Focus Zoo vs Sparkstep
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
Focus Zoo
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Stay focused. Earn paws. Grow your zoo. Focus Zoo turns focus time into something you can see. Set a timer, put your phone down and get to work. Every 5 minutes of focus earns you a paw. Spend paws to bring new animals into your zoo. PICK A TIME Drag the slider to set a session from 5 minutes to 3 hours. Press start and let your animal keep you company. STAY FOCUSED Tap the screen to dim it while you work. The screen stays awake, so the timer keeps running. EARN PAWS Finish a session and collect your paws. Stop early and you go home empty-handed, so stick with it. GROW YOUR ZOO Start with Panda, then unlock Bunny, Frog, Tiger and Whale. Each new friend takes a little more focus to earn. HATS AND CROWNS Every animal remembers the time you spend together. Focus for 1 hour with an animal to earn its propeller hat. Reach 10 hours and it wears a crown. Swap hats or take them off anytime in the store. SEE YOUR PROGRESS The Stats screen shows your focus time week by week and month by month, so you can see your habit grow. WHY YOU'LL LIKE IT โข Simple: one slider, one button โข Rewarding: cute animals and hats to earn โข Honest: no ads, no in-app purchases, no accounts โข Good for studying, work, reading, writing or any task that needs your full attention Put the phone down. Your zoo is waiting.
Sparkstep
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Sparkstep is a focus timer and routine planner designed for ADHD brains - low clutter, dopamine-aware, and calm by design. No account, no cloud, fully offline. WHY FOCUSFLOW - Built for ADHD: visual time, one task at a time, instant rewards. - Low stimulation: generous whitespace and gentle motion so you can think. - Private and offline: everything stays on your device. VISUAL FOCUS TIMER - A shrinking disc shows your time at a glance - easier than reading digits. - Adjustable focus and break lengths, Pomodoro-style rounds. - "One task right now" field keeps you anchored. - Park-a-thought button: capture a distraction, let it go, come back. - Optional ambient sound (white noise, brown noise, rain) and a celebration when you finish. ROUTINES, ONE STEP AT A TIME - Build morning, work-start and wind-down routines as ordered steps. - Run mode shows ONLY the current step, so the rest never overwhelms you. - Per-step timers, big check-off, progress bar, and ready-made templates. TODAY: NOW / NEXT / LATER - Three simple buckets instead of an endless backlog. - Quick capture, "eat the frog" highlight, estimated vs actual time. - Unfinished tasks roll over to today automatically. INSIGHTS & ACHIEVEMENTS - Focus minutes, sessions, routine streaks and your best focus time of day. - A GitHub-style consistency heatmap and weekly comparison. - Dozens of achievements to keep momentum going. MADE YOUR WAY - English, Spanish, French, Italian, German and Portuguese. - Reduce-motion and low-stimulation options. - Export and import your data anytime. Sparkstep is a productivity and focus aid, not a medical or clinical tool. Download Sparkstep and make focus feel doable.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Focus Zoo at none against Sparkstep's shown. Sparkstep's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.4). On price and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
| Parameter | Focus Zoo | Sparkstep |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | โ |
| Ads | No โ better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad, iPod โ better |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 | 13.0 โ better |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 42 MB | 36 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ivo Van Brempt | Ferran Espuna |
In-app purchases
Focus Zoo
No in-app purchases
Sparkstep
No in-app purchases









