Kissa vs Guardian Study Room
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Kissa
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Kissa is a cozy Pomodoro timer that turns one task into a calming café ritual. Choose what you want to do, start Pomodoro or Count Up, and settle into your own illustrated coffee shop. Mix ambient sounds, complete focus sessions, earn cups, and unlock new characters and café details as your routine grows. Focus without punishment or pressure. Kissa gives you a quiet place to begin, restorative breaks, and an optional Gentle Nudge when you wander away. FOCUS YOUR WAY • Use Pomodoro for structured focus and breaks • Switch to Count Up for open-ended study, reading, or work • Choose a task before you begin, or start without one • Keep the screen awake while your session is active • Return gently with breathing and transition screens BUILD A SPACE THAT HELPS YOU START • Mix café ambience, rain, fire, keyboard sounds, noise, music, and more • Adjust each sound and save favorite mixes with Kissa Pro • Complete focus sessions to earn cups • Unlock characters, counters, plants, rugs, lamps, colors, and decorations KEEP YOUR NEXT STEP CLEAR • Capture simple to-dos without managing a complicated project system • Add tags and choose what you want to focus on now • Schedule future sessions and reminders with Kissa Pro SEE THE WORK YOU HAVE DONE • Review completed and canceled sessions in Timeline • Explore focus time, sessions, tasks, and streaks in Statistics • Watch your café grow along with your routine OPTIONAL APPLE INTEGRATIONS • Manually back up and restore your cups, unlocked items, tasks, history, and settings with private iCloud backups. Off by default, with no automatic synchronization between devices. • Save newly completed Focus sessions and Count Up sessions you explicitly finish as Mindful Minutes in Apple Health. Off by default; Kissa does not read Health data or export past history. • Export planned sessions from the Pro planner to Apple Calendar. Events remain independent copies, without automatic synchronization. GENTLE SUPPORT, YOUR CHOICE Choose Gentle Nudge for an optional reminder if you leave during Focus, or Open Table for a completely quiet session. Kissa never blocks your other apps. KISSA PRO Unlock advanced timers, custom breaks and cycles, the complete sound catalog, saved mixes, planning, Timeline, Statistics, custom tags, and access to additional café items, including items you can unlock with earned cups. Made for studying, working, reading, and anyone who wants a warmer, lower-pressure way to focus. Start free on iPhone and iPad. No Kissa account required Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Guardian Study Room
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The room where it's okay to just sit down at your desk on the days you can't even start. Hang today's mood out to dry, and a guardian spirit that matches it appears and sits with you. ■ Hang out your mood · Pick today's feeling - anxious, drained, unmotivated, in flow, or pressured · When your session ends, the mood you hung out dries up and is put away ■ A guardian by your side · An otter, a puppy, or a cat appears to match your mood · Tap to change your guardian - each one offers a word of comfort · In the K-Study Room, meet the Maiden Ghost and the Young Lord Ghost ■ Pomodoro timer · 25 and 50 minute sessions built in · Set any length from 5 minutes to 3 hours · After each focus session, break guidance carries you to the next one · Time flows accurately even when you leave the app, and a bell and notification tell you when it's done ■ Today's to-dos and calendar · Check off today's tasks and manage to-dos per goal · See your exam day (D-Day), studied days, and a 7-day focus graph on the calendar · Streaks earn you a celebration from your guardian ■ Two room moods · The rainy Guardian's Room and the hanji-paper K-Study Room · The view outside the window changes with the time of day (dawn, day, dusk, night) ■ Gentle sounds · Rain, fireplace, lo-fi, and forest sounds on endless loop · Or keep it silent on days you'd rather not hear a thing · English and Korean are supported - the app follows your phone's language Great for you if · You fall apart quickly when studying alone · Starting is the hardest part (a guardian will hold you to "just five minutes") · Emotions keep getting in the way of studying ※ This app does not guarantee academic results. It is a helper for building study habits. ※ Timers and logs are stored on your device only and are never sent anywhere. ※ Please take plenty of breaks during long focus sessions.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Guardian Study Room at none against Kissa's 5. Guardian Study Room also leads on update cadence (daily vs fortnightly) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads 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
Both are free to download. Kissa sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per 3 months. Guardian Study Room asks for nothing beyond the download.
Kissa ships an update fortnightly, Guardian Study Room daily. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Kissa | Guardian Study Room |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Daily — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 232 MB | 34 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Christian Andrade | Hyunwoo Lee |
In-app purchases
Kissa
- Kissa Pro Quarterly$9.993 Months
- Kissa Pro Annual14 Days trial$19.991 Year
- PRO Annualy Family$24.991 Year
- PRO - Lifetime$29.99
- PRO Family Lifetime$39.99
Guardian Study Room
No in-app purchases









