Comparison

Vana vs Now

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

Now

Features
Read full description

One task. One small step. A simpler way to get started. Now helps you clear your head, choose what matters and begin with a short, visible timer. It's built for anyone who finds starting hard, including many people with ADHD, and it's free to use with no account. START ONE TASK The Now screen shows one task, one concrete first step, and a big start button. No endless list. Type a task like "Clean the kitchen" and Now suggests a first step like "Put five dishes in the sink". You can edit it, choose another, or make it smaller. GET UNSTUCK Tap "I'm stuck" and pick what's in the way: don't know where to start, too big, low energy, distracted, waiting on something, or need a break. Each answer gives you one practical next move, such as 2 to 5 editable steps, the tiniest version of the task, or a timed break. START WITH TWO MINUTES A calm visual ring counts down two minutes. You can pause, resume, stop early or keep going. Ending early still counts. Timers keep correct time when your phone is locked or the app is closed, and a notification can let you know when time is up. FOCUS YOUR WAY After your start, choose 5, 10, 15 or 25 minutes, a custom length, or no timer at all. Breaks are built in. CLEAR YOUR HEAD Brain Dump gives you one big box for everything on your mind. Type it, or use the keyboard's microphone to dictate. Now splits it into tasks, and nothing is lost. Then pick one thing to start. KEEP YOUR PLAN SIMPLE The daily plan holds up to three tasks: one main, one smaller, one optional bonus. Everything else waits in a private parking lot (Later, Someday, Waiting, Completed), and nothing is automatically deleted. Unfinished tasks never pile onto tomorrow. MATCH YOUR ENERGY Comfy, Balanced or Turbo. You choose the pace, and you can change it anytime. SEE YOUR TIME Progress shows the facts: tasks finished, two-minute starts, recorded focus time, and days with a finished task. Time Mirror compares your estimates with the time you actually recorded. MEET MOCHI (OPTIONAL) Mochi is a small companion that naps while you focus and celebrates quietly when you finish. It grows with the tasks you complete. It's never needy or sad, and you can hide it with one switch. QUIET MODE Hide Mochi and decoration so you see just the task, the timer and the next step. You can also turn off Sparks and rewards, reduce animations, and silence sounds. Now respects Reduce Motion and works with VoiceOver and Dynamic Type. FREE AND PRO Free forever: the one-task screen, two-minute starter, Stuck button, task breakdown, unlimited tasks, Brain Dump, focus timers, daily plan and parking lot, reminders, Quiet Mode, and full data export. Now Pro adds routines, full Time Mirror history and insights, full task history with spreadsheet (CSV) export, and premium Mochi customization. Pro costs $4.99/month, $29.99/year or $59.99 once for lifetime (US prices; local prices are shown in the app). The yearly plan may include a free trial for eligible new subscribers, and the app shows this before you buy. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the period. Manage them in Settings > Apple Account > Subscriptions. Optional one-time cosmetic purchases (the characters Blaze, Luna and Nova, and Sparks packs) only change how your companion looks. PRIVATE BY DESIGN There's no account. Your tasks, notes and history are stored on your iPhone. Export or delete them anytime. Purchases are processed by Apple, and RevenueCat receives an anonymous identifier to confirm your subscription. Your tasks are never sent. Now is a productivity-support tool. It does not diagnose, treat or manage ADHD or any medical condition. Terms: https://61ffklb56je1kkdm9fhht-web.rork.live/terms Privacy: https://61ffklb56je1kkdm9fhht-web.rork.live/privacy

Screenshots

Vana4 screens
Now4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Vana at none against Now's 8. Vana also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 months). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Now sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Vana asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Vana ships an update every 5 days, Now every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Vana versus Now: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVanaNow
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS18.018.0
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB15 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRudra SahaJames Gray

In-app purchases

None

Vana

No in-app purchases

8 purchases

Now

Subscriptions2
  • Now Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Now Yearly7 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time6
  • Spark Pouch$1.99
  • Luna the Moon Bunny$2.99
  • Blaze the Fox$2.99
Show 3 more
  • Nova the Star Pup$4.99
  • Spark Chest$4.99
  • Now Lifetime$59.99

Questions

Is Vana free?
Vana is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Now free?
Now is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Vana or Now have ads?
Neither Vana nor Now shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Vana or Now?
Vana ships an update every 5 days, and Now every 2 months. Most recently, Vana was updated on September 26, 2026 and Now on October 11, 2026.

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