Comparison

Intentional vs FocusWell

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

Head to head
About

Intentional

This app helps you regain control of your phone usage by introducing a brief pause before opening distracting applications. Set time limits and lock apps automatically when your session ends, breaking autopilot behavior without relying on willpower.

Highlights
  • Brief pause before app opening
  • Set time limits for apps
  • Automatic app locking
  • Game mode during countdowns
  • Session reminders
  • Background enforcement
  • Distraction-free design
Features
Read full description

Your phone takes hours from you every day. Intentional gives them back. Instead of blocking your apps, Intentional adds one simple step — a brief pause before you open them. That moment is enough to break the autopilot and put you back in control. Pick the apps that waste your time. Set a time limit. Use them on your terms. When your session ends, they lock again — no willpower required. Features include game mode during countdowns, session reminders, background enforcement, and a clean distraction-free design. Subscription required for core app features. The average person spends over 4 hours a day on their phone. Intentional can help you reclaim over 400 of those hours this year.

About

FocusWell

This app helps you regain control of your daily screen time and combat excessive scrolling. It introduces a mindful pause before opening distracting applications and allows you to set custom limits and focus sessions to build lasting concentration.

Highlights
  • Mindful pause before distracting apps
  • Custom app limits
  • Focus sessions
  • Daily screen time insights
  • Distraction-free design
  • Private data handling
Read full description

Most people don't decide to scroll for forty five minutes. It just happens, somewhere between checking one notification and looking up an hour later. FocusWell is an app blocker and focus tool built for exactly that moment, the split second before autopilot takes over. Your phone is built to keep you tapping. FocusWell is built to give you a way out, not through willpower alone, but through a calm pause, honest app limits, and focus sessions that actually hold. WHY FOCUSWELL A calm pause, not a lecture. Before a distracting app opens, FocusWell gives you one honest moment to decide. No shame, no lockouts you didn't ask for, just a real choice where autopilot used to win. Block one app or everything at once. Choose exactly what to limit, one app, a category, or all of it, for a focus session or on a schedule that runs automatically in the background. See where your time actually goes. Daily and weekly screen time insights show your real habits, not a guess, so you can see the hours you win back add up week over week. Build focus that lasts. Turn one good day into a streak. FocusWell helps you trade the scroll reflex for deep work, study time, or simply being where you already are. WHAT YOU GET - A calm pause before distracting apps open - App limits and focus sessions, for one app or all of them - Schedules that run automatically, not just when you remember - Daily and weekly screen time insights - Private by design: your usage data stays on your device WHO IT'S FOR Students protecting a study block. Anyone building a career who needs one uninterrupted hour before the inbox opens. People who pick up their phone for one notification and put it down forty minutes later, more tired than when they started. FocusWell meets you at the moment you already recognize, right before the scroll starts. Every skipped scroll adds up to a real hour somewhere else, a workout, a book, a conversation, or just quiet. FocusWell doesn't ask you to try harder. It just removes the moment where autopilot used to win. FocusWell runs on Apple's own Screen Time framework, so your usage data stays on your device, not a server. No streak shaming, no guilt trips, just a clear tool for people who want their attention back. Download FocusWell and start your first focus session today. Terms, Privacy and Conditions https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ https://https://www.getfocuswell.com/terms-of-service

Screenshots

Intentional4 screens
FocusWell4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: FocusWell at none against Intentional's 1. Intentional's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. Intentional sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $2.99 per month. FocusWell asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Intentional against 5.0 for FocusWell. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 3 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Intentional ships an update every 2 weeks, FocusWell every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Intentional versus FocusWell: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterIntentionalFocusWell
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings33
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 8 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationSubscriptionFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB71 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNicholas KneafseyStanislav Varetskyi

Customer experience

Intentional

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

FocusWell

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Intentional

Subscriptions1
  • Intentional Monthly1 Month trial$2.991 Month
None

FocusWell

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Intentional free?
Intentional is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is FocusWell free?
FocusWell is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Intentional or FocusWell?
Intentional and FocusWell are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 3 and 3 ratings respectively.
Do Intentional or FocusWell have ads?
FocusWell shows ads; Intentional does not.
Which is updated more often, Intentional or FocusWell?
Intentional ships an update every 2 weeks, and FocusWell every 8 days. Most recently, Intentional was updated on September 30, 2026 and FocusWell on October 14, 2026.

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