Flow vs TomatoBar
We give Flow a 3.6 GPA and TomatoBar a 2.8, out of 4.0. Flow grades higher on features, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money and the free plan.
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
How we grade them
| 3.6GPAFlowExcellent | 2.8GPATomatoBarGood | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | AFree and open source under the MIT license, downloaded from the project's GitHub releases. The repository lists no paid version. |
| 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. | AThe complete app is free: adjustable intervals, three sound effects, break notifications, a global shortcut and a JSON event log. There's nothing to upgrade to. |
| 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. | CWork, short rest and long rest lengths you can set, three sounds with volume controls, break notifications with a Skip button, and a global shortcut. Those are the basics, done neatly, and it goes no further. The README describes no task list, reports or sync, and your history is only a JSON log file. |
| 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. | BWe have no App Store rating on record for it, so a B is as far as we'll go. It's a popover in the menu bar where you start and stop the timer. One snag: Homebrew has marked its tomatobar cask as disabled since September 1, 2026 for failing the Gatekeeper check. |
| 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. | DmacOS only, and version 3.0 and later need macOS Big Sur or newer. No integrations are listed, though opening a tomatobar:// URL starts or stops the timer from the command line. |
| Best for | a clean Pomodoro timer across Apple devices | a no-frills Pomodoro timer in the Mac menu bar |
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 TomatoBar. How we grade
Where they differ
- Flow starts at $17.99 / year ($1.49 / month), or $2.99 monthly (US App Store). TomatoBar is free.
- Only Flow lists an iOS app.
- Flow can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- TomatoBar is open source, according to its own site.
- Flow also covers site & app blocker.
At a glance
| Flow | TomatoBar | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $17.99 / year ($1.49 / month), or $2.99 monthly (US App Store) | Free |
| 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 and open-source software under the MIT license, downloaded from the project's GitHub releases. The repository lists no paid version. |
| Free trial | Pro's button on the pricing page reads "Try for free"; no trial length is stated | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| iOS | ||
| Made by | Yugen GmbH | Ilya Voronin |
| Price read from | apps.apple.com | github.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
TomatoBar
- Mac users who want a plain Pomodoro timer at no cost
- People who prefer open-source software they can inspect or modify
- Scripting a timer from the command line or reading its log
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.
TomatoBar
- macOS only. Version 3.0 and later need macOS Big Sur or newer; older macOS versions and the Touch Bar are supported only by releases before 3.0.
- The README describes no task list, reports or sync between devices; session history is kept only as a JSON log file.
- Homebrew marks its tomatobar cask as disabled since September 1, 2026 for failing the Gatekeeper check, though the README still gives the Homebrew command.
- The latest stable version, 3.6.1, is dated February 19, 2026. Before the 3.6 releases that month, the previous one, 3.5.0, came out in September 2023.
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.
TomatoBar
- Adjustable intervals
- Set the length of the work interval, the short rest and the long rest, and how many work intervals make up a set before the long rest is taken.
- Menu bar timer
- Start and stop the timer from a menu bar popover. Showing the countdown in the menu bar, stopping after a break and launching at login are each a setting.
- Optional sounds
- Three sound effects, named Windup, Ding and Ticking, can each be switched on or off. Version 3.6.0 added volume controls for them.
- Break notifications
- A notification says when it is time for a short or long break and when the break is over. The break notification carries a Skip button.
- Global shortcut and URL control
- A global keyboard shortcut starts or stops the timer, and so does opening the tomatobar://startStop URL, for example from the command line.
- JSON event log
- Each change of timer state is written in JSON to a log file inside the app's container, which other tools can read to analyze how time was spent.
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.
TomatoBar
TomatoBar$0
The complete Mac app: adjustable intervals, three sound effects, break notifications, a global shortcut and a JSON event log.
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.
TomatoBar
No public discounts listed.
