Comparison

Minus 5 vs RockFocus

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

Head to head
About

Minus 5

This app limits your daily tasks to five slots, encouraging completion. Unfinished items carry over with visual cues to track their age. It offers recurring tasks, customizable levels, and weekly reviews to boost productivity.

Highlights
  • Five daily task slots
  • Age badges for overdue tasks
  • Recurring task setup
  • Level-based slot increases
  • Weekly review charts
  • Markdown export
  • Widgets and Siri integration
Features
Read full description

Minus 5 is a daily to-do list with one rule: five things. That's it. Every other task app gives you infinite room, and infinite room is how you end up with a 40-item list you're too tired to look at. Minus 5 gives you five slots. Most to-do lists count up forever. This one counts down to zero. If you open your task manager, feel your stomach drop, and close it again — this is built for you. — THE RING — One neon progress ring is the entire interface. The big number in the middle is what's LEFT, not what you've done. When it hits zero: "you've earned the day." Close the app. Go outside. — FIVE SLOTS, ON PURPOSE — The cap isn't a limitation, it's the product. Five is roughly what a person actually finishes in a day. Everything beyond five is a wish list pretending to be a plan. — STREAKS THAT DON'T PUNISH YOU — Finish at least one thing a day and your streak grows. Miss a day and a Streak Freeze covers you automatically — you earn one every 10 days and can bank two. No shattered-streak animation, no guilt trip, nothing to buy back. A day off isn't a character flaw, it's a Tuesday. An optional evening nudge (off by default, at a time you pick) tells you what's still open before midnight. — AGE BADGES — Anything you don't finish carries into tomorrow with a small 1d / 4d / 2w tag, warming from grey to red the longer it sits. A nudge, not a punishment — delete what's not going to happen. You'll feel better. — LEVELS — Consistency unlocks capacity. Start at 5 slots. Clear your whole list seven days in a row and the next level opens: 7 slots at Level 2, 11 at Level 3, and up. The app rewards follow-through, not list-making. — RECURRING THINGS — Daily, weekly, monthly, or custom-day things that appear on schedule, with reminders that say exactly what — no generic "tackle your things." Stretch every morning. Pay rent on the 1st. Gym Mon/Wed/Fri. — PROGRESS — A 30-day curve, your weekly rhythm, and a consistency grid where each square is one week of the year. Best streak, active days, and how many days you cleared all five. Honest numbers, no dashboards. — RANKINGS (optional) — See how your streak stands against everyone else's, worldwide and in your own country. Free, and off until you switch it on. You get a made-up name like "Bright Otter" plus a few digits of your own — no real names, no accounts, no email. — WIDGETS & LOCK SCREEN — Home Screen (small and medium), and all three Lock Screen styles — circular, rectangular, and inline. Your ring, glanceable, without opening anything. — SIRI & SHORTCUTS — "Hey Siri, add a thing to Minus 5." Works from the Lock Screen, AirPods, CarPlay, anywhere Siri lives. — APPLE WATCH — A real Watch app and complication. Check things off from your wrist. — EXPORT — Copy your list as Markdown, share it, or send things straight to Things 3 or Reminders. Your data is portable. — CALENDAR MIRROR (optional) — Pull today's events in as read-only one-liners ("Meeting · 6–8pm"). They don't count toward your five and don't carry over — just context. — iCLOUD SYNC — Your things sync privately across your devices through your own iCloud account. No accounts, no tracking, no telemetry, no analytics. The only thing that ever leaves your iCloud is a streak number — and only if you turn on Rankings. — THEME & ACCESSIBILITY — Light, Dark, or System. Nine neon accent colors with automatic contrast. Text size override (Default / Large / Larger / Huge). Full VoiceOver support. — MINUS 5 PRO — The five things stay free, forever. Pro is a one-time unlock — bought once, not rented — adding progress stats and streak history, the Apple Watch app and complication, the calendar mirror, unlimited recurring templates, and custom reminder times. Widgets, Siri, export, Rankings and iCloud sync stay free for everyone. No ads. No subscription. No analytics. No tags. No projects. Just five things.

About

RockFocus

This app uses a unique rock animation to track focused work sessions. Log your thoughts, visualize progress over time with calendar views and summaries, and sync data across devices. Unlock premium features for enhanced productivity.

Highlights
  • Calm rock animation timer
  • Customizable session labels
  • Optional post-session thoughts
  • Calendar and summary views
  • iCloud data synchronization
  • Haptic feedback and alternate icons
Features
Read full description

RockFocus is a focus timer and time tracker inspired by Sisyphus pushing his rock uphill. Each focus session is another push. It helps you get started, record the time you put in, and see where that time goes. Who is RockFocus for? Whether you're a student, developer, content creator, reader, or someone who finds it hard to avoid distractions, RockFocus gives you a place to focus on one thing at a time. Why track your focus time? You may have a goal: pass an exam, finish a book, or complete a long-term project. Setting a goal is easy; starting again and again is harder. Tap Start to move from planning to doing. Record the time you spend, then look back at what received your attention and what needs more of it. This can help you plan your days with greater intention. How does RockFocus help? - Start focusing with a tap. Spend less time preparing and more time on the task at hand. - Set an app blocklist or allowlist to reduce distractions during a session. - Play focus sounds to create an atmosphere for studying, working, or reading. - Choose a count-up or countdown timer to suit the way you focus. - Organize your focus time with labels and see where your time goes. - Review your focus data by day, week, and month to see your effort over time. - Get a break reminder after a longer session and take a moment to move. - Check your focus status with Home Screen widgets and Live Activities. - Use RockFocus on iPhone and iPad, with focus records synced through iCloud. Some features require a RockFocus Pro subscription, including full insights, app blocklists and allowlists, countdown, and additional focus sounds. ------------ Privacy Policy: https://www.rockfocusapp.com/en/privacy/ User Agreement: https://www.rockfocusapp.com/en/terms/

Screenshots

Minus 54 screens
RockFocus4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Minus 5 at none against RockFocus's 3. Minus 5 also leads on device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, 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. RockFocus sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Minus 5 asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Minus 5 ships an update every 6 days, RockFocus every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Minus 5 versus RockFocus: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMinus 5RockFocus
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews—66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 daysEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB78 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVictor Florian佳成 王

Customer experience

Minus 5

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

RockFocus

Written reviews6 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral16.7%
Negative16.7%

In-app purchases

None

Minus 5

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

RockFocus

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$1.991 Month
  • Yearly$12.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$29.99

Questions

Is Minus 5 free?
Minus 5 is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is RockFocus free?
RockFocus is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Minus 5 or RockFocus have ads?
Neither Minus 5 nor RockFocus shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Minus 5 or RockFocus?
Minus 5 ships an update every 6 days, and RockFocus every 5 days. Most recently, Minus 5 was updated on October 9, 2026 and RockFocus on October 20, 2026.

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