Comparison

StayTask Time Boxing vs Blocks

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

Head to head
About

StayTask Time Boxing

Features
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StayTask: Time Boxing radically transforms your productivity. Forget about endless lists and the overwhelm of pending tasks. Here, you assign a specific time block to each task and focus only on what you are doing right now. It is simple, visual, and extremely effective. Instead of working until exhaustion or falling into procrastination, you define a clear timeframe and work with productive urgency. When the time is up, the task is too. This eliminates paralyzing perfectionism, blocks unproductive multitasking, and turns overwhelming projects into manageable, highly motivating blocks. WHAT MAKES STAYTASK DIFFERENT: The power of ALWAYS-ON: Your focus shouldn't be interrupted. We've designed a full-screen mode where the always-on clock and the always-on countdown take center stage. The remaining time is displayed large, always visible, and without the screen turning off. It works like a desktop productivity display that keeps you immersed in your workflow: no distractions and no need to touch your phone to open the app. Task creation in 3 taps: Choose a preset duration, a custom one, or a deadline, and start working instantly. Zero friction. Visual and intuitive design: The countdown works in real-time and dynamically changes color based on the task's progress and status. Total Control: Pause, resume, mark as completed, or failed. Need an extra push? It includes a 5-minute grace period and the quick option to create a task continuation. StayTask is built for the present. No complex project managers, no endless tags. Just you, your task, and the time you dedicate to it. This simplicity creates mental clarity and helps you get more done with much less effort. PERFECT FOR YOU IF YOU ARE: A busy professional or executive: Your day is a chaos of meetings and you need to squeeze free gaps for urgent tasks. A remote or home office worker: You struggle with daily discipline and need to structure your schedule at home. A developer or programmer: You seek "Deep Work" sessions and continuous coding without interruptions. A freelancer or consultant: You bill by the hour and require total, immersive control over your work sessions. An entrepreneur or startup founder: You handle multiple areas and need to prioritize rapid execution. A writer, designer, or artist: You want to beat creative blocks by making consistent progress without the pressure of perfection. A content creator: You need to record, edit, or script within strict timeframes to be profitable. An athlete or coach: You want to visually time routines, stretches, or training sessions. A home manager: You have dozens of household chores and want to complete them like a race against the clock. A student: You need deep, focused study blocks without looking at other apps. Anyone who wants to structure their day and regain control of their time. With StayTask, you take back the reins of your day. Every completed time block brings you closer to your goals without burnout, without endless lists, and without feeling like you aren't making progress. Download StayTask: Time Boxing for free today and start working in a smarter, more focused, and more human way. Your time is your most valuable resource. Focus on time. Master your day. Welcome to the simplest and most powerful way to be productive!

About

Blocks

Features
Read full description

Give your time to what matters. Blocks is a local-first time budget and activity timer for iPhone and Apple Watch. Choose an activity, start the timer, and spend your week with intention โ€” one block at a time. START A BLOCK Open Today, pick an activity, and go. Blocks keeps counting while you use other apps or put your phone down. Pause, resume, or stop from your iPhone, Apple Watch, Lock Screen, widget, Control Center, or the Dynamic Island. PLAN YOUR WEEK Set how much discretionary time you control each week and give your activities weekly goals. See progress toward each goal in Insights, explore 7-day, 30-day, 90-day, and yearly patterns, and export your history to CSV. COUNT WHAT MATTERS Use counters for things you want to record without timing. Log an occurrence now or choose a past date and time. Correct existing entries, add notes and descriptions, and explore your history. Counters have their own CSV exports and never consume your weekly time budget. SCREEN TIME โ€” OPTIONAL Choose apps, categories, or websites in Apple's Screen Time picker to compare scrolling with the time you intentionally tracked. Blocks uses individual Family Controls authorization, never blocks or limits an app or website, keeps its scrolling insights on device, and includes this feature free. WORKS WHERE YOU DO Start and control blocks from iPhone or Apple Watch, even when the watch is offline. Keep the current block close with Live Activities, Dynamic Island, Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets, Control Center, and watch complications. APPLE HEALTH โ€” OPTIONAL AND READ ONLY Optionally read workouts, sleep, and mindful minutes from Apple Health. Blocks never writes to Health or sends Health data to its servers. User-initiated CSV exports include available sleep, workouts, and mindful minutes by default, with controls to exclude them before sharing. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Core tracking works without an account or cloud sync. Your records stay on your devices unless you choose to export them. No ads, tracking SDKs, or data brokers. Optional first-party product analytics are off by default and can be turned off and deleted in Settings. FREE TO USE Every feature is included for up to five active activities and three active counters. Blocks Unlimited is an auto-renewing monthly subscription that removes both limits for $2.99/month in the U.S. You can cancel in your App Store subscription settings. Existing records remain available after expiration. Terms of Use: https://timeblocks.io/terms

Screenshots

StayTask Time Boxing4 screens
Blocks4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Blocks at weekly against StayTask Time Boxing's every 2 months. StayTask Time Boxing's advantage is iOS requirement (18.6 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. StayTask Time Boxing sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Blocks sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

StayTask Time Boxing ships an update every 2 months, Blocks weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
StayTask Time Boxing versus Blocks: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStayTask Time BoxingBlocks
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsWeekly โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, Apple Watch โ€” better
Requires iOS18.6 โ€” better26.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size8 MB13 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperGary MedinaNathaniel Gerdes

In-app purchases

2 purchases

StayTask Time Boxing

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Plan$1.991 Month
  • Yearly Plan$17.991 Year
1 purchases

Blocks

Subscriptions1
  • Blocks Unlimited$2.991 Month

Questions

Is StayTask Time Boxing free?
StayTask Time Boxing is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Blocks free?
Blocks is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do StayTask Time Boxing or Blocks have ads?
Neither StayTask Time Boxing nor Blocks shows ads.
Which is updated more often, StayTask Time Boxing or Blocks?
StayTask Time Boxing ships an update every 2 months, and Blocks weekly. Most recently, StayTask Time Boxing was updated on October 11, 2026 and Blocks on October 17, 2026.

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