Comparison

OpenFocus vs Tomato Dial

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

Head to head
About

OpenFocus

This minimal timer app starts counting down the moment it's opened, offering a distraction-free way to manage focus and break intervals. It provides customizable durations, multiple visual themes, and optional features like long breaks and daily goals, all without ads or in-app purchases.

Highlights
  • Instant start timer
  • Customizable focus/break durations
  • Optional long breaks
  • 7 color themes
  • 4 timer faces
  • Lock Screen & Dynamic Island integration
  • Reliable alarms
Features
Read full description

OpenFocus is a minimal pomodoro timer that starts the moment you open it. Free, forever. No ads. No in-app purchases. No account. No subscription. Setup-free at launch — yet there when you want to tune it. — Features — Starts instantly The focus timer is already counting down by the time the screen appears. No start button. No mode to pick. Custom focus and break durations Default is the classic 25/5. Open the settings sheet (when stopped) to set focus (5–90 min) and break (5–30 min) independently, in 5-minute steps. Long break (optional) Pomodoro Technique–style long break. After every Nth completed focus (configurable, 2–8), the break extends to 3× its normal length. Off by default. 7 color themes Choose from mono, ink, sea, forest, sand, rose, dusk. The chosen theme applies app-wide and also to the Lock Screen Live Activity and Dynamic Island. 4 timer faces Pick how the countdown looks: ring (default hairline), digital (bedside-clock LCD), flip (mechanical split-flap tiles), or analog (single-hand). Digital and flip can rotate to landscape with a tap — handy when you prop the phone up on a desk. Adjust on the fly Settings open mid-session too. Color, face, daily goal, and keep-awake change instantly. Focus and break durations stay locked until you fully stop the timer, so the running countdown never desyncs from what you see. Daily session counter The app counts completed focus sessions per day (auto-resets at midnight). Optionally set a daily goal (1–20) to see progress like "today · 3 / 8" — leave it at 0 and only the count is shown. Keep screen awake (optional) When on, the screen stays on while the timer is in the foreground. Useful for the "place phone on desk and watch the countdown" workflow, without changing your device-wide auto-lock. Auto phase switching When focus ends, break begins. When break ends, focus begins. The cycle continues without you touching the screen. Lock Screen & Dynamic Island Built on iOS Live Activities. Check the remaining time from your Lock Screen or the Dynamic Island without opening the app. Beautifully animated Each theme has its own focus and break colors. Smooth color crossfades on phase change, subtle haptics, Apple-grade SF Symbol morphing — every transition feels native. Reliable alarms Powered by iOS 26 AlarmKit. Notifies you at the end of every focus and break interval, even in the background, even on silent. Privacy first We don't collect anything. Settings and timer state are stored only on your device. No network requests, no analytics, no tracking. — Best for people who — • Want to try the pomodoro technique without setup overhead • Like a single tap to start — but still want to tune their own cadence and look • Are tired of cluttered timer apps • Believe in minimal tools done well — Not for people who — • Need statistics or reports • Want task management built in OpenFocus is built by subtraction, not addition. Minimal at first. Quietly customizable when you ask for it.

About

Tomato Dial

Features
Read full description

Start focusing without setting up projects, tasks, or complicated routines. Turn the tomato dial, choose any duration from 1 to 60 minutes, and release to begin the countdown automatically. Tomato Dial brings the feel of a classic mechanical Pomodoro timer to iPhone and iPad. Its dimensional dial, continuous turning gesture, haptic feedback, and optional ticking sound make it easy to settle into study, work, or deep-focus sessions. Features: • Turn the tomato dial to choose 1–60 minutes • Automatic countdown after you release the dial • Clear dimensional minute markings • Haptic feedback at minute and five-minute intervals • Pause, resume, or reset whenever you need • Optional ticking and completion sounds • Seven visual tomato themes No account. No ads. Works offline. Your preferences stay on your device, and the app does not collect personal data.

Screenshots

OpenFocus2 screens
Tomato Dial2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Tomato Dial at 17.0 against OpenFocus's 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
OpenFocus versus Tomato Dial: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterOpenFocusTomato Dial
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1 — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS26.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperYOSHIKI KOAKUTSU玉凤 崔

In-app purchases

None

OpenFocus

No in-app purchases

None

Tomato Dial

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is OpenFocus free?
OpenFocus is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Tomato Dial free?
Tomato Dial is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do OpenFocus or Tomato Dial have ads?
Neither OpenFocus nor Tomato Dial shows ads.

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