Flow vs Focus - Deep Work Timer
We give Flow a 3.6 GPA and Focus - Deep Work Timer a 3.0, out of 4.0. Flow grades higher on value for money, the free plan and ease of use. They get the same grade on features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Flow
Minimal Pomodoro timer for Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch
Focus - Deep Work Timer
Pomodoro timer with tasks and time tracking for Apple devices
How we grade them
| 3.6GPAFlowExcellent | 3.0GPAFocus - Deep Work TimerVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | APro is $17.99 a year on the US App Store, which Flow's site shows as $1.49 a month. That's about as cheap as paid focus apps get. Lifetime is $39.99 if you'd rather pay once. | BFocus Pro is $6.99 a month or $39.99 a year on the US App Store, about typical for a focus app. But the vendor doesn't list what Pro unlocks, and the store shows yearly items from $19.99 to $49.99, so the price you're offered in the app may differ. |
| Free plan and trial | AThe timer, break reminders, stats and graphs are free for good, with no ads and no account. Most people could stop here. Fully custom durations and blocking are the Pro bits. | BFree to download and use, and Pro has a 7-day free trial. But the vendor's pages don't say which features are held back for Pro, so we can't tell you where free stops. |
| Features | ATimed work rounds with breaks, stats by day, week, month and year, and a blocker for apps and websites in Pro. It shows on your lock screen and Apple Watch, syncs sessions to Apple Calendar, and takes orders from Alfred. | ATimed sessions and breaks at lengths you set, tasks grouped into projects, and each session logged against its task. Pie and bar charts cover day, week, month and year, and you can edit the timeline afterwards. Daily goals and a Mac menu bar timer round it off. |
| Ease of use | A4.8 from about 1,800 App Store ratings. No sign-up and nothing to set up: open it and start a round. | B4.4 from about 1,800 App Store ratings. That's decent, but short of the 4.6 an A needs here. Note the Mac app is a separate App Store listing from the iPhone and iPad one. |
| Platforms and integrations | CMac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Apple Vision, with hooks into Apple Calendar, Alfred and Raycast. All Apple, though. There's no Windows, Android or web version. | CiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple Vision Pro, synced through your own iCloud, with Siri and Shortcuts. All Apple, though. No Windows, Android or web version is listed. |
| Best for | a clean Pomodoro timer across Apple devices | a timer and task list across Apple devices |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Flow and Focus - Deep Work Timer. How we grade
Where they differ
- Flow starts at $17.99 / year ($1.49 / month), or $2.99 monthly (US App Store). Focus - Deep Work Timer starts at $6.99 / month, or $39.99 / year (US App Store).
- Flow can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Flow also covers site & app blocker.
- Focus - Deep Work Timer also covers tasks and time tracking.
At a glance
| Flow | Focus - Deep Work Timer | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $17.99 / year ($1.49 / month), or $2.99 monthly (US App Store) | $6.99 / month, or $39.99 / year (US App Store) |
| Free plan | Interval-based focus timer, preset duration options, statistics and graphs, short-break reminders and iCloud sync of statistics, with no ads and no sign-up. | Free to download and use. The vendor says Focus Pro unlocks the full experience but does not list which features are held back for it. |
| Free trial | Pro's button on the pricing page reads "Try for free"; no trial length is stated | 7-day free trial of Focus Pro |
| macOS | ||
| iOS | ||
| Made by | Yugen GmbH | Meaningful Things GmbH & Co. KG |
| Price read from | apps.apple.com | apps.apple.com |
| Checked | Oct 6, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Flow
- People who work only on Apple devices and want one timer across them
- A Pomodoro timer that needs no account and shows no ads
- Mac users who run their tools from Alfred or Raycast
Focus - Deep Work Timer
- Apple users who want a timer and a task list in one app
- People who like to review focused time by task in charts
- Mac users who want the timer in the menu bar
- Those who prefer data kept in their own iCloud with no ads
Worth knowing
Flow
- Apple platforms only: Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Apple Vision. There is no Windows, Android or web version.
- App and web blocking, custom durations, session titles, timer sync and Apple Calendar sync all need Pro.
- Flow notes that App Store prices vary by country; the figures here are from the US App Store.
- Organizations buying in volume use a separate app, Flow Pro: Schools & Businesses, which Yugen enables per organization on request.
Focus - Deep Work Timer
- Apple platforms only: iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple Vision Pro. No Windows, Android or web version is listed.
- The vendor does not publish which features need Focus Pro, and its FAQ sends buyers to the App Store for prices.
- The App Store shows yearly items from $19.99 to $49.99, so the price offered in the app may differ from the $39.99 listed first.
- Focus for Mac is a separate App Store listing from the iPhone and iPad app. It needs macOS 14.0 or later, and the iPhone app iOS 18.0.
Key features
Flow
- Interval timer with breaks
- Work is divided into short focus intervals with recurring breaks, following the Pomodoro method, and notifications mark the end of each one.
- App and web blocker
- Blocks chosen apps and websites during focus sessions. It is a Pro feature, as are Commitment Mode and the fullscreen break.
- Statistics and export
- Totals of completed sessions by day, week, month and year. Pro adds timesheet export and syncing sessions to Apple Calendar.
- Timer sync between devices
- With Pro, the running timer and its session settings stay in step across iPhone, iPad and Mac signed in to the same iCloud account, without a Flow account.
- Lock screen, widgets and watch
- Live Activities and the Dynamic Island show the timer on iPhone, alongside home and lock screen widgets and an Apple Watch app.
- Alfred and Raycast control
- An Alfred workflow from Yugen covers Flow's controls, such as pausing the timer and skipping or resetting a session, and a community member maintains a Raycast extension.
Focus - Deep Work Timer
- Timed focus sessions
- Sessions and breaks follow the Pomodoro rhythm, with lengths you set yourself. When a session ends, the app shows a full-screen alarm on iOS 26 and a notification elsewhere.
- Tasks and projects
- Tasks are collected in the app and grouped into projects. You pick one before starting a session, so each session is logged against the task it was spent on.
- Statistics and session timeline
- Pie and bar charts break focused time down by task, with calendar views and day, week, month and year ranges. Sessions in the timeline can be added, edited or deleted afterwards.
- Goals
- A daily time goal or a session goal sets a target for the day, and a compact overview compares focused time with last week or last month.
- Mac menu bar timer
- Focus for Mac keeps the timer in the menu bar, offers notification styles from subtle to full-screen, and supports desktop widgets on macOS Sonoma or later.
- Sync across Apple devices
- Tasks, the timer and statistics sync through iCloud between iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple Vision Pro, with widgets, Live Activities, Siri and Shortcuts support.
Plans
Flow
Free$0
Interval-based focus timer, a set of duration options, statistics and graphs, break reminders and iCloud sync of statistics.
Pro (yearly)$17.99
per year, US App Store; shown on the site as $1.49 / month
Timer sync, custom session titles and cycles, fully custom durations, app and web blocking, Apple Calendar sync and export.
Pro (monthly)$2.99
per month, US App Store in-app purchase
The same Pro features paid month to month. The pricing page labels yearly billing as 50% cheaper.
Lifetime Pro Access$39.99
one-time purchase, US App Store
Pro features for a single payment instead of a subscription.
Schools & BusinessesCustom
Volume pricing and organization-wide distribution of Flow Pro through Apple School Manager or Apple Business Manager, arranged by contacting Yugen.
Focus - Deep Work Timer
Free$0
The app is free to download and start using. The vendor's pages do not say where the free version stops.
Focus - Monthly$6.99
per month, US App Store in-app purchase
Focus Pro paid month to month, after a 7-day free trial. The Mac listing shows the same price.
Focus - 3 Months$14.99
per 3 months, US App Store in-app purchase
A three-month Focus Pro term, shown on the iPhone and iPad listing but not on the Mac one.
Focus Yearly$39.99
per year, US App Store in-app purchase
Listed first on both listings. Other items named Focus Yearly appear at $19.99, $27.99, $29.99 and $49.99, plus Focus Early Bird at $29.99.
Patron Subscription$59.99
per year (the Mac listing calls it annual)
A higher-priced subscription item on both App Store listings. The vendor's site does not describe what it adds.
Ways to pay less
Flow
- Annual discount
Yearly billing is 50% cheaper than monthly
Flow's pricing page labels the yearly option "-50%". The US App Store lists Pro at $17.99 a year against $2.99 a month, which comes to $35.88 over twelve months.
- Lifetime license
Lifetime Pro Access for a one-time payment
The US App Store lists a Lifetime Pro Access in-app purchase at $39.99, paid once instead of a subscription.
- Other savings
Volume pricing for schools and businesses
The pricing page offers volume pricing and organization-wide distribution of Flow Pro through Apple School Manager or Apple Business Manager.
Focus - Deep Work Timer
- Annual discount
Yearly billing costs about 52% less than monthly
The US App Store lists Focus Yearly first at $39.99 against Focus - Monthly at $6.99, which comes to $83.88 over twelve months.
