Comparison

Focus vs TickDown

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

TickDown

Organize your life by combining countdowns to important events with a clear task list. View your deadlines, birthdays, and to-dos all in one place, with customizable visuals and reminders. The core app works offline, and optional premium features unlock advanced widgets and backups.

Highlights
  • Live countdowns to the second
  • Customizable event backgrounds
  • Subtasks with progress tracking
  • Integrated calendar view
  • Event and task reminders
  • Home and Lock Screen widgets (Premium)
  • Encrypted on-device backups
Features
Read full description

TickDown puts the moments you're counting toward and the work in front of you on the same screen. Birthdays, trips, deadlines and launches count down to the second on cards worth looking at. Your tasks sit beside them, with subtasks, priorities and progress you can see at a glance. COUNTDOWNS THAT LOOK LIKE THE MOMENT • Live countdowns to the second - days, hours, minutes • Your own photos or built-in artwork behind every event • Reposition a photo so the part that matters sits where you want it • Categories and colors to keep birthdays, work and travel apart • Repeating events for anniversaries and anything annual A CALM TASK LIST • Subtasks with progress that rolls up to the parent task • Priorities, due dates and per-task reminders • Auto-archive completed tasks, auto-delete archived ones on your schedule • An archive of everything you've finished ONE CALENDAR VIEW • Countdowns, tasks and your device calendar events together • Month and agenda views, with your own start-of-week preference • Calendar access is optional and read-only REMINDERS THAT ARRIVE • Event and task reminders, with a choice of alert sounds • Daily and weekly summaries at a time you pick • 12- or 24-hour time, matched to your region's date format WIDGETS (PREMIUM) • Home Screen and Lock Screen countdowns, refreshed as time runs out • A tasks widget for what's due today and what's already done BACKUP YOU CONTROL • Export an encrypted .tickdown backup - AES-256-GCM, encrypted on device • Back up to your own iCloud Drive whenever you like • Automatic daily backup with Premium • Restore on a new iPhone or iPad, straight from iCloud or a saved file • Restoring is always free - your data is never held behind a purchase PRIVATE BY DESIGN • No account, no sign-in, no servers • Your countdowns, tasks, notes and photos stay on your device • The core app works entirely offline TICKDOWN PREMIUM One purchase, no subscription: • Removes all ads • Unlocks Home & Lock Screen widgets • Unlimited photo backgrounds - the built-in artwork is free for everyone • Automatic daily iCloud backup • Supports independent development TickDown is free and ad-supported. Premium is optional and permanent. Privacy Policy: https://futuretekapps.github.io/tickdownapple/privacy-policy.html Support: https://futuretekapps.github.io/tickdownapple/

Screenshots

Focus4 screens
TickDown4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: TickDown at 5.0 against Focus's 4.4. TickDown also leads on monetization model (ad-supported vs subscription) and update cadence (daily vs every 10 days). Focus's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (1.8K vs 1). On price, in-app purchases and iOS requirement 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 TickDown 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

TickDown holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Focus has 1.8K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Focus ships an update every 10 days, TickDown daily. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Focus versus TickDown: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFocusTickDown
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (1.8K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews56.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings1.8K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 10 daysDaily — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionAd-supported — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.018.0
Further details — not scored
Size301 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMeaningful Things GmbH & Co. KGNusaif Valappil

Customer experience

Focus

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

TickDown

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

TickDown

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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
1 purchases

TickDown

One-time1
  • TickDown Premium$4.99

Questions

Is Focus free?
Focus is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is TickDown free?
TickDown is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Focus or TickDown?
TickDown is rated higher. Focus averages 4.4 out of 5 from 1.8K ratings, while TickDown averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Focus or TickDown have ads?
TickDown shows ads; Focus does not.
Which is updated more often, Focus or TickDown?
Focus ships an update every 10 days, and TickDown daily. Most recently, Focus was updated on September 27, 2026 and TickDown on September 21, 2026.

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