Comparison

Dots vs Focus Lantern

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

Head to head
About

Dots

This app acts as a personal memory aid for your relationships, helping you recall important details about people. It surfaces timely reminders to reach out, ensuring your follow-ups are thoughtful and specific, whether for personal connections or professional contacts.

Highlights
  • Remembers important personal and professional details
  • Surfaces optimal moments for outreach
  • Facilitates specific and thoughtful follow-ups
  • Works for both personal and professional connections
  • Focuses on details, not just generic engagement
Features
Read full description

You met Sam at the conference. She mentioned her daughter just started at the same college you attended. You meant to follow up with Sam in a month but never did. You didn't forget because you don't care. You forgot because memory doesn't scale the way relationships do. Dots is the memory for your relationships, both personal and professional. You add a dot when you learn something worth remembering. Dots surfaces it when it matters. What a dot looks like: Marcus collects Japanese whisky. Sarah went through a tough move last year. Priya prefers warm intros, and she likes knowing someone before the meeting. Small details. The difference between a generic check-in and a conversation that lands. What Dots does - Remembers the details you'd otherwise lose - Surfaces the right moment to reach out - Keeps follow-ups specific, never generic - Works for the people you love and the people you work with What Dots isn't A CRM. A pipeline tool. Dots doesn't score your relationships or remind you to "engage." It just helps you show up the way you already intend to. A dot is a detail, not a person. Add enough of them, and you'll never forget what matters.

About

Focus Lantern

Features
Read full description

Focus Lantern is a calm, lightweight focus timer. Choose a 25/5 Pomodoro session, a 45-minute deep work session, or a quick 15-minute focus block. Pair your timer with procedural ambient soundscapes such as white noise, pink noise, brown noise, soft rain, ocean drift, and forest air. Features: - Pomodoro, deep work, and quick focus modes - Built-in procedural ambient sounds - Daily and 7-day focus statistics - Recent focus session history - English and Simplified Chinese interface - No account, no ads, and focus records stay on your device Focus Lantern is made for studying, writing, reading, office work, and any quiet moment that deserves your full attention.

Screenshots

Dots3 screens
Focus Lantern4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Dots at Free against Focus Lantern's $0.99. On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

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

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Dots ships an update every 4 days, Focus Lantern weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
Dots versus Focus Lantern: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDotsFocus Lantern
PriceFree — better$0.99
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS18.517.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB2 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperDaniel Catinella小倩 徐

In-app purchases

None

Dots

No in-app purchases

None

Focus Lantern

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Dots free?
Dots is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Focus Lantern free?
Focus Lantern costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Dots or Focus Lantern have ads?
Neither Dots nor Focus Lantern shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Dots or Focus Lantern?
Dots ships an update every 4 days, and Focus Lantern weekly. Most recently, Dots was updated on October 9, 2026 and Focus Lantern on October 3, 2026.

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