Comparison

Focus Monke vs Sit Still

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

Head to head
About

Focus Monke

This app uses a gamified approach to the Pomodoro technique, turning focus sessions into underwater dives. Earn rewards and build a vibrant reef by staying focused, with distracting apps automatically blocked. It's designed for those who struggle with distractions and need gentle encouragement.

Highlights
  • Gamified Pomodoro timer
  • App blocking via Screen Time
  • Reef building and fish collection
  • Reward system with bananas and bonuses
  • Streak tracking without guilt
  • Customizable app blocking
Features
Read full description

Your focus grows a tiny ocean. Focus Monke is a pomodoro timer with a heart. Every focus session is a dive: press start and Monke, a little guy in a big brass diving suit, takes his submarine down. He stays down as long as you stay focused. Surface at the end, and the reef you're building is a little more alive than you left it. HOW A DIVE WORKS - Pick your time, press START. That's the whole job. A classic 25-minute pomodoro, a two-hour deep session, whatever the day needs. - Your distracting apps go quiet. Focus Monke uses Apple's Screen Time to block apps for exactly as long as you're diving. When you surface, they come back. No willpower required. - Finish the dive and the good part happens: bananas, a spin of the bonus wheel, and sometimes a brand-new fish. BUILT FOR DISTRACTED BRAINS If your brain treats "just five minutes of scrolling" as a legally binding contract, welcome aboard. Focus Monke was made for the easily distracted, ADHD very much included. Short sessions still count. Rewards land every single time, not someday. No shame, no productivity sermons. Just a monke who believes in you. YOUR REEF Every fish in your aquarium was earned by focusing. Commons, rares, a few legends from the deep. Each one is hand-drawn and swims around your reef like it has somewhere to be. Feed them bananas. Name your tank. Take a selfie with Monke. It's your ocean, and you made it out of homework. DIVE TOGETHER Focus is easier when someone else is also focusing. Join a session and your monke takes a seat in the sunken ship alongside up to nine other divers, timers running, everyone quietly at work. Dive in at 2am and there's still a crew to sit with. Nobody can message you. Nobody can distract you. Just the quiet, specific comfort of a room where everyone is doing the thing they came to do. Leave whenever you like. The ship keeps sailing. DRESS UP YOUR MONKE Tap Monke and the dressing room opens. Hats, hair, glasses, beards, earrings, costumes, backgrounds, and diving gear that gets stranger the deeper you go. Every item is bought with bananas, and bananas come from focusing. There is nothing to buy with real money in there, ever. Your look follows you into the submarine, onto your stats, and into the ship next to everyone else's. STREAKS WITHOUT GUILT Show up and your streak grows, with milestones actually worth reaching. Miss a day and nobody yells at you. The reef is the reason to come back, not a red badge. CERTIFIED DIVER Focus Monke is free to use. Going Certified supports one small developer and one small monke, and unlocks: - 3x bananas and bigger bonuses after every dive - Choose exactly which apps get blocked, or let a dive block them all - The gold diving suit (Monke looks fantastic in it) - Special items in the shop And thanks to Certified Divers, there are no ads. For anyone. Ever. Certified Diver is available as an auto-renewing subscription (monthly or yearly) or a one-time lifetime purchase. Subscriptions are charged to your Apple Account and renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in Settings > Apple Account > Subscriptions. GOOD QUESTIONS - Does it work offline? Yes, everything except group sessions. Airplane mode is honestly great for focusing. - Do I need an account? No. Open the app, start a dive. - Where does my data go? App blocking runs entirely on your device through Apple's own Screen Time. We never see what you do on your phone, and nothing is sold to anyone. Group sessions share just what the crew can see: your diver name, your flag, your monke's look. THE SMALL PRINT, WARMLY Hand-drawn art. One developer. One monke doing his best. If Focus Monke helps, tell a friend. The reef grows one dive at a time, and so does this little app. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://focusmonke.com/privacy.html

About

Sit Still

This app helps you focus by blocking distracting applications and offering a calming timer experience. Earn rewards by staying focused to unlock new cozy rooms and accessories for your virtual cat companion.

Highlights
  • App blocking modes (Companionship, Whitelist, Strict)
  • Scheduled app locking
  • Customizable timer shapes (countdown, open-ended, pomodoro)
  • Collectible illustrated rooms with unique soundscapes
  • Virtual cat companion with unlockable accessories
  • Task list syncing with Reminders
  • Session history and streak tracking
Features
Read full description

Sit Still is a focus timer that gives you somewhere to be. Most focus apps punish you, Sit Still keeps you company. A cat sleeps in a painted room while you work, and the reward for sitting still is a collection you build. Blocking is real, and as firm as you want it to be. The rooms are the heart of it: watercolour illustrations painted like the pages of a childhood picture book, meant to feel cozy and nostalgic — to stir a memory of being small and safe somewhere — each with its own soundscape. APP BLOCKING FEATURES Three app blocking modes for a focus session: Companionship, Whitelist and Strict. Additionally, app blocking rules allow you to put away the apps that keep distracting you throughout the day. You can lock the apps on a schedule of your own or hold them to a daily limit. You can also set a bedtime lock on a night schedule you choose. WALLPAPERS AND WIDGETS Any room you have can be saved to your Photos as a wallpaper, drawn at your phone's full resolution, with your cat in the corner or without it. There are widgets too: the room you are sitting in with your focus stats under it, the collection with a different room every hour, and your streak on the Lock Screen and in StandBy. A TIMER WITH THREE SHAPES Countdown, open-ended, or pomodoro. The pomodoro starts at the classic 25 / 5 / 15, and all three lengths are yours to change. A session carries on with the screen locked, and shows itself on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island. A COLLECTION OF ROOMS A permanent collection of rooms, from a bookshop loft in Porto to a stilt house on the Mekong Delta, and two new rooms on the first of every month that leave with it. Every room has its own illustration and its own ambience loop, levelled against all the others so changing rooms is never a lurch. A CAT, AND THINGS FOR IT TO WEAR Six companions, hand-drawn and animated. Focusing earns whiskers, and whiskers buy cat accessories and the monthly rooms. Pet the cat and it notices. WHAT YOU NEED TO DO, AND WHAT YOU DID A task list that stays in sync with your phone's own Reminders. A record of every session — hours, streaks, and the note you left about what you were working on. Sit Still Premium is an auto-renewing subscription, offered monthly or yearly at the price shown in the app. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. It renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and can be managed or cancelled in Settings › your Apple Account › Subscriptions. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://alteraapps.com/sit-still/privacy/

Screenshots

Focus Monke4 screens
Sit Still4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Focus Monke at 4.6 against Sit Still's 4.0. Focus Monke also leads on ratings volume (12 vs 1). On price, review sentiment, update cadence 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Focus Monke sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and Sit Still sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Focus Monke holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Focus Monke has 12 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Focus Monke ships an update weekly, Sit Still every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Focus Monke versus Sit Still: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFocus MonkeSit Still
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (12 ratings) — better4.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings12 — better1
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFreemium
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size297 MB114 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBen HaunJohannes Butzke

Customer experience

Focus Monke

All ratings12 ratings
Positive91.7%
Neutral8.3%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Sit Still

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Focus Monke

Subscriptions3
  • Certified Diver Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Certified Diver Annual7 Days trial$17.991 Year
  • Certified Diver Annual1 Year trial$17.991 Year
One-time1
  • Certified Diver Lifetime$29.99
2 purchases

Sit Still

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Yearly$34.991 Year

Questions

Is Focus Monke free?
Focus Monke is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Sit Still free?
Sit Still is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Focus Monke or Sit Still?
Focus Monke is rated higher. Focus Monke averages 4.6 out of 5 from 12 ratings, while Sit Still averages 4.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Focus Monke or Sit Still have ads?
Neither Focus Monke nor Sit Still shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Focus Monke or Sit Still?
Focus Monke ships an update weekly, and Sit Still every 5 days. Most recently, Focus Monke was updated on September 29, 2026 and Sit Still on September 30, 2026.

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