Comparison

Focus vs Agenda

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

Head to head
About

Focus

This app helps users improve concentration and productivity by breaking work into structured intervals with scheduled breaks. It offers task management, detailed statistics, and syncs across all Apple devices, including Apple Watch and widgets.

Highlights
  • Customizable Pomodoro timer
  • Unlimited to-do lists
  • In-depth productivity statistics
  • iCloud sync across Apple devices
  • Lock Screen and Home Screen widgets
  • Apple Watch app
Features
Read full description

Do your best work. Focus helps you concentrate with timed focus sessions built on the Pomodoro technique, track your tasks and projects, and see real progress — across all your Apple devices. A calm, proven rhythm: plan, work, break, review. “[…] a tool that can genuinely make people more productive” – MacStories.net “[…] a must-have for anyone who finds themselves easily getting distracted or forgetting to take occasional breaks.” – iDownloadBlog.com I always use Focus when… … I need to start a deep-work session … I want to stop procrastinating and finally begin … I want to break a big project into focused sprints … I’m studying and need to concentrate … I want to protect my time from distractions … I want to build a daily focus habit … I want to see what I actually got done today … I want structure without a heavy, complicated system Benefits * Start focusing in seconds: pick a task, start a session, get to work * The proven Pomodoro rhythm — plan → work → break → review — that gives your attention somewhere to go * Sessions and tasks together: a focus timer plus real task, project, and time tracking (most apps split these into two) * See your progress: daily and weekly activity and goals make focus feel earned, never nagged * Restful breaks that are part of the rhythm, not slacking * Calm and encouraging — momentum, never hustle, grind, or guilt Features * Timed focus sessions with flexible session and break lengths * Tasks, projects, and time tracking * Daily and weekly activity and goals * In-app Learning: short, friendly guides you can apply as you read * Widgets, Live Activities, and Dynamic Island * Siri, Shortcuts, and Spotlight via App Intents * Seamless iCloud sync * Built-in accessibility * Privacy first: your data stays on your devices and in your own iCloud * Available on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple Vision Pro * Handcrafted by real humans :-) Focus is free to start. Focus Pro unlocks everything with a 7-day free trial. Thanks for doing your best work with us! We’re always improving Focus. If you have feedback or an idea, we’d love to hear it. About us Focus is made by Jan & Kerstin, two independent app developers based in Germany. We built Focus for our own workdays — to concentrate, make real progress, and still keep things calm. Our goal: a productivity app that’s a joy to use every day. We built this tool for ourselves — and now we’d love to share it with you! Questions? We offer friendly support. Just drop us a note at support@meaningful-things.com and we’ll get back to you as quickly as we can. Privacy & Terms https://meaningful-things.com/privacy https://meaningful-things.com/terms

About

Agenda

This app integrates notes with your calendar, allowing you to associate notes with specific dates or events. It offers a rich text editor and supports attaching files and photos, with cross-device syncing and collaboration features. The core functionality is free, with optional premium features available via subscription.

Highlights
  • Notes linked to calendar dates/events
  • Timeline view of notes
  • Rich text editor with formatting
  • Attach files and photos to notes
  • Cross-device syncing (iCloud/Dropbox)
  • Project and category organization
  • Real-time collaboration
Features
Read full description

Most notes apps lose track of time. You write something, it disappears into a folder, and a week later you can't remember why you made that decision or what you prepared for that meeting. Agenda fixes this. Every note lives on a timeline alongside your calendar. Prepare for next week's client meeting, capture decisions as they happen, and look back at exactly what led you here — all in one view. "It's my favorite new app in years." — John Gruber, daringfireball.net "Every notes app should work like Agenda." — Khoi Vinh, subtraction.com "One of the most interesting note-taking apps I've used." — John Voorhees, MacStories YOUR NOTES, CONNECTED TO YOUR CALENDAR Attach any note to a date or link it directly to a calendar event. Mark notes as "On the Agenda" to surface them in a dedicated overview — your shortlist of what matters right now. A REAL TEXT EDITOR Headings, lists, tables, checklists, indented blocks, and preformatted text — with the simplicity of plain text input. Focus on what you're writing; Agenda handles how it looks. FILES, PHOTOS, AND LINKS Attach files and images to any note. Everything syncs across your devices and can be previewed inline. PROJECTS AND CATEGORIES Group notes into projects, group projects into categories. Drag to reorder, collapse to focus, or let the timeline do the organizing for you. MAC, IPAD, AND IPHONE Agenda syncs across all your devices via iCloud or Dropbox. Share individual notes for real-time collaboration — useful for team meetings or shared lists. FREE TO USE, FOREVER Agenda is free with no time limits. Premium features are available through a yearly subscription — and you keep every feature you unlock, even if you cancel. A one-time lifetime purchase is also available.

Screenshots

Focus4 screens
Agenda4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Agenda at free with in-app purchases against Focus's subscription. Agenda also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. Focus sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month and Agenda sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $39.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Agenda holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.8K and 3.7K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 57% of Focus's written reviews are positive against 64% of Agenda's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Focus ships an update every 10 days, Agenda weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Focus versus Agenda: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFocusAgenda
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (1.8K ratings)4.6 (3.7K ratings) — better
Positive reviews56.9% of reviews63.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.8K3.7K — better
Update frequencyEvery 10 daysWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Vision ProiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch
Requires iOS18.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size301 MB123 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperMeaningful Things GmbH & Co. KGMomenta B.V.

Customer experience

Focus

All ratings1,835 ratings
Positive86.4%
Neutral2.9%
Negative10.7%
Written reviews304 reviews
Positive56.9%
Neutral12.8%
Negative30.3%

Agenda

All ratings3,679 ratings
Positive91.5%
Neutral3.4%
Negative5.1%
Written reviews876 reviews
Positive63.7%
Neutral14.5%
Negative21.8%

User reviews

Focus

From 1.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Time tracking
  • 👍 Minimalist design
  • 🚀 Seamless cross-device sync
  • 👍 Helpful for productivity
  • 👍 Great for Pomodoro technique

Room to improve

  • 💰 Expensive subscription
  • 🐛 Sync issues between devices
  • 🐛 Unreliable notifications
  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • 🐛 Forced to pay for basic functionality

Agenda

From 3.7K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Powerful features
  • 📅 Excellent calendar integration
  • 💻 Seamless sync across devices
  • 🗓 Date-focused note-taking
  • 🔍 Helpful search and tagging

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes
  • 🤔 Steep learning curve for some
  • 🔍 Difficult to find specific notes
  • 💰 Expensive premium subscription
  • 🖌 Lack of Apple Pencil support

Bugs and requests

Focus

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Infinite intro screen
  • Prompts to set up app on every open
  • Timer resets unexpectedly
  • Sync issues between iPhone, iPad, and Watch
  • Notifications not working as expected

Requested features

6 requests
  • Ability to duplicate tasks
  • Calendar integration
  • Background sounds
  • Customizable timer lengths
  • Automatic focus mode switching
Show 1 more
  • More detailed analytics and reporting

Agenda

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Sync issues between devices
  • Text formatting inconsistencies
  • Unresponsive UI in certain cases

Requested features

5 requests
  • Handwriting and drawing support
  • Ability to insert images and files
  • Project templates and subfolders
  • Google Calendar integration
  • Improved note formatting options

In-app purchases

9 purchases

Focus

Subscriptions9
  • Focus - Monthly$6.991 Month
  • Focus - 3 Months$14.993 Months
  • Focus Yearly$19.991 Year
Show 6 more
  • Focus Yearly$27.991 Year
  • Focus Yearly7 Days trial$29.991 Year
  • Focus Early Bird7 Days trial$29.991 Year
  • Focus Yearly7 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • Focus Yearly7 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • Patron Subscription7 Days trial$59.991 Year
5 purchases

Agenda

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Subscription macOS+iOS7 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • Premium Features iPadOS+iOS$44.991 Year
One-time3
  • Premium Features iOS & iPadOS$14.99
  • Premium macOS, iOS & iPadOS$34.99
  • Lifetime Premium Features$179.00

Questions

Is Focus free?
Focus is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Agenda free?
Agenda is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Focus or Agenda?
Agenda is rated higher. Focus averages 4.4 out of 5 from 1.8K ratings, while Agenda averages 4.6 from 3.7K ratings.
Do Focus or Agenda have ads?
Neither Focus nor Agenda shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Focus or Agenda?
Focus ships an update every 10 days, and Agenda weekly. Most recently, Focus was updated on September 27, 2026 and Agenda on September 28, 2026.

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