Comparison

Pond vs Focus Timer & Keeper

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

Head to head
About

Pond

This app helps you regain control of your screen time and digital wellbeing. It offers mindful app blocking, tracks your digital balance, and provides a visual representation of your focused time. It's designed to foster healthier phone habits without guilt or gamification.

Highlights
  • Mindful app blocking
  • Screen time tracking
  • Daily balance score
  • Scheduled focus sessions
  • Lotus garden visualizer
  • Breathing prompts
Features
Read full description

Pond - Your Digital Sanctuary A mindful app blocker for screen time balance and digital wellbeing You already know the feeling. Another evening lost to scrolling. Reaching for your phone during dinner. The exhaustion of being always on. Your phone promised connection. Instead, it scattered your attention into a thousand pieces. Pond is different. A gentle app blocker and screen time tracker that helps you reclaim your time. Not through guilt or gamification, but through quiet intention and mindful awareness. Three Things That Matter: Daily Balance Score One number that shows the quality of your digital day. Are you creating or consuming? Connecting or scrolling? Resting or stimulating? Not to judge—to help you notice. Track your digital wellbeing and build healthier phone habits. Mindful Blocking Set focus sessions for work, meditation, meals, or sleep. Block distracting apps and social media automatically. Your scattered attention becomes whole again. Just you and what you chose to do. Your Lotus Garden Each moment of presence blooms a lotus in your pond. Not points or streaks—just quiet beauty that grows with your practice. A visual reminder of time well spent and focus reclaimed. What You Can Do: • Block distracting apps during focus time • Set daily limits on social media and screen time • Schedule recurring sessions (work, sleep, meals, study) • Track your balance and phone usage without judgment • Take mindful breaks with breathing prompts • See weekly patterns in your digital life This Isn't Another Productivity App Pond won't buzz you to work harder. Won't shame you for a bad day. Won't turn presence into competition. Just a quiet space. A gentle reminder. A place to return to stillness. Perfect for those seeking digital detox, building healthier phone habits, improving focus, or simply using their phone more intentionally. Pond — a calmer way to use your phone. Your Privacy Matters Everything stays on your device. No tracking. No social comparison. No data collection. Terms & Conditions https://go.pixo.co/pond-terms

About

Focus Timer & Keeper

Enhance concentration and productivity by gamifying focus sessions. Grow virtual plants by staying away from your phone, motivating you to achieve study or work objectives. Track progress with history and statistics.

Highlights
  • Virtual plant growth for focus sessions
  • Variety of plant seeds
  • Customizable focus objectives
  • Study and work focus modes
  • Progress tracking and statistics
  • Phone distraction avoidance
Features
Read full description

Increase your productivity and concentration with this free app. If you want to stay focused or away from your phone, this app is for you. Main features: - Plant a seed to grow a plant. If you achieve the objective of staying focused without picking up your phone, the plant will grow - Different plant seeds to choose from (cacti, flowers, etc.). Enjoy and customize it to your liking! - All kinds of uses and applications: For studying, working, meeting with friends, etc. All for disconnecting from your phone to focus on what is important. - Improve your productivity while studying or at work, no longer being constantly distracted by your phone. - Motivate yourself to continue improving your productivity by achieving points and viewing your history and statistics in the application.

Screenshots

Pond4 screens
Focus Timer & Keeper4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Pond at none against Focus Timer & Keeper's shown. Pond also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 32 months) and ratings volume (848 vs 12). Focus Timer & Keeper's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 4.6) and iOS requirement (16.6 vs 18.0). 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. Pond sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month and Focus Timer & Keeper sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Focus Timer & Keeper holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pond has 848 ratings behind it against 12, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pond ships an update every 3 weeks, Focus Timer & Keeper every 32 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Pond versus Focus Timer & Keeper: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPondFocus Timer & Keeper
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (848 ratings)4.8 (12 ratings) — better
Positive reviews71.1% of reviews—
Number of ratings848 — better12
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 32 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.016.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size350 MB32 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPIXO IncorporationKoruApps

Customer experience

Pond

All ratings844 ratings
Positive90.0%
Neutral3.1%
Negative6.9%
Written reviews450 reviews
Positive71.1%
Neutral8.4%
Negative20.4%

Focus Timer & Keeper

All ratings9 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Pond

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Timer inaccuracies
  • Interface issues on Mac
  • Inability to share audio with other apps
  • Unreliable auto-reset functionality
  • Subscription issues

Requested features

7 requests
  • Auto-reset option
  • Ability to assign tasks to Pomodoros
  • Project/focus area tracking
  • Cross-device sync
  • Apple Watch support
Show 2 more
  • Ability to skip long breaks
  • Playlist support for sounds

Focus Timer & Keeper

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Pond

Subscriptions2
  • Pond Plus 1 Month$7.991 Month
  • Pond Plus 1 Year7 Days trial$49.991 Year
One-time1
  • Pond Plus Lifetime$99.99
1 purchases

Focus Timer & Keeper

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$1.99

Questions

Is Pond free?
Pond is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Focus Timer & Keeper free?
Focus Timer & Keeper is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pond or Focus Timer & Keeper?
Focus Timer & Keeper is rated higher. Pond averages 4.6 out of 5 from 848 ratings, while Focus Timer & Keeper averages 4.8 from 12 ratings.
Do Pond or Focus Timer & Keeper have ads?
Focus Timer & Keeper shows ads; Pond does not.
Which is updated more often, Pond or Focus Timer & Keeper?
Pond ships an update every 3 weeks, and Focus Timer & Keeper every 32 months. Most recently, Pond was updated on November 1, 2026 and Focus Timer & Keeper on October 24, 2026.

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