Comparison

Focus vs Hyphen

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

The problem isn't planning. It's everything competing for your attention at once. Focus is not just another task app—it's a boundary between what matters now and everything else. WHY FOCUS WORKS One Thing at a Time Pick your focus task. Everything else fades away. Stop suffering from decision fatigue and constant context-switching. Protect Your Attention Built-in Pomodoro-style focus sessions (25, 50 min) with structured breaks. Start the timer, silence the noise, and get into flow. Stay Organized, Stay Calm Work. Personal. Ideas. Keep everything organized in smart lists, but only see what actually matters right now. SEAMLESS APPLE INTEGRATION • Live Activities & Dynamic Island: Your current focus stays visible without ever unlocking your phone. Less distraction, more flow. • Interactive Widgets: Lock Screen and Home Screen widgets show only today's priority—not your entire backlog. • Siri & App Intents: Log tasks naturally with your voice ("Log a distraction in Focus" or "Add a task to Focus"). PREMIUM FEATURES • Smart task lists with custom colors and icons • Focus Timer with detailed progress tracking • Due dates, intelligent reminders, and recurring tasks • Weekly insights, analytics, and completion streaks • 2-Way Apple Calendar Sync • Seamless iCloud sync across iPhone and iPad • Privacy-first: Your data stays securely on your device WHO IS FOCUS FOR? • People with ADHD who feel overwhelmed by traditional, cluttered task apps. • Deep workers who demand distraction-free focus time. • Minimalists who want less noise, not more features. • Creatives who think better with constraints. Focus is thoughtfully designed by an indie developer with an uncompromising attention to detail. One thing at a time. That's it. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.bytenpixels.com/privacy

About

Hyphen

This minimalist app allows for quick capture of daily thoughts, tasks, and moments. It organizes entries by day and provides a visual timeline of your year, highlighting days with more activity. Notes are automatically timestamped and can be entered via typing or voice.

Highlights
  • Quick entry via typing or voice
  • Automatic timestamping
  • Visual year-in-a-glance timeline
  • Smart grouping of related notes
  • Secure cross-device syncing
  • Private and inaccessible by developer
Features
Read full description

Hyphen is a quiet place for the details you would otherwise lose. Write a sentence, list, quotation, decision, observation, or full page. Every note belongs to its day, so you can move naturally through time and return by date, month, year, Chronicle, or search. WRITE WITHOUT FRICTION Capture a quick thought in place. Expand into the full editor when the thought becomes something larger. MARKDOWN MADE FOR IPHONE Use headings, emphasis, lists, checklists, quotations, links, and code without hunting through the iOS keyboard for punctuation. SEE YOUR DAYS TAKE SHAPE Move naturally between Day, Month, and Year, and view time as a quiet record of activity. Hyphen shows continuity without turning your writing into a streak game. FIND WHAT YOU WROTE Search your writing, browse Chronicle, and move directly back to the day where a thought belongs.

Screenshots

Focus4 screens
Hyphen4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Hyphen at none against Focus's 1. Hyphen also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 11 days). 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 1 one-off in-app purchase. Hyphen asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Focus ships an update every 11 days, Hyphen every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on September 17, 2026 and August 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Focus versus Hyphen: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFocusHyphen
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (7 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—7 — better
Update frequencyEvery 11 daysEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJiten SiddhpuraCHRISTOPH J WHITELAM

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Focus

One-time1
  • Focus Premium$3.99
None

Hyphen

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Focus free?
Focus is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Hyphen free?
Hyphen is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Focus or Hyphen have ads?
Neither Focus nor Hyphen shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Focus or Hyphen?
Focus ships an update every 11 days, and Hyphen every 2 days. Most recently, Focus was updated on September 17, 2026 and Hyphen on August 7, 2026.

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