Comparison

Nurrow vs GladeFocus

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

Head to head
About

Nurrow

Features
Read full description

Nurrow is a focus timer with a pet that grows when you do. Pick a length, 25 minutes, an hour, whatever fits, and hit start. Your pet settles in beside you while you work. When the session ends, you've earned shards: the currency you spend on eggs that hatch into new pets to keep, name, and collect. It isn't a punishment system. Skip a few days and your pet gets a little glum, but it perks back up the next time you sit down. It's there to make starting feel less like work and more like showing up for something that's waiting on you. WHY IT WORKS Most focus apps stack timers on top of guilt. Nurrow flips it: the reward is small, frequent, and tied to something that feels alive. You're not chasing a streak for its own sake; you're trying to hatch the next egg and see what's inside. FEATURES • Focus and Chill modes, pick the pressure that fits your day • Customizable timer for Pomodoro, deep work, or study sprints • Hatch eggs and grow a collection of 100 pets, common ones hatch fast, rare ones take real focus time • Pet Home, a cozy room to visit and decorate while your pet roams on its own • Share your hatch reveals as a card with friends • Six cozy habitats to choose and unlock • Journal your sessions and track real focus hours • Ambient sounds: rain, café, nature, lo-fi • Local notifications only, no account, no login, no tracking OFFLINE BY DEFAULT No account. No email. Your data lives on your phone. Terms of Use: https://nurrow.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://nurrow.app/privacy

About

GladeFocus

This app helps you stay focused by blocking distracting apps and websites. Earn virtual currency by completing focus sessions to grow a personalized digital garden and compete on a global leaderboard. Achieve milestones and unlock special trees to enhance your virtual landscape.

Highlights
  • Fully locked app and website blocking
  • Gamified focus sessions with Acorn rewards
  • Grow and customize a digital garden
  • Global and friend leaderboards
  • Scheduled, recurring, and Pomodoro sessions
  • Cross-device synchronization
Read full description

GladeFocus turns "I'll stop scrolling in a minute" into focus you can actually see grow. Start a session, and GladeFocus blocks your distracting apps and websites until your time is up. Every minute you stay focused earns Acorns and grows a garden that's entirely your own. Finish sessions, plant seeds, watch your trees mature, and climb the monthly leaderboard. Your focus is the only thing that grows it. FULLY LOCKED BLOCKING - Blocks distracting apps with no easy way to bypass - Blocks distracting websites in every browser, not just one - Blocking holds even if you try to wriggle out mid-session - Build blocklists once and reuse them for any session GROW YOUR GLADE - Every focused minute earns Acorns - Spend Acorns in the Seed Shop and plant your garden - Trees grow as you keep focusing, then harvest for more Acorns - Hit focus milestones to earn golden keepsake trees CLIMB THE LEADERBOARD - See how your focused time stacks up against the community - Monthly rankings that reset so there's always a fresh start - Compete with friends globally for rewards BUILT FOR REAL FOCUS - Schedule future sessions, recurring sessions, and pomodoro sessions - A session history so you can see your streaks and your slips - Your Glade: watch your focused time add up over the days - Clean, distraction-free design that gets out of your way SYNCS EVERYWHERE GladeFocus shares one account across iPhone, Mac, and Chrome. Your blocklists, sessions, garden, and history follow you across every device. GLADE PRO Upgrade to Glade Pro for unlimited blocklists and advanced session types (scheduled, recurring, and pomodoro). Pro is an auto-renewable subscription billed through your Apple ID. Everything else in the app, including all blocking and free session types, works without Pro. Sign in with Apple. No ads, no third-party tracking. Ready to actually get the thing done? Plant your focus. Start a session. Terms of Service: https://gladefocus.com/terms

Screenshots

Nurrow4 screens
GladeFocus4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: GladeFocus at every 3 weeks against Nurrow's every 2 months. 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. Nurrow sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and GladeFocus sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $10.00 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Nurrow ships an update every 2 months, GladeFocus every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
Nurrow versus GladeFocus: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNurrowGladeFocus
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.115.1
Further details — not scored
Size51 MB45 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAaron WakelyWILLIAM LIU

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Nurrow

Subscriptions2
  • Caretaker$3.991 Month
  • The Deep-Guardian Pass$39.991 Year
One-time1
  • Forever Forager$49.99
2 purchases

GladeFocus

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Monthly7 Days trial$10.001 Month
  • Pro Yearly7 Days trial$60.001 Year

Questions

Is Nurrow free?
Nurrow is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is GladeFocus free?
GladeFocus is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Nurrow or GladeFocus have ads?
Neither Nurrow nor GladeFocus shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Nurrow or GladeFocus?
Nurrow ships an update every 2 months, and GladeFocus every 3 weeks. Most recently, Nurrow was updated on October 28, 2026 and GladeFocus on October 25, 2026.

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