Emphasis vs Dopamine Resque
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Emphasis
This app helps you achieve deep focus using the Pomodoro Technique. It blocks distracting apps, provides ambient sounds, and tracks your focused time to help you understand your work patterns and reach your goals.
- Customizable focus timers
- Distracting app blocking
- Ambient soundscapes
- Focus time statistics
- Focus hours scheduling
- Home screen widgets
- Cross-device synchronization
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Emphasis is an ADHD-friendly Focus Timer. It is built around the principles of the Pomodoro Technique, which in a nutshell are bursts of intentional focused work followed by short breaks. Every couple of hours you take a longer break to recharge and get ready for the next cycle. Following this approach lets you get into the flow state without much effort. Plan your day ahead with time blocks for focused work and start the timer. Emphasis will take care of blocking out distracting apps like social media or video streaming services. It will also provide you with a steady layer of ambient sound that helps your brain feel anchored instead of hunting for the next distraction, because for an ADHD mind, silence can feel restless. Emphasis tracks the time you spent focused and gives you a nice overview of how you spend your days. Use it long enough and you will see patterns that will help you move towards your goals. Emphasis is fully integrated into the Apple ecosystem with Widgets and a watchOS app. You can also use it on your MacBook, all synced together seamlessly. Here is the full list of features: * Customizable focus timers. You define the duration of your focus time, short and long breaks, as well as the length of the focus cycle. You can also set up reminders for each timer. * Block Distracting Apps. You can select the apps that get you out of your flow and Emphasis will block those apps during your focus sessions. * Sonic Spaces. Emphasis comes with a set of ambient sounds & binaural beats. You can fully customize and create ambients that are aimed to aid your focus or relax you during your yoga session. * Statistics. Emphasis tracks your focused time and displays it in the form of interactive stats. Each focus timer has a color assigned to it so you can see how you spend your days at a quick glance at an Emphasis calendar. * Focus hours schedule. Emphasis lets you block out time-wasting apps during your focus hours. I can't tell you how many times this feature brought me back to what matters when my hand reached out for a phone to scroll some social media, only to get reminded by Emphasis that I'm on focus hours. * Widgets. Emphasis comes with a set of widgets that let you start your timers or have your focus time statistics right on your home screen. * Works on your Apple Watch, MacBook & iPad all seamlessly synchronized. https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Dopamine Resque
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Dopamine Resque breaks short-form addiction with structure, not willpower. Set a time, press one button, and the apps you chose are locked. That's it. No points, no characters, no confetti — this app refuses to become another dopamine hit. How it works 1. Pick a session length (15 min–8 hours) 2. Choose the apps to block 3. Press start. They stay locked until time is up. Unlocking is not easy - Breathing gate: to unlock early, you must sit through a breathing screen. Each attempt doubles the wait. - Hard mode: no unlocking until the session ends. Force-quitting the app won't help — the block survives. Plain, honest stats Today's focus time, day streak, 7-day chart, session success rate. Records, not rewards. Privacy first No account. No server. Everything stays on your device. App blocking uses Apple's Screen Time technology — we can't even see which apps you picked. Stop scrolling. Start living. ※ Screen Time permission is required for app blocking.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Dopamine Resque at none against Emphasis's 6. Dopamine Resque also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs fortnightly). Emphasis's advantage is device support (4 vs 1). On price, ads 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
Both are free to download. Emphasis sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $3.49 per month. Dopamine Resque asks for nothing beyond the download.
Emphasis ships an update fortnightly, Dopamine Resque every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Emphasis | Dopamine Resque |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (1.1K ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 83.9% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1.1K — better | — |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 91 MB | 17 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Aleksandr Fiodorov | tae hyeong um |
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
Dopamine Resque
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Emphasis
- Emphasis Premium Subscription$3.491 Month
- Emphasis Premium Subscription$4.991 Month
- Premium Feature (Yearly Promo)$12.991 Year
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- Emphasis Premium Subscription7 Days trial$29.991 Year
- Lifetime premium$29.99
- Lifetime premium$59.99
Dopamine Resque
No in-app purchases









