Comparison

Emphasis vs Focus Master.

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

Head to head
About

Emphasis

This app helps users achieve deep work by providing customizable focus intervals and ambient soundscapes. It tracks your focus progress and offers personalized statistics to help you reclaim your time from distractions.

Highlights
  • Customizable focus intervals
  • Ambient background sounds
  • Focus-O-Meter for distraction tracking
  • Personalized progress statistics
  • Cloud sync across devices
  • Highly customizable sessions
Features
Read full description

You sit down to work. 40 seconds later, your hand is already reaching for your phone. Familiar? You’re not lazy. Modern life is engineered for distraction, and trying to force yourself to focus through sheer willpower simply doesn't work. Emphasis doesn’t force you to fight your own brain. One tap, a gentle ambient sound, a steady rhythm—and you’re already in a session. Ended a focus block after 12 minutes instead of 25? That’s 12 minutes of deep work you didn't have before. In Emphasis, every minute counts. 4.7 · 20,000+ reviews · Lightweight at just 75 MB Whether you’re navigating an ADHD brain, tackling a heavy study load, or trying to find clarity in a chaotic work week, Emphasis is a sanctuary from the digital noise. We took the science of the Pomodoro technique and turned it into a gentle, intentional rhythm that respects your natural energy levels. DESIGNED FOR YOUR FLOW STATE: * Immersive Sonic Spaces: Silence background distractions with curated ambient soundscapes. From subtle rhythmic pulses to meditative nature tones, create an environment where getting started feels effortless. * The Focus-O-Meter: Awareness is the first step to change. Select the apps that pull you away from your work and watch your Focus-O-Meter rise as you choose presence over the scroll. It’s not about restriction—it’s about reclaiming the time that belongs to you. * Tailored Focus Blueprints: No two brains work the same. Our onboarding learns your workflow needs from the start, letting you fully customize your session lengths and restorative breaks to prevent burnout before it begins. * Progress, Not Perfection: Focus is a practice, not a destination. Use beautiful, minimalist progress charts and calendar stats to recognize your personal patterns of success and celebrate your consistency. * Apple Ecosystem Sync: Your focus journey shouldn't be tied to one desk. Emphasis syncs seamlessly across your iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch to keep your rhythm steady wherever you go. At just 75 MB, Emphasis won’t bloat your device, but it will help clear your mind. Join thousands of us who are choosing a kinder, more intentional way to live and work. Download Emphasis today and let’s find your rhythm together. https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Focus Master.

Enhance productivity with a Pomodoro timer and activity logger. Customize focus sessions, breaks, and tasks, track progress, and export logs. Offers passcode protection and cloud backup.

Highlights
  • Customizable Pomodoro and break times
  • Task management
  • Activity logging and statistics
  • Log export (PDF, HTML, CSV)
  • Passcode protection
  • Dropbox backup and restore
  • Today Widget support
Features
Read full description

We all have the things we should to do or finish, but actually we are often attracted by the checking the phone, reading the news and blogs, checking weather, playing game and other little staff, of course the time elapses and elapses when we are ‘off line’. We often feel guilty about time but how to change this? Pomodoro technique is recommended by many people to help to focus and enhance work effectiveness. Just focus on your study, work, reading or writing during pomodoro, all others should stand by. This app helps to do it better, it helps timing and recording, you can custom the time of pomodoro and break, check the logs and export by email. Here is the key features: ⁃ Custom pomodoro, short break and long break time. ⁃ Custom number of sessions of each set. ⁃ Different alert sounds. ⁃ Big hourglass counting style. ⁃ Custom different tasks. ⁃ Rewards a tomato icon after each pomodoro. ⁃ Supports pause and skip when counting. ⁃ Check pomodoro logs. ⁃ Check pomodoro statistics. ⁃ Export pomodoro logs by email in format of PDF, HTML or CSV. ⁃ Print pomodoro logs in app. ⁃ Set goal number of pomodoro. ⁃ Supports Today Widget. ⁃ Passcode protection. ⁃ Dropbox backup and restore. ⁃ Supports universal version (available on both iPhone and iPad). If you have any question or suggestion, please email to linklinksapp@tom.com.

Screenshots

Emphasis4 screens
Focus Master.4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Emphasis at none against Focus Master.'s shown. Emphasis also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 7 months). Focus Master.'s advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 84%) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model 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. Emphasis sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $3.49 per month and Focus Master. sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $2.99 per 6 months. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Emphasis ships an update fortnightly, Focus Master. every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Emphasis versus Focus Master.: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEmphasisFocus Master.
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (1.1K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews83.9% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.1K — better—
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 7 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS17.015.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size73 MB37 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAleksandr FiodorovLINKLINKS LTD

Customer experience

Emphasis

All ratings1,058 ratings
Positive92.6%
Neutral2.2%
Negative5.2%
Written reviews1,108 reviews
Positive83.9%
Neutral6.0%
Negative10.0%

Focus Master.

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Emphasis

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Timer not working correctly after breaks
  • Task lists not saving properly
  • App crashing on launch for some users
  • Sync issues causing data loss

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to track individual tasks and time spent
  • Landscape mode support
  • Apple Watch app integration
  • More color theme options
  • Improved statistics and progress tracking

Focus Master.

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Emphasis

Subscriptions4
  • Emphasis Premium Subscription$3.491 Month
  • Emphasis Premium Subscription$4.991 Month
  • Premium Feature (Yearly Promo)$12.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Emphasis Premium Subscription7 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time2
  • Lifetime premium$29.99
  • Lifetime premium$59.99
1 purchases

Focus Master.

Subscriptions1
  • Premium - 6 months7 Days trial$2.996 Months

Questions

Is Emphasis free?
Emphasis is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Focus Master. free?
Focus Master. is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Emphasis or Focus Master. have ads?
Focus Master. shows ads; Emphasis does not.
Which is updated more often, Emphasis or Focus Master.?
Emphasis ships an update fortnightly, and Focus Master. every 7 months. Most recently, Emphasis was updated on October 11, 2026 and Focus Master. on October 4, 2026.

Other comparisons