Comparison

Focus it vs PulseCalendar

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

PulseCalendar

This app acts as a daily planner and time-blocking assistant, analyzing your schedule to help you optimize your day. It integrates with multiple calendar services and offers smart features like adaptive alerts, automatic time-blocking, and personalized insights to improve productivity and time management.

Highlights
  • Calendar integration (iCloud, Google, Outlook, Exchange, CalDAV)
  • Smart time-blocking and daily priority setting
  • AI-powered schedule optimization and suggestions
  • Habit tracking and productivity insights
  • Natural language event entry
  • Live Activity and widgets for quick access
  • Customizable themes and app icons
Features
Read full description

Pulse Calendar turns your schedule into a daily coach. Connect your calendars (iCloud, Google, Outlook, Exchange, CalDAV) in one place and let Pulse analyze your time to help you make better use of it — local storage by default, no account. SMART CALENDAR • Day, 3-day, Week, Month, Year and List views • Multi-account: Apple, Google, Outlook, Exchange, CalDAV • Quick natural-language entry ("lunch with Marc tomorrow 1pm") • Automatic conflict detection • Public holidays and school breaks: 10 countries, 149 regions (FR zones A/B/C, UK 4 nations, US 50 states, DE 16 Bundesländer, CH 26 cantons, AT 9 Länder, CA 13 provinces, ES 17 communities, AU 8 states, JP) • Smart Pressure: adaptive alerts before each meeting • Real-time travel time (driving + public transit) • Live Activity Departure: GPS commute tracking on lock screen DAILY PRIORITIES • 3 daily priorities with anti-procrastination coaching • Auto-suggestions based on your events and habits • Auto Time-Blocking: Pulse blocks priorities into your calendar • Eat the Frog: most-postponed task first • "Just 5 Minutes" mode for low-pressure starts PULSE BRAIN — LOCAL AI • Optimize your day in one tap • Suggests a balanced schedule (focus + recovery + transitions) • Detects overloaded days and proposes adjustments • Personalized morning briefing TRACKER RADAR • Auto-detects recurring habits • Alerts when a regular event is overdue • Pulse Score, weekly challenges, streaks • 12-week Evolution view INSIGHTS • Time breakdown by category (work, sport, health, family…) • Heatmap of your typical week • Top people you spend most time with • Detection of peak productivity hours • Evening review with daily score and tips SIRI & SHORTCUTS • 8 ready-to-use Siri commands • "Hey Siri, add lunch with Marc tomorrow 1pm" • "Hey Siri, what's on my schedule today" → voice briefing • Start a Focus, mark a task done, view priorities… WIDGETS & LIVE ACTIVITY • Today widget — your daily agenda at a tap • Month widget — compact calendar view • Day Battery widget — your Pulse Score in real-time on lock screen • Next 3 meetings on lock screen • Live Activity Dynamic Island countdown before each meeting • Adaptive light / dark mode THEMES • 26 themes including Onyx (default), Aurora, Saphir, Rouge Nuit, Néon Or, Crépuscule, Miami… • Long-press a theme to preview live before applying • Automatic dark / light mode adaptation • Customizable app icon AVAILABLE IN 5 LANGUAGES English · Français · Español · 日本語 · Deutsch PRIVACY Local storage on your iPhone by default. No account, no ad tracking. Shared calendars and Doodle polls (optional) use a secure anonymous server. Pulse Calendar respects your privacy by design. PULSE PREMIUM • Unlimited Pulse Brain (free: 3 optimizations/day) • Live Activity GPS Departure (real-time commute tracking) • All premium themes and alternate icons • Advanced Insights and 12-week history • Exclusive widgets Pulse Monthly: $3.99 / month (auto-renewing) · Pulse Yearly: $24.99 / year (auto-renewing, save 48%) · Pulse Lifetime: $69.99 (one-time purchase) 7-day free trial on Monthly and Yearly subscriptions. Payment will be charged to your Apple Account at the end of the trial. Subscriptions renew automatically unless you turn off auto-renew at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel in Settings > Apple ID > Subscriptions. Terms of Use: https://pulsecalendar.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://pulsecalendar.app/privacy

Screenshots

Focus it4 screens
PulseCalendar4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: PulseCalendar at every 3 days against Focus it's every 9 days. PulseCalendar also leads on iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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. Focus it sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and PulseCalendar sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Focus it ships an update every 9 days, PulseCalendar every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on September 17, 2026 and September 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Focus it versus PulseCalendar: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFocus itPulseCalendar
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.4 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—75.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—5 — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 daysEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS26.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size13 MB42 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMohini SharmaPulse (app)

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Focus it

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

PulseCalendar

Subscriptions2
  • Pulse Pro Monthly7 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • Pulse Pro Yearly7 Days trial$24.991 Year
One-time1
  • Pulse Pro Lifetime$39.99

Questions

Is Focus it free?
Focus it is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PulseCalendar free?
PulseCalendar is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Focus it or PulseCalendar have ads?
Neither Focus it nor PulseCalendar shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Focus it or PulseCalendar?
Focus it ships an update every 9 days, and PulseCalendar every 3 days. Most recently, Focus it was updated on September 17, 2026 and PulseCalendar on September 11, 2026.

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