Comparison

Focura vs NextStep

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

Head to head
About

Focura

Read full description

Most focus timers ship one rigid setup. Focura asks one question โ€” do you struggle to start, stay, or stop? โ€” then tunes the timer, haptics, and pacing to match. Built for ADHD brains. Works for anyone fighting a 25-minute box. A TIMER THAT FITS HOW YOU FOCUS Pick your struggle and Focura adjusts the physics: โ€ข Starting โ€” 5-minute first wins and gentle pacing, no pressure haptics โ€ข Staying โ€” classic 25s with a soft haptic heartbeat anchoring the last minute โ€ข Stopping โ€” longer blocks and 10-minute wind-downs, because transitions hurt YOUR CALENDAR BECOMES THE PLAN Connect iOS Calendar (read-only) and your events appear as locked time blocks, so the day is never empty. If a meeting starts mid-session, Focura auto-pauses your timer and lets you know. HYPERFOCUS IS CELEBRATED, NOT PUNISHED Run past the timer and the screen turns green: Flow State. No alarm yanking you out, no red "overtime" guilt. Keep going โ€” Focura keeps counting. MISSED A BLOCK? NO SHAME. โ€ข Smart Reschedule finds it a new slot in one tap (Premium) โ€ข Skipping records a reason, not a failure โ€” and your streak forgives it โ€ข Streaks come with freeze days, so a rough day doesn't break the chain โ€ข Fresh Start resets the day without erasing what you already did BRAIN DUMP YOUR REMINDERS Your iOS Reminders show up as an inbox on the Today tab. Tap one, give it a time, done. Finish the session and Focura offers to check the reminder off. A DAY YOU CAN SEE A visual timeline where every block is sized to its real duration. Drag to reorder. Pin a block to a time, or let Focura slot it into the next free gap. Morning person or night owl โ€” set your own day's start and end. ALWAYS ONE GLANCE AWAY Lock Screen Live Activity, Dynamic Island, and a Home Screen widget keep your current block and today's progress visible without unlocking your phone. 100% ON-DEVICE No account. No cloud sync. No tracking. Your blocks and sessions live in your iPhone's local database. Your focus, your data, your control. FREE FOREVER โ€ข Up to 7 recurring time blocks (one-off blocks unlimited) โ€ข Calendar mirroring, weekly stats, and forgiving streaks โ€ข Full timer with Flow State, widget + Live Activity FOCURA PREMIUM โ€ข Unlimited time blocks โ€ข Smart Reschedule โ€” one-tap recovery for missed blocks โ€ข Custom app icons โ€ข Every premium feature we ship next, included Monthly, annual (over 60% off), or lifetime โ€” see pricing in the app. Subscriptions auto-renew unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in Settings โ†’ Apple ID โ†’ Subscriptions. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Focura is a tool, not a treatment. It is not a medical device and is not a substitute for professional care. Built by an indie developer who needed it. Built by Noah Carpenter (NDC) ยท noahdoescoding@gmail.com

About

NextStep

Features
Read full description

Keep your next step in view. NextStep helps you move through everyday routines on iPhone and Apple Watch. Break getting ready, packing your bag or winding down into clear steps, then follow one step at a time with your finish-by time in view. YOU DECIDE WHEN A STEP IS DONE Set an estimate for each step and tap Done when you finish. Reaching zero never moves you on automatically. Pause, add step time, skip a step or end a routine when your plans change. Pausing or adding step time keeps your chosen deadline fixed, so you can see the effect on your plan. MAKE A ROUTINE YOUR OWN Create routines with up to 30 steps, optional steps, short notes and a finish-by time. Start from a sample or build your own. Reorder, duplicate and archive routines. Set optional recurring reminders separately from your finish-by time; a reminder never starts a routine for you. USE YOUR PHONE OR YOUR WATCH Start and follow a routine on either device. Saved routines can run on Apple Watch while disconnected from iPhone. When paired devices connect, they exchange routine and session updates. Each run stays with the device that started it, and the other device shows its saved progress. A QUICK LOOK WHEN YOU NEED IT Widgets and Watch complications offer a glance at your saved routine or current progress. Optional iPhone Live Activities show routines started on iPhone. Alerts depend on permission, Focus and system delivery; open NextStep to act on a step. LEARN FROM YOUR OWN ROUTINES Review completed and ended routines. After enough qualifying sessions, local duration suggestions can help you adjust future estimates. You choose which changes to apply. START FREE Save two non-archived routines and start them as often as you like. Free includes routine editing, reminders, essential widgets, the most recent seven days of history, local estimate suggestions and data export/import. Try a 45-second demo without creating a history entry. OPTIONAL NEXTSTEP PRO Pro adds more saved routines, full retained history views, detailed planned-versus-actual time comparisons and additional authored routine programs. Preview every program for free. Choose a monthly or annual auto-renewing subscription, or a one-time lifetime purchase. Prices and billing periods appear before purchase. If Pro ends, all your existing routines remain available to view, edit and run. Your retained data stays exportable. NextStep never presents a paywall during an active routine. YOUR ROUTINES STAY YOURS No NextStep account, advertising or external AI service. Routines and history are stored on your devices. Export files when you choose to share or back up your data. Apple handles purchases with your Apple Account. Subscriptions renew automatically until cancelled in Apple Account settings. Lifetime does not cancel an existing subscription; manage that subscription separately. Privacy: https://mubaraklabs.com/privacy/nextstep/ Terms: https://mubaraklabs.com/terms/nextstep/ License: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Focura4 screens
NextStep4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Focura sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and NextStep sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Focura versus NextStep: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFocuraNextStep
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksโ€”
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS18.617.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size37 MB9 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNoah CarpenterMubarak Almahmeed

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Focura

Subscriptions2
  • Focura Premium Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Focura Yearly$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Focura Premium Lifetime$99.99
3 purchases

NextStep

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Pro Annual$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Pro Lifetime$79.99

Questions

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

Other comparisons