Comparison

Focus it vs Caliu

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

Head to head
About

Focus it

Features
Read full description

Plan tasks. Attach a Pomodoro. Drop into Focus Zone. 25 timer animations, synthesized sounds, Live Activities, widgets, and stats that show how you actually work — start free, go Premium when you're ready. Whether you're deep in a study session, grinding through work, or just trying to stop scrolling and start doing — Focus it gives you the structure and the atmosphere to stay locked in. BEAUTIFUL TIMER ANIMATIONS Choose from 25 hand-built animation styles across 7 categories: rings, liquid fills, nature, geometry, particles, ambient, and gamified. Every animation is crafted in SwiftUI, not stock assets. Classic Clock Ring, Aurora Borealis, Growing Tree, Lava Lamp, Pixel Art — find the one that keeps you in the zone. FOCUS ZONE Enter a full-screen, distraction-free experience. The interface fades away, your chosen timer animation takes center stage, and idle dimming is disabled. Tap to reveal controls, extend your session, or skip a break. This is what deep work looks like. CUSTOM SOUND ENGINE 50+ synthesized ticker and completion sounds — not audio files, but real-time generated tones using waveform synthesis. Pick from mechanical, nature, water, digital, percussive, and musical categories. Set different sounds for focus and break phases. TASK MANAGEMENT WITH RICH FORMATTING Create tasks with bold, italic, and highlighted titles using an in-app formatting toolbar. Set priorities, due dates, and reminders. Organize into folders with custom icons. Track focus time per task. Pin important ones to the top. Estimated pomodoros let you plan your day realistically. STATS THAT ACTUALLY TELL YOU SOMETHING 15+ chart sections built with Swift Charts: activity heatmap, peak productivity hours, day-of-week breakdown, estimation accuracy, task aging, break compliance, focus efficiency trends, folder insights, completion speed, and period comparisons. Filter by 7, 30, 90 days, or all time. THEMES THAT FEEL LIKE YOUR OWN Four theme styles: Professional, Classic, Gradient, and Artistic. The Artistic theme connects to Unsplash, letting you search and set stunning photo backgrounds with filters for color and orientation. Save favorites. Dark and Light mode adapt automatically. LIVE ACTIVITY & WIDGETS See your timer countdown on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island. Choose from 10+ Home Screen widgets and 4 Lock Screen widgets — including dashboard, streak flame, due today, weekly focus, and pomodoro counter. Control Center buttons let you start Focus Zone or Quick Focus instantly. DAILY SUMMARIES Morning and evening summary notifications tell you what's ahead and what you accomplished. Actionable buttons let you jump into a focus session or view your summary directly from the notification. DEEP SYSTEM INTEGRATION Siri Shortcuts, App Intents, deep links, Home Screen quick actions, keyboard shortcuts on iPad and Mac, haptic feedback, and iCloud sync across all your devices. TERMS OF USE & PRICING: • Premium plans: Monthly @ $0.99, Yearly @ $9.99, Lifetime @ $24.99 (USD; may vary by region). • Monthly lasts at least 30 days; Yearly lasts 365 days. Lifetime is a one-time purchase (no auto-renew). • Payment is charged to your Apple ID at purchase confirmation. • Subscriptions renew automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the period ends. • Renewal is charged within 24 hours before the period ends at the then-current price. • Manage or cancel auto-renewal in your App Store Account Settings after purchase. • Any unused free trial is forfeited when you buy a subscription, where applicable. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://mohiniios.wordpress.com/contact/

About

Caliu

A minimalist markdown notes app designed for writers, offering a distraction-free writing experience with features like nested tags, reminders, and cross-device syncing. It allows for easy export and integration with external tools.

Highlights
  • Markdown writing with live formatting
  • Nested and colored tags for organization
  • Cross-device sync across iPhone, iPad, and Mac
  • Reminders for notes
  • Export to various formats (Markdown, ePub, RTF)
  • REST API and MCP server for integration
  • Customizable themes
Features
Read full description

Caliu is a markdown notes app for people who write. No clutter. No toolbars in the way. Just a quiet canvas, your words, and a way to find them again later. Write in Markdown. Sync everywhere. Think clearly. It runs natively on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and stays in sync with the web app. Everything works offline. Your notes live on your device first and travel only when there is a connection. • The writing page. Headings, lists, quotes, code blocks, and links format as you type. No preview pane, no switching modes. The interface steps aside so the writing can take over. • Tags, not folders. Ideas overlap, so one note can belong to many places. Nest your tags, colour them, search them. Organisation that matches the way you think. • Reminders that find you. Pin a time to any note and Caliu nudges you on whichever device you have picked up. Good for the things you would otherwise forget you wrote down. • Sync you never think about. Start on your Mac, finish on your phone. Your notes are already there. No sync button, no spinner, no waiting. • Just talk. Tap the mic and think out loud. Caliu transcribes, trims the filler words, and turns your voice into clean Markdown: real headings and lists, not a wall of text. • Long-term memory. Caliu keeps snapshots as you write. Scroll back through a note's history, preview any moment, and bring it back in a tap. • A mood, not a menu. Ten colour themes, light and dark, plus more than 30 fonts to make the page yours. Pick the one that matches the hour. • Export, share, own your work. Export any note as Markdown, plain text, HTML, ePub, PDF, RTF, or TextPack. Share a note as a public link when someone needs to read it. Nothing locks you in. • Notes that talk back. A full REST API and a built-in MCP server, so Claude, Cursor, or your own scripts can read and write notes on your terms. • Private by design. Your notes are nobody's business. No ads, no selling your data, no tracking you across the web, and nothing you write is used to train AI. Kept on your device first and synced encrypted, built in the EU under GDPR. Export everything or delete your account whenever you like. Deleted means deleted. Caliu Pro The heart of Caliu is free: writing, tags, sync, and offline everything. Caliu Pro adds voice dictation, version history, every theme and font, unlimited attachments, more export formats, and API access. Try it free before you decide. Made with care by a small, independent team of one. No setup. No clutter. Just your thoughts, kept warm. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://caliuapp.com/privacy

Screenshots

Focus it4 screens
Caliu4 screens

Verdict

The call

Focus it and Caliu are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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. Focus it sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Caliu sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on September 17, 2026 and September 11, 2026 respectively.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Focus it versus Caliu: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFocus itCaliu
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—4 — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysEvery 9 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS26.026.0
Further details — not scored
Size13 MB143 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMohini SharmaMarc Torrelles

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Focus it

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Monthly$0.991 Month
  • Premium Yearly$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • Premium Lifetime$24.99
2 purchases

Caliu

Subscriptions2
  • Caliu Pro - Monthly3 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Caliu Pro - Yearly7 Days trial$17.991 Year

Questions

Is Focus it free?
Focus it is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Caliu free?
Caliu is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Focus it or Caliu have ads?
Neither Focus it nor Caliu shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Focus it or Caliu?
Focus it ships an update every 9 days, and Caliu every 9 days. Most recently, Focus it was updated on September 17, 2026 and Caliu on September 11, 2026.

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