Focus - Deep Work Timer vs TomatoBar
We give Focus - Deep Work Timer a 3.0 GPA and TomatoBar a 2.8, out of 4.0. Focus - Deep Work Timer grades higher on features and platforms. TomatoBar grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Focus - Deep Work Timer
Pomodoro timer with tasks and time tracking for Apple devices
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAFocus - Deep Work TimerVery good | 2.8GPATomatoBarGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | 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 | 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. | 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 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. | 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 | 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. | 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 | 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. | 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 timer and task list 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: Focus - Deep Work Timer and TomatoBar. How we grade
Where they differ
- Focus - Deep Work Timer starts at $6.99 / month, or $39.99 / year (US App Store). TomatoBar is free.
- Only Focus - Deep Work Timer lists an iOS app.
- TomatoBar is open source, according to its own site.
- Focus - Deep Work Timer also covers tasks and time tracking.
At a glance
| Focus - Deep Work Timer | TomatoBar | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $6.99 / month, or $39.99 / year (US App Store) | Free |
| Free plan | 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 and open-source software under the MIT license, downloaded from the project's GitHub releases. The repository lists no paid version. |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial of Focus Pro | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| iOS | ||
| Made by | Meaningful Things GmbH & Co. KG | Ilya Voronin |
| Price read from | apps.apple.com | github.com |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
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
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
TomatoBar
No public discounts listed.
