Comparison

Forest vs StudentHub

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
Read full description

**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

StudentHub

This app consolidates your academic life, including timetables, notes, tasks, files, and lecture recordings. It offers AI-powered study tools like transcription, summarization, and flashcard generation, all processed on your device for privacy.

Highlights
  • Integrated timetable with iCal import
  • Subject-organized notes with formatting
  • Task management by subject
  • Infinite canvas for visual organization
  • On-device lecture recording and transcription
  • AI-powered study material generation
  • Focus sessions and grade tracking
Features
Read full description

Everything for school, in one place. StudentHub keeps your timetable, notes, tasks, files, flashcards, lecture recordings and study sessions in one app, so you stop jumping between five of them. No account. No sign-up. No ads. Open it and start. What's inside: Calendar: paste the iCal link from your school and the timetable fills itself. Notes: organised by subject, with formatting and highlights. Tasks: see what is due, and for which subject. Boards: an infinite canvas for sketching, images and sticky notes. Recordings: record lectures and turn them into text on your device. Flashcards and quizzes: build decks by hand, or from your own material. Studio: turn notes, files and lectures into summaries, flashcards and study questions. Focus, grades and files: timed sessions, your average with a goal calculator, and PDFs and scans kept with the right subject. From lecture to study material: Record the class. StudentHub transcribes it on your device, so it works without a connection and your audio never leaves your phone. Then use the transcript in Studio to make a summary, a set of flashcards or exam questions. Scan a page or photograph a slide, and Studio can use that too. What is free: Everything you make yourself: notes, tasks, decks, cards, quizzes, boards, focus sessions, grades and recording. No limits, no account, no ads. Two things use a study action: transcribing a recording, and one run in Studio. You get 3 free every month, and you can earn around 11 more by setting the app up. You can also buy 15 as a one time purchase. StudentHub Pro: Unlimited transcription, and unlimited generation of flashcards, quizzes, summaries and study questions. Everything else in the app is free for everyone. Works on all your Apple devices: iPhone, iPad and Mac, synced through your own private iCloud. One subscription covers every device signed in with the same Apple Account. Subscription: StudentHub Pro comes as 6 months or 12 months. Your local price is shown in the App Store before you confirm. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless it is cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the period ends. You can manage or cancel it in your Apple Account settings at any time. If you cancel, nothing you made is lost. Your notes, recordings and decks stay yours and stay readable. You only lose the Pro features until you subscribe again. Privacy: Your content lives on your device and in your own private iCloud. We have no server that receives it, and no ads. Transcription and generation run entirely on your device. We measure anonymous usage events, such as how many people record a lecture, and they never include your content. Terms of Use: https://getstudenthub.app/documents/terms-of-use Privacy Policy: https://getstudenthub.app/documents/privacy-policy Made by one person. Questions: hello@contact.getstudenthub.app

Screenshots

Forest4 screens
StudentHub4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Forest at 50K against StudentHub's 2. Forest also leads on iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26). StudentHub's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.8). On price, update cadence, 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. Forest sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and StudentHub sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $11.99 per 6 months. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

StudentHub holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Forest has 50K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Forest ships an update weekly, StudentHub every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Forest versus StudentHub: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterForestStudentHub
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (50K ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews65.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings50K — better2
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 10 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS16.0 — better26
Further details — not scored
Size840 MB29 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSEEKRTECH CO., LTD.Aleksander Kjølberg

Customer experience

Forest

All ratings49,580 ratings
Positive96.0%
Neutral1.4%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews4,050 reviews
Positive65.3%
Neutral6.9%
Negative27.8%

StudentHub

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

StudentHub

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
6 purchases

StudentHub

Subscriptions5
  • Semester Pro$11.996 Months
  • Yearly Pro7 Days trial$14.991 Year
  • Semester Pro$14.996 Months
Show 2 more
  • Yearly Pro$14.991 Year
  • Yearly Pro$24.991 Year
One-time1
  • 15 Study Actions$2.99

Questions

Is Forest free?
Forest is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is StudentHub free?
StudentHub is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Forest or StudentHub?
StudentHub is rated higher. Forest averages 4.8 out of 5 from 50K ratings, while StudentHub averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Forest or StudentHub have ads?
Neither Forest nor StudentHub shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Forest or StudentHub?
Forest ships an update weekly, and StudentHub every 10 days. Most recently, Forest was updated on November 8, 2026 and StudentHub on November 6, 2026.

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