Comparison

Pond vs Focus Timer

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

Enhance productivity and well-being with focused work sessions and guided meditations. Customize your workflow with adjustable focus and break periods, and track your progress to optimize your daily routine.

Highlights
  • Customizable Pomodoro sessions
  • Guided pre-work meditations
  • Timely notifications and reminders
  • Progress tracking for habits
  • Personalized focus and break periods
Features
Read full description

Focus deeply, rest fully. Focus Timer is a calm Pomodoro timer with guided meditations, tasks, and ambient sounds – built to beat procrastination and make deep work feel sustainable. Most productivity apps just push you harder. Focus Timer works with your brain instead: focused sprints, real breaks, and short meditations to recharge in between – so you stay concentrated all day without burning out. POMODORO FOCUS TIMER - Classic Pomodoro cycles with fully customizable focus and break intervals - Ambient sounds that help you concentrate - Gentle notifications keep the cycle going – no babysitting the timer A MEDITATION FOR EVERY MOOD - Calm pre-work meditations, midday energy boosts, and after-work wind-downs - Library includes Focus & Clarity, Deep Relaxation, Energy Activation, Gratitude Practice, Grounding, and more ONE TASK AT A TIME - Plan your day as a simple task list and attach focus sessions to each task - Weekly statistics for focus flows and meditations - Mindfulness minutes sync automatically to Apple Health ADHD-FRIENDLY BY DESIGN A visual timer, one-task focus, and built-in recovery breaks give your day external structure – a rhythm many people with ADHD find easier to stick with than willpower alone. Whether you're studying for exams, doing deep work from home, or just trying to stop procrastinating, Focus Timer helps you build a daily focus habit. Focus Timer Premium unlocks the full meditation library. Subscriptions renew automatically and can be cancelled anytime in Settings. Privacy Policy: https://telegra.ph/Privacy-Policy-07-24-38

Screenshots

Pond4 screens
Focus Timer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Pond at 844 against Focus Timer's 5. Focus Timer's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs every 3 weeks) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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 sells 3 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 — 4.6 for Pond against 4.6 for Focus Timer. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pond has 844 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pond ships an update every 3 weeks, Focus Timer every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Pond versus Focus Timer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPondFocus Timer
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (844 ratings)4.6 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews69.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings844 — better5
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 9 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size350 MB107 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPIXO IncorporationMykola Mylashko

Customer experience

Pond

All ratings844 ratings
Positive90.0%
Neutral3.1%
Negative6.9%
Written reviews346 reviews
Positive69.9%
Neutral8.1%
Negative22.0%

Focus Timer

All ratings5 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral20.0%
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

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
3 purchases

Focus Timer

Subscriptions2
  • Premium (1 Month)$2.991 Month
  • Premium (1 Year)7 Days trial$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Premium$24.99

Questions

Is Pond free?
Pond is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Focus Timer free?
Focus Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pond or Focus Timer?
Pond and Focus Timer are both rated 4.6 out of 5 on the App Store, from 844 and 5 ratings respectively.
Do Pond or Focus Timer have ads?
Neither Pond nor Focus Timer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pond or Focus Timer?
Pond ships an update every 3 weeks, and Focus Timer every 9 days. Most recently, Pond was updated on September 24, 2026 and Focus Timer on September 22, 2026.

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