-only by design β€” nothing is ever exposed to the internet KIOSK ESSENTIALS β€’ Keep-awake (never lets the screen sleep) while active β€’ Stall detection: if another app kept focus and the loop stopped, Relay shows a one-tap resume banner and can notify you β€’ Battery level and charging state on screen, with Guided Access guidance for true kiosk setups β€’ Live event log of every trigger, request, and state change EXTRAS β€’ Home-screen widget with the next trigger and last run β€’ Live Activity countdown in the Dynamic Island while the schedule runs β€’ Diagnostics page: foreground state, listener state, address, recent triggers β€’ Step-by-step onboarding that builds your first automation loop with you Relay is 100% free β€” every feature, forever. It runs the Shortcuts you created, and it never collects any data.

Screenshots

Focus Protocol3 screens
Relay Shortcut Trigger4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Relay Shortcut Trigger at Free against Focus Protocol's $0.99. Relay Shortcut Trigger also leads on iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

Relay Shortcut Trigger is free to download; Focus Protocol costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Focus Protocol ships an update every 6 weeks, Relay Shortcut Trigger every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences Β· 4 level
Focus Protocol versus Relay Shortcut Trigger: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFocus ProtocolRelay Shortcut Trigger
Price$0.99Free β€” better
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeks β€” betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch β€” better
Requires iOS26.017.0 β€” better
Further details β€” not scored
Size2 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAlice-Georgiana TURCANUAll Things AI, Inc

In-app purchases

None

Focus Protocol

No in-app purchases

None

Relay Shortcut Trigger

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Focus Protocol free?
Focus Protocol costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Relay Shortcut Trigger free?
Relay Shortcut Trigger is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Focus Protocol or Relay Shortcut Trigger have ads?
Neither Focus Protocol nor Relay Shortcut Trigger shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Focus Protocol or Relay Shortcut Trigger?
Focus Protocol ships an update every 6 weeks, and Relay Shortcut Trigger every 2 months. Most recently, Focus Protocol was updated on October 28, 2026 and Relay Shortcut Trigger on October 24, 2026.

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