Focus Garden vs Hearth Island
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
Focus Garden
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Plant your focus. Grow your discipline. Focus Garden is a Pomodoro-style focus timer wrapped in a calming garden world. Start a session, and a plant grows. Build a streak. Watch your garden expand. Three lush biomes, smart streak shields, and a Lock Screen widget that keeps you in the zone, even when your phone is in your pocket. Built for students cramming for finals, writers chasing deadlines, professionals fighting distraction, and anyone who would rather grow a small forest than scroll one more time. WHY FOCUS GARDEN Three Garden Biomes Mystic Grove (free), Sun Oasis, and Monsoon Canopy. Each biome has its own plants, palette, and ambience. The plants you grow are saved per biome, so your garden grows in three different worlds at once. Wall-Clock Timer Lock the phone, switch to music, take a quick call. Your session keeps going. We track real time, not screen time, so the moment you start is the moment that counts. Streak Shield (Premium) One slip should not undo a month of consistency. Premium gives you a daily shield that protects your streak when life gets in the way. Use it when you need it. Let it stack when you do not. Detailed Insights (Premium) A 12-week activity heatmap, hour-of-day breakdown, week-over-week comparison, and a per-biome time split. See exactly when you do your best work and where your time really goes. Custom Alarm Sounds Pick from four hand-picked tones, including Garden Bell, Forest Whisper, Morning Dew, and Twilight Chime, that play when your session completes, even with the app fully closed. Live Activity Widget (iOS 16.1 and later) Your active session lives on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island with a live countdown, plus Pause, Resume, and Cancel buttons right there. No more unlocking just to check the timer. HOW IT WORKS 1. Pick your biome. 2. Set the duration, from 1 to 240 minutes. 3. Tap Start. A plant begins to grow. 4. When the alarm rings, the plant joins your garden. Build a streak. Watch your heatmap fill in. Premium unlocks the streak shield and detailed insights to keep you going. PRICING Focus Garden is free forever in Mystic Grove. Premium unlocks the other two biomes, the streak shield, and detailed insights. Weekly: 1.99 USD per week. Monthly: 2.99 USD per month. Annual: 19.99 USD per year, which is about 1.66 USD per month and a 50 percent saving over Monthly. Payment will be charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period at the rate of the selected plan. You can manage or cancel your subscription anytime in Settings, then your name, then Subscriptions. PRIVACY-FIRST No accounts, no emails, no ads. Your focus history is stored only on your device. We do not sell your data. Ever. Privacy Policy: https://www.zenbyte.app/focus-garden/privacy-policy.html Terms of Service: https://www.zenbyte.app/focus-garden/terms-of-service.html A NOTE FROM US Focus Garden is a productivity companion, not a clinical or medical tool. Streaks, shields, and insights are motivational gamification, not diagnostic or scientifically validated measurements. Made with care by ZenByte. Questions or feedback: support@zenbyte.app
Hearth Island
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Start a focus session. When you finish, a tiny 3D island grows - and it keeps living while you're away. FOCUS. EARN. GROW A LIVING WORLD. Hearth Island turns the minutes you focus into something you can see. Set a timer, put the phone down, and do your work. Every focused minute earns one Spark. Spend them to plant trees, build cottages, adopt a companion, and raise whole new islands out of the sea. Nothing here is bought with money. Sparks are earned only by focusing - that is the whole point. A WORLD THAT LIVES ON ITS OWN - Real day and night, drifting clouds, and rain that ripples the sea - Four seasons that follow your real calendar - spring blossom, summer fireflies, autumn leaves that fall and gather, winter snow on every roof - Mochi, a companion who wanders the island, plays with a yarn ball, and naps in a little bed - Plants that grow a stage with every session you complete THE FOCUS THAT EARNS IT - Simple sessions - pick a length, start, and focus - Leave the app mid-session and it gently pauses instead of punishing you; a screen wake-lock keeps the phone awake while you work - Optional Focus Shield quiets notifications for the length of a session - Early ends still bank the minutes you focused - you are never punished for stopping GROW THE ISLAND - Plant flowers, bushes, pines, oaks and maples - Build cottages, cabins, a greenhouse, a lighthouse and a dock - Raise new land - Sunny Meadow, Quiet Cove, North Ridge - from open sea - The flagship moment: build the Bridge and a brand-new isle rises, "New area discovered!", with more ground to make your own FREE, AND ACTUALLY GENEROUS The whole loop - focus, earn, plant, build, grow - is free. You can fill a whole island without paying a cent. HEARTH PREMIUM Premium opens the full catalog - palms, campfires, wishing wells, cabins, greenhouses, lighthouses, companion pieces, and new islands as they arrive. Premium items still cost the Sparks you earn by focusing; money only opens the catalog, it never buys progress. $4.99/month, $29.99/year with a 7-day free trial, or $59.99 once for lifetime. Everything lives on your device. No account, no sign-up, and your island is never uploaded anywhere. Requires iOS 15 or later; the living 3D world needs a device with WebGL2 (iPhone 8 and later). ---------- Hearth Premium is available as a monthly ($4.99) or yearly ($29.99, with a 7-day free trial) auto-renewable subscription, or a one-time Lifetime purchase ($59.99). Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://starnova-io.github.io/hearth-island/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://starnova-io.github.io/hearth-island/privacy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Focus Garden at none against Hearth Island's shown. Hearth Island's advantage is update cadence (every 11 days vs every 6 weeks). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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. Focus Garden sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days and Hearth Island sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Focus Garden ships an update every 6 weeks, Hearth Island every 11 days. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.
| Parameter | Focus Garden | Hearth Island |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 11 days โ better |
| Ads | No โ better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 81 MB | 20 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ZENBYTE DIJITAL TEKNOLOJILER LIMITED SIRKETI | Nhan Vo |
In-app purchases
Focus Garden
- Weekly Plan$1.997 Days
- Monthly Plan$2.991 Month
- Annual Plan$19.991 Year
Hearth Island
- Hearth Premium Monthly$4.991 Month
- Hearth Premium Yearly7 Days trial$29.991 Year
- Hearth Premium Lifetime$59.99
Questions
Is Focus Garden free?
Is Hearth Island free?
Do Focus Garden or Hearth Island have ads?
Which is updated more often, Focus Garden or Hearth Island?
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