Focal vs FocusFlow
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Focal
This app helps you regain focus by blocking distracting applications and websites during timed work sessions. It offers customizable timers, progress tracking, and quick start presets to enhance productivity for studying, writing, coding, and more.
- Customizable focus timers
- Block distracting apps and websites
- Progress tracking and streaks
- Quick start presets
- Fullscreen timer interface
- Clean, distraction-free design
Read full descriptionHide full description
Take back your focus. Block distractions. Get more done. Focal is the focus timer that actually keeps you off your phone. Set a timer, block your most distracting apps, and lock in — so you can do your best work without fighting your own device. FOCUS TIMER Start a 25-minute Pomodoro, a 50-minute deep work session, or any custom length you want. The timer runs fullscreen so your only job is to stay in it. BLOCK DISTRACTING APPS Focal uses Screen Time to block apps and websites the moment you start a session. Social media, games, news — gone until your timer ends. No willpower required. TRACK YOUR PROGRESS See your daily focus time, streak, and focus score grow as you build the habit. Small wins add up fast. QUICK START PRESETS Jump into Pomodoro, deep work, or your own custom sessions in one tap. No setup, no friction. BUILT FOR DEEP WORK Clean design with no distractions — because a focus app shouldn't be one more thing competing for your attention. Whether you're studying, writing, coding, or just trying to be more intentional with your time, Focal gives you the structure to make it happen. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
FocusFlow
This app helps you regain control of your screen time by requiring you to complete tasks before unlocking your apps. It uses AI-powered photo verification to ensure you've finished your work, earning you time to use your phone guilt-free. Features include customizable blockout schedules and family accounts for parental oversight.
- AI photo verification for task completion
- Earned scroll time that counts down
- Customizable blockout schedules
- Daily limits per app or group
- Emergency override with logging
- Import tasks from calendar and reminders
- Family accounts for parental control
Read full descriptionHide full description
Your apps stay locked until you finish what you actually need to do. FocusFlow is a different kind of screen time app. Most blockers let you tap "ignore limit" and carry on scrolling. FocusFlow makes you earn it. Add a task, do it, take a photo as proof, and AI checks the photo really shows the work. Verified work earns scroll time. Nothing else unlocks your apps. HOW IT WORKS 1. Pick the apps that eat your day. Instagram, TikTok, X, games, anything. 2. Add today's tasks. Homework, gym, laundry, whatever you keep putting off. 3. Finish one and snap a photo. The AI checks it against the task. 4. Earn minutes. Your apps unlock, and the time counts down while you use them. 5. Hit zero and they lock again, even with FocusFlow closed. WHY IT WORKS A limit you can dismiss is a suggestion. Apple's own Screen Time puts "Ignore Limit" one tap away, and everyone taps it. FocusFlow replaces that tap with doing the thing you were avoiding. The friction is the point. FEATURES Photo verification, so finishing means finishing. Reward time that counts down only while you are in the apps you picked. Blockout schedules for class, work, practice or bedtime, when nothing unlocks. Daily limits per app or per group, on top of earned time. An emergency override with a wait and a log, for when you genuinely need in. Canvas assignments and exams become tasks automatically, and Reminders and your calendar can be imported too. A morning notification with the day's tasks, an evening nudge to plan tomorrow, and a warning before your minutes run out. Your own history: tasks finished, time earned, time spent. Family accounts: parents set tasks for their kids and approve them from their own device. PRICING FocusFlow is free to download, and everything outside the family plan is free for now. FocusFlow Family, for parents who set tasks for their kids, is an auto-renewing subscription: $9.99 a month or $69.99 a year, with a 7-day free trial. Payment is charged to your Apple ID when the trial ends. It renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the period ends. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple ID settings. Terms of Use: https://getfocusflow.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://getfocusflow.app/privacy PRIVACY FocusFlow does not sell your data, does not run ads and has no analytics. Your proof photos are used to check the task and nothing else. Apple's Screen Time keeps your app usage private, even from us. We can block an app without ever learning which one it is. Built by a student who lost five hours a day to his phone. Requires iPhone or iPad and Screen Time permission.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: FocusFlow at every 2 days against Focal's every 5 days. FocusFlow also leads on ratings volume (15 vs 3). Focal's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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
Both are free to download. Focal sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and FocusFlow sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Focal against 5.0 for FocusFlow. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: FocusFlow has 15 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
Focal ships an update every 5 days, FocusFlow every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Focal | FocusFlow |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (3 ratings) | 5.0 (15 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 3 | 15 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 51 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Vista Wholesale Central LLC | Spencer Lay |
Customer experience
Focal
FocusFlow
In-app purchases
Focal
- Focal Pro7 Days trial$4.991 Month
- Focal Pro3 Days trial$34.991 Year
FocusFlow
- FocusFlow Family Monthly7 Days trial$9.991 Month
- FocusFlow Family Yearly7 Days trial$69.991 Year









