Comparison

Ember vs Positive Focus

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

Head to head
About

Ember

This app helps you reclaim your attention with a unique visual ritual. Instead of a standard countdown, it uses animated themes that evolve as you focus, providing a calming anchor to prevent distractions. It tracks your progress and offers a minimalist interface designed for deep work.

Highlights
  • Living Visuals with animated themes
  • Intentional 'Press to Ignite' start
  • Zen Mode with auto-hiding interface
  • Calendar heatmap for focus tracking
  • Unlockable exclusive visual themes
  • OLED optimized dark aesthetic
Features
Read full description

Ignite Your Focus. Ember is a tool for Radical Simplicity. In a world of digital noise and endless scrolling, Ember helps you reclaim your attention through a unique visual ritual. How It Works Unlike standard timers that just count down numbers, Ember uses "Visual Engines"—beautiful, animated themes that evolve and grow as you focus. Press to Ignite: Simply press and hold the screen for one second to start. This intentional act creates a moment of commitment to your focus session. Visual Anchor: Watch as a tree grows or a crystal forms. These Skia-powered visuals provide a calming anchor for your eyes, preventing the urge to check other apps. Zen Mode: The interface auto-hides after 3 seconds, leaving only the living visual to keep you tethered to the present. Key Features Living Visuals: Choose from engines like Growth, Crystal, Spiral, and Eclipse to match your mood. Track Your Journey: A clean calendar heatmap tracks your daily streaks and total focus hours. Earn Your Progress: Maintain a 30-day streak to unlock the exclusive "Orbit" engine. Flexible Flow: Set sessions from 1 minute to 12 hours (Premium) to suit everything from a quick breather to deep work. OLED Optimized: A minimalist, dark aesthetic designed to reduce eye strain and save battery. Why Ember? Ember is designed to fade away. There are no ads, no social feeds, and no gamified clutter. Whether you’re trying to stop doomscrolling, studying for an exam, or managing ADHD, Ember provides the calm environment you need to stay on track.

About

Positive Focus

Features
Read full description

You don't quit a habit. You replace it. Willpower fades. Research shows the only lasting way to break a bad habit is to replace it with something better. Replacify gives you the replacement — a structured path with real steps, a built-in timer, an SOS panic button for cravings, and the tracking to prove you're changing. Tell the app what you struggle with. It matches you with a replacement path designed to fill the same time, energy, and need your old habit used to. Then it walks with you, step by step, until the new habit is yours. SOS — YOUR CRAVING EMERGENCY BUTTON One tap launches your SOS toolkit the moment a craving strikes. Get an activity matched to your struggle, a guided timer to ride out the urge, and a post-session check-in to track your patterns. SOS is free for every user, forever. STRUCTURED PATHS WITH REAL PROGRESSION Every path is broken into phases and steps with clear guidance, time estimates, and milestone badges. A four-tier system keeps you challenged as you grow — each tier unlocks when you complete the one before it. Choose from 15 curated paths across 7 categories: - Fitness: Kettlebell, Running, Yoga - Wellness: Meditation - Cooking: Indian, Italian, Chinese - Reading: 10-Book Reading Journey - Learning: Language, Python Programming - Creative: Drawing & Sketching - Outdoors: Hiking & Nature Or create your own custom path from scratch. FOCUS TIMER Built-in Pomodoro-style timer with 15, 25, 45, and 60-minute presets. Link sessions to your active path and automatically mark steps complete. Track focus streaks and total minutes. DAILY CHECK-INS & URGE TRACKING Rate your urge level each day. Watch your trends over time. Spot patterns, identify triggers, and see your struggle-free streak grow. CHALLENGES Join time-limited challenges to push yourself: 7-day check-in streaks, SOS resilience goals, dopamine detox sprints, focus marathons, and health-based challenges synced with Apple Health. APPLE HEALTH INTEGRATION Sync sleep hours, step counts, and workouts. Get nudges based on your health data — poor sleep warnings, active day celebrations, and automatic workout credit toward your paths. HEATMAP CALENDAR See every day of progress in a color-coded heatmap. Filter by path, view daily breakdowns, and track SOS sessions per addiction. BADGES, COINS & REWARDS Earn 60+ milestone badges as you progress. Collect coins for completing steps and SOS sessions. Spend them in the Reward Shop on premium avatars and streak shields. STREAKS & MOMENTUM Current streak, longest streak, and streak shields to protect your progress when life gets in the way. Daily reminders and streak alerts keep you accountable. WHAT YOU GET FREE - Full SOS toolkit with unlimited sessions - 1 active replacement path - Daily check-ins and streak tracking - Challenges and badges - Focus timer UPGRADE TO PRO - Unlimited active paths - Custom path creation - Full analytics with urge trends and pattern insights - Activity heatmap calendar - SOS heatmaps per addiction - Weekly progress reports - Per-path daily reminders Replacify is a wellness tool for building better habits. It is not a medical service. If you are dealing with a serious addiction, please also consult a healthcare professional. Privacy: Your data stays yours. We never sell it. Terms of Use - https://www.replacify.app/terms Privacy Policy - https://www.replacify.app/privacy

Screenshots

Ember4 screens
Positive Focus4 screens

Verdict

The call

Ember and Positive Focus are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters — price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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. Ember sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Positive Focus sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Ember versus Positive Focus: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEmberPositive Focus
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (4 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings4 — better—
Update frequency—Fortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.115.1
Further details — not scored
Size36 MB132 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperEmbercore LLCMARIN CAPRANOV

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Ember

One-time1
  • Ember Plus$9.99
4 purchases

Positive Focus

Subscriptions3
  • Pro weekly3 Days trial$2.997 Days
  • Replacify Pro Monthly3 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Replacify Pro Yearly3 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Replacify Pro Lifetime$49.99

Questions

Is Ember free?
Ember is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Positive Focus free?
Positive Focus is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Ember or Positive Focus have ads?
Neither Ember nor Positive Focus shows ads.

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