Comparison

Emphasis vs Habit Tracker

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

Habit Tracker

This app helps you build positive habits and break negative ones by focusing on habit strength rather than streaks. It offers interactive widgets, detailed statistics, and customizable features to keep you motivated on your journey to success. Organize habits into collections and add rich text notes for detailed planning.

Highlights
  • Habit Strength Meter
  • Special tracking mode for quitting bad habits
  • Interactive home screen widgets
  • Detailed statistics and performance tracking
  • Habit collections for organization
  • Customizable icons and colors
  • Rich text notes for habits
  • Habit reminders and summaries
Features
Read full description

Motivated – the ultimate habit tracker for your journey to success. Motivated will help you build good habits and quit the bad ones. Unlike other habit trackers, Motivated focuses on Habit Strength, not streaks, to keep you motivated throughout the journey. BUILD GOOD HABITS It's easier than ever with our Habit Strength Meter. Stop being demotivated by a broken streak and start focusing on metrics that matter. QUIT BAD HABITS A special tracking mode that auto-completes your habits at the end of the day, so you don't have to do it manually. INTERACTIVE WIDGETS View and complete your habits right from the home screen. It's super easy and super fast. DETAILED STATISTICS Stay on top of your performance with powerful statistics. Progress is what keeps us going. COLLECTIONS Stay organized and focused by grouping your habits into categories. Create morning, afternoon, evening, or any custom collection, and it will appear as a filter in your habit list. CUSTOMIZABLE Make every habit your own with over 550 custom icons and every color imaginable. POWERFUL Feel free to adjust your goals and repeat intervals without affecting your statistics. RICH TEXT NOTES Add rich text notes to all your habits. Plan your gym routines, keep track of your reading list, or capture your thoughts. REMINDERS Add habit reminders and opt in for morning and evening summaries, so you never miss a thing. Feel free to contact us anytime at hello@motivatedapp.com Privacy Policy: https://motivatedapp.com/privacy-policy Terms and Conditions: https://motivatedapp.com/terms-and-conditions

Screenshots

Emphasis4 screens
Habit Tracker4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Emphasis at 1.1K against Habit Tracker's 100. Emphasis also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs monthly) and device support (4 vs 2). Habit Tracker's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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 Habit Tracker sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Emphasis against 4.6 for Habit Tracker. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Emphasis has 1.1K ratings behind it against 100, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 84% of Emphasis's written reviews are positive against 78% of Habit Tracker's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Emphasis ships an update fortnightly, Habit Tracker monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Emphasis versus Habit Tracker: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEmphasisHabit Tracker
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (1.1K ratings) — better4.6 (100 ratings)
Positive reviews83.9% of reviews — better77.6% of reviews
Number of ratings1.1K — better100
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size74 MB70 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAleksandr FiodorovHazel Apps SIA

Customer experience

Emphasis

All ratings1,063 ratings
Positive92.6%
Neutral2.2%
Negative5.3%
Written reviews1,110 reviews
Positive83.9%
Neutral6.0%
Negative10.1%

Habit Tracker

All ratings99 ratings
Positive89.9%
Neutral2.0%
Negative8.1%
Written reviews76 reviews
Positive77.6%
Neutral6.6%
Negative15.8%

User reviews

Emphasis

From 1.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Minimalistic and simple design
  • 👍 Customizable timer settings
  • 💡 Helpful for productivity and focus
  • 🚀 Sleek and intuitive interface
  • 👍 Visually appealing countdown timer

Room to improve

  • 🔒 Subscription model required for full features
  • 🐛 Sync and login issues
  • 🐛 Bugs and crashes after updates
  • 🔋 Battery drain issues
  • 🐛 Unreliable notifications and alerts

Habit Tracker

From 100 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ✨ Clean and intuitive UI design
  • 👍 User-friendly interface
  • 🎯 Effective habit tracking functionality
  • 📊 Useful statistics and metrics
  • 🎨 Visually appealing and attractive

Room to improve

  • 💳 Unexpected subscription charges
  • 🔄 Sync issues between devices
  • 📊 Poor data visualization and statistics
  • 🐛 Login and authentication problems
  • ⚠️ Misleading free trial representation

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

Habit Tracker

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • Incorrect habit statistics calculation
  • Synchronization failures across devices
  • Data loss on device transfer
  • App stuck on logo screen
  • Login functionality not working
Show 4 more
  • Restore purchase button non-functional
  • Promo lifetime premium not properly linked to Apple ID
  • Unexpected charges despite no signup
  • Premium version installation issues

Requested features

15 requests
  • Apple Watch app support
  • Widget functionality and customization
  • iPad compatibility
  • Multiple habit tracking per day
  • Timer display at top of screen
Show 10 more
  • Habit reset option
  • Monthly calendar view
  • Account creation for cross-device sync
  • Bad habit tracking feature
  • Task rescheduling capability
  • Apple Health integration
  • Time-of-day routine organization
  • Apple Shortcuts automation
  • Vietnamese language support
  • Enhanced premium customization options

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
5 purchases

Habit Tracker

Subscriptions3
  • Motivated Pro Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Motivated Pro Yearly$14.991 Year
  • Motivated Pro Yearly$30.001 Year
One-time2
  • Motivated Pro Lifetime$24.99
  • Motivated Pro Lifetime$50.00

Questions

Is Emphasis free?
Emphasis is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Habit Tracker free?
Habit Tracker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Emphasis or Habit Tracker?
Emphasis is rated higher. Emphasis averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.1K ratings, while Habit Tracker averages 4.6 from 100 ratings.
Do Emphasis or Habit Tracker have ads?
Neither Emphasis nor Habit Tracker shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Emphasis or Habit Tracker?
Emphasis ships an update fortnightly, and Habit Tracker monthly. Most recently, Emphasis was updated on November 1, 2026 and Habit Tracker on October 21, 2026.

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