Comparison

Focus vs dfCal

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

Head to head
About

Focus

Features
Read full description

You pick up your phone to do one thing. 40 minutes later, you've done everything except that thing. Lose 4 hours a day to your phone and that's 120 hours a month: enough to finish the thing you keep putting off. Focus locks your distracting apps and puts those hours into it. Finished in weeks. Not someday. NAME THE THING Write the one thing you keep pushing to tomorrow. Focus shows how many hours it needs and how many weeks it takes at your pace, so it stops being "someday". LOCK YOUR APPS, THEN WORK Start a block and the apps you chose are locked until it ends. The screen shows what this hour is going into. No pause button, no quick peek. LOCKED BEFORE YOU REACH Set the times you usually lose it, like after work or late at night. Focus locks your apps at those times by itself, even when the app is closed. (Pro) SEE THE HOURS COME BACK Every block adds to your "taken back" time. Your week shows your screen time next to the hours you put into your thing and the pieces you finished. FINISH IN WEEKS Focus keeps your finish date in weeks: on pace, ahead or behind. Miss a day and the next block picks up where you left off. BUILT FOR BRAINS THAT DRIFT One task at a time. One clear next step. Nothing to set up before you can start. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your screen time stays on your iPhone. Focus uses Apple's Screen Time framework and never sees which apps you use or for how long. Your tasks never leave your devices except through your own iCloud. FREE AND PRO Your first 3 locked blocks are free. Pro unlocks unlimited locked blocks and scheduled locks. Choose weekly, yearly, or Forever with a single payment. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Payment is charged to your Apple Account. Manage or cancel in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.bytenpixels.com/privacy

About

dfCal

This app helps you manage your schedule and boost productivity with smart calendar views, time pocket discovery, and productivity analytics. It also includes task management, goal tracking, and a focus timer to optimize your day.

Highlights
  • Smart calendar views
  • Natural language event creation
  • Time pocket discovery
  • Productivity analytics
  • Smart task management
  • Focus timer
  • Goal tracking
Features
Read full description

dfCal is the intelligent calendar app designed to help you take control of your schedule, boost productivity, and make the most of every day. SMART CALENDAR VIEWS - Beautiful month, week, and day views with event indicators - Seamless sync with Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook - Quick natural language event creation — just type "Lunch with John tomorrow at 2pm" - Color-coded calendars to organize work, personal, and more FIND YOUR FREE TIME - Time Pockets automatically discovers available slots in your day - See exactly when you have 30 minutes, 1 hour, or more available - Never double-book again with visual day overview PRODUCTIVITY ANALYTICS - Track how you spend your time with detailed insights - See your productivity score and get personalized tips - Busiest hours chart to optimize your schedule - Weekly, monthly, and quarterly time audits SMART TASK MANAGEMENT - Create tasks with due dates, priorities, and reminders - Recurring tasks that automatically advance when completed - Priority levels from Low to Urgent with visual indicators - Sync tasks with Google Tasks POWERFUL TOOLS - Focus Timer for deep work sessions - Tally Counter for tracking habits and counts - Calendar Sets to quickly switch between work and personal views - Schedule Templates to block focus time automatically GOAL TRACKING - Set weekly goals for meetings and focus work - Track your progress toward time targets - Meeting cost calculator to understand the true cost of meetings BUILT FOR PRIVACY - Your data stays on your device - Secure OAuth authentication with Google and Microsoft - No tracking, no ads, just productivity Whether you're a busy professional, student, or anyone looking to optimize their time, dfCal gives you the tools to understand and improve how you spend each day. Download dfCal today and transform the way you manage your time.

Screenshots

Focus4 screens
dfCal4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: dfCal at none against Focus's 6. dfCal also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs fortnightly). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Focus sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. dfCal asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Focus ships an update fortnightly, dfCal every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Focus versus dfCal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFocusdfCal
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size96 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJiten SiddhpuraAnanda Theerthan Jagannathan

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Focus

Subscriptions4
  • Focus Pro Weekly$2.997 Days
  • Focus Pro Monthly$5.991 Month
  • Focus Pro Annual7 Days trial$29.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Focus Pro Yearly$29.991 Year
One-time2
  • Focus Premium$3.99
  • Focus Executive Lifetime$69.99
None

dfCal

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Focus free?
Focus is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is dfCal free?
dfCal is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Focus or dfCal have ads?
Neither Focus nor dfCal shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Focus or dfCal?
Focus ships an update fortnightly, and dfCal every 4 days. Most recently, Focus was updated on November 9, 2026 and dfCal on October 31, 2026.

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