Comparison

Forest vs Surgical Protocols

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

Head to head
About

Forest

This app helps you stay focused by growing a virtual forest while you avoid your phone. Earn rewards, unlock new trees, and even plant real trees on Earth through a partnership. It offers tools to block distractions and track your progress.

Highlights
  • Gamified focus timer
  • Virtual forest growth
  • App blocking with Allow Lists
  • Real tree planting partnership
  • Detailed statistics and insights
  • Co-planting with friends
Features
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**Stay off your phone and a tree grows. Leave early and it withers. That's Forest, the focus timer used by 60 million people worldwide.** Top productivity app in 136 countries. Recommended by The New York Times and Business Insider. "Forest works well, and if your goal is to be more in the moment, ignore your phone and actually talk to your friends when you are with them, this is the app for you." — The New York Times Together, our community has planted over 2 million real trees on Earth through our partnership with Trees for the Future. --- STAY FOCUSED Forest helps you overcome phone addiction, reduce distractions, and build deep work habits. Whether you are studying for exams, working from home, or simply trying to be more present, Forest gives you a reason to stay on task. - A gamified focus timer that turns screen-free time into a growing virtual forest - Create personalized Allow Lists to block distracting apps during focus sessions (iOS 16 or above) - Track your daily phone usage and screen time GET MOTIVATED - Unlock tree species and soundscapes as you reach focus milestones - Co-plant trees with friends and family during shared focus sessions - Compete with users around the world and share your forest - Unlock achievements and earn extra rewards - Plant real trees on Earth through our partnership with Trees for the Future TIME GUARD: BLOCK DISTRACTIONS ON SCHEDULE Time Guard helps you set phone-free windows throughout your day. Block distracting apps on a schedule, limit when you can access them, and track how much time you spend on your phone. MINDFUL SPACE: RESET YOUR MIND Mindful Space combines calming soundscapes, breathing exercises, and gentle animations to help you decompress between focus sessions. STATISTICS & INSIGHTS - Create custom tags and view detailed statistics of how you spend your focused time - Review your weekly, monthly, and yearly focus history as a visual forest - Revisit your focus journey with Forest Timeline - Sync your focused time with Apple Health It is never too late to build better habits. --- FOREST PLUS Love Forest? Try Forest Plus. - 3x coin rewards and unlock new trees faster - Exclusive Plus-only tree species and early access to seasonal new trees - Turn your focus into a real tree on Earth Start your free trial today, cancel anytime. --- NOTICE Forest is available on iPhone and iPad. Sign in with the same account to sync your data and access Forest Plus across all platforms. The Allow List feature requires iOS/iPadOS 16 or above. Forest is the original app. Similar apps on the App Store are not developed by the Forest team. --- Follow us on Instagram or visit forestapp.cc to learn more. Browser extensions also available. --- Privacy Policy: https://www.forestapp.cc/privacy/ Terms of Use: https://forest-subscription.seekrtech.com/terms/

About

Surgical Protocols

Features
Read full description

OK Suite – Surgical Protocols is a professional toolkit designed for operating room teams and surgical staff. Features include: • Surgical protocols • OR supply cart management • Role planner for surgical teams • Walkie-talkie communication • Gloves and phone directory • QR sharing and backup tools • Offline-friendly workflow support Designed to improve organization, communication and workflow efficiency inside the operating room environment. Important: This app is intended as a workflow and organizational tool only. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Screenshots

Forest4 screens
Surgical Protocols4 screens

Verdict

The call

Forest and Surgical Protocols are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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. Forest sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Surgical Protocols sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Forest ships an update weekly, Surgical Protocols every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Forest versus Surgical Protocols: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterForestSurgical Protocols
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (50K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews65.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings50K — better—
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 9 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size840 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSEEKRTECH CO., LTD.Peiman Dehghani Rad

Bugs and requests

Forest

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashing and freezing issues
  • Syncing and data loss problems
  • Inconsistent behavior when switching apps

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to pause/resume timers
  • More customization options for the forest
  • Integration with other productivity apps
  • Easier way to earn coins for new trees

Surgical Protocols

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

9 purchases

Forest

Subscriptions3
  • Monthly (Early Bird)7 Days trial$5.991 Month
  • Monthly (Early Bird)$5.991 Month
  • Annual (Early Bird)7 Days trial$35.991 Year
One-time6
  • Shovelful of Crystal2 variants$0.99
  • Bottle of Sunshine Elixir$0.99
  • Box of Sunshine Elixir$1.99
Show 3 more
  • Small pot of Crystal$4.99
  • Large bag of Crystal$10.99
  • Cartful of Crystal$21.99
1 purchases

Surgical Protocols

One-time1
  • Surgical Protocols Pro$4.99

Questions

Is Forest free?
Forest is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Surgical Protocols free?
Surgical Protocols is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Forest or Surgical Protocols have ads?
Neither Forest nor Surgical Protocols shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Forest or Surgical Protocols?
Forest ships an update weekly, and Surgical Protocols every 9 days. Most recently, Forest was updated on November 6, 2026 and Surgical Protocols on October 31, 2026.

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