Comparison

Vana vs Naru

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

Head to head
About

Vana

This app provides a shared focus timer experience, creating a virtual library atmosphere to enhance productivity. Users can join sessions with animal companions representing real people, fostering a sense of accountability without direct interaction. Earn in-app rewards for focused time to customize your virtual space.

Highlights
  • Shared focus timer sessions
  • Virtual animal companions
  • Body doubling effect
  • Earnable in-app currency
  • Customizable virtual garden
  • Lock screen Live Activity
Features
Read full description

Vana is a focus timer with other people in it, and a gentle app blocker when you want one. It is free, and you can start without making an account. Press Begin and your animal companion settles into a small grove beside everyone else who is focusing right now. Nobody talks. Nobody scrolls. The light drifts from morning to dusk while you work. Think of the last time you got real work done in a library. You stayed in your seat because the people around you were staying in theirs. People with ADHD call this body doubling. Vana is that library, open at whatever hour you need it. HOW A SESSION WORKS Grove sessions run 30 or 60 minutes, and your timer is your own, so you can arrive in the middle of someone else's hour and still finish on yours. A grove holds eight people at most. Tap any companion to see how long that person has been focusing. There is no chat. You can send a wordless bubble, or a heart to someone who sat through the hour with you. Every animal in the ring belongs to a real person. Vana will never pad a quiet room with bots, so on a slow night your grove may be just you and your egg. THE GATE If you like, close the gate when a session begins: the apps you choose wait outside until it ends. If you came looking for an app blocker, this is that, but gentler. You are never locon opens the gate, and every focused minute still counts. The gate never closes on its own. It uses Apple's Screen Time on your device, and Vana never sees which apps you choose. WHAT THE HOURS TURN INTO Your first full grove session always ends with an egge grove session leaves one too. Eggs hold a newcompanion, something to wear or place, or more honey, so no hatch is ever wasted. There are nine species, and every animal comes out one of a kind, with its own coat and temperament. Honey is earned by focusing and cannot be bought. Spend it on cozy things to wear, cushions to meditate on, and decor for a garden of your own. The garden is a golden hilltop above the clouds, and you can focus up there alone, 5 to 90 minutes, whenever the grove feels like too much. The rarest pieces in the shop never come from eggs, so anything unusual on a companion was worked for. THE LANTERN Thirty minutes of focus lights that day's lantern. You get one grace day, your longest run is always remembered, and nothing here will ever tell you that you failed. Leaving a session early still counts every focused minute. No plant dies if you stop. Sign in with Apple whenever you like and your companions come with you to a new phone. A Live Activity keeps your session on the lock screen, and a home-screen widget carries your lantern streak. Vana sits beside your work and asks nothing of you except the time you already meant to spend.

About

Naru

This app helps you track where your attention goes by using a Pomodoro timer. Log focus sessions against specific tasks, view detailed statistics on your productivity, and utilize lock screen integration for seamless tracking. It offers customizable timers and ambient soundscapes to enhance concentration.

Highlights
  • Customizable focus and break lengths
  • Lock screen and Dynamic Island integration
  • Task-based time logging
  • Detailed productivity statistics and heatmaps
  • Ambient soundscapes for focus
  • Zen mode for distraction-free work
Features
Read full description

Naru is a Pomodoro timer that helps you focus on one thing, shut out distractions and actually get it done. Pick what you're working on, hit start, and give it your full attention until the clock runs out. Then take a break before you burn out. Short rounds of real focus with rest in between get more done than a whole day of half-attention. Phone keeps pulling you away? Block the apps you scroll the most, and they stay locked while you focus. Want it even stricter? Turn on strict mode, and leaving the app ends your session. Stand your phone up and go full screen for a big flip clock that keeps you on track. Put on rain or ocean waves to block out the noise around you. Every minute you focus is saved to that task, so you can see what's really getting your time and what isn't. Watch the hours add up, keep your streak alive, and set a daily goal to build a habit that sticks. Naru Pro gets you the app blocker, strict mode, your full history, daily goals, Calendar and Apple Health sync, and every soundscape. Try it free before you pay, and cancel anytime. Privacy Policy: https://www.narufocus.com/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.narufocus.com/terms

Screenshots

Vana4 screens
Naru4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Vana at none against Naru's 2. On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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. Naru sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Vana asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Vana against 5.0 for Naru. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 3 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Vana ships an update every 5 days, Naru every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Vana versus Naru: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVanaNaru
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings23 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS18.018.0
Further details — not scored
Size23 MB23 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRudra SahaBolaji Cyril Omorodion

Customer experience

Vana

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Naru

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Vana

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Naru

Subscriptions2
  • Naru Pro Monthly3 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • Naru Pro Annual7 Days trial$29.991 Year

Questions

Is Vana free?
Vana is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Naru free?
Naru is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Vana or Naru?
Vana and Naru are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2 and 3 ratings respectively.
Do Vana or Naru have ads?
Neither Vana nor Naru shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Vana or Naru?
Vana ships an update every 5 days, and Naru every 3 days. Most recently, Vana was updated on October 24, 2026 and Naru on October 25, 2026.

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