Focusmate vs Sukha

Focusmate

• People who start tasks more easily with someone else present
• Remote workers and students who put work off when alone
• Body doubling on a schedule, including for members with ADHD

Sukha

• Writers, developers and designers doing solo deep work
• People who want music, timer, tasks and blocking behind one button
• Slack users who want their status set automatically during focus time

Focusmate

• The free plan is limited to 3 sessions per week; unlimited sessions need Plus.
• A camera is required and has to stay on for the whole session.
• There is no native app. On a phone or tablet it runs in the browser and can be added to the home screen.
• Business pricing is not published; the pricing page links to an inquiry form.

Sukha

• There is no free plan: after the 3-day trial it costs $20 a month or $400 once, and no annual plan is listed.
• It runs only in Chromium browsers such as Chrome, Edge, Arc and Brave, with no native desktop app; Safari and Firefox are not listed.
• The site says blocking reaches apps and websites on your phone but does not explain how, and it lists no mobile app.
• The vendor says Sukha is not suited to people whose day is mostly phone calls, Zoom and meetings.

Focusmate

25, 50 and 75-minute sessions

Book a session for a time you choose and Focusmate matches you with a partner. It says over 99% of bookings are matched; if one is not, the next slot is 15 minutes later.

Favorite partners

Star a partner you worked well with, or a friend, to make it easy to book sessions with that person again instead of a random match.

Task modes

Mark a session as Desk, Moving or Anything, so a partner knows whether you will be at a computer or doing something like cooking or cleaning.

Quiet Mode and session chat

Quiet Mode tells your partner you cannot use a microphone, for libraries and shared offices. Goals and progress go in the in-session text chat instead.

Video in the browser

Sessions run on Focusmate's own video, with virtual backgrounds, screen sharing and picture-in-picture, so no separate video call app is needed.

Calendar invites

Each booking sends a calendar invite, which Focusmate says works with Apple, Google and Outlook calendars. There is also a Google Calendar integration.

Sukha

One-button focus sessions

A single Play button starts the music, the timer and the blocking together, so a session needs no separate setup. Members get unlimited daily sessions.

Flow music

Lofi and binaural tracks plus six more sound worlds, playing for as long as a session runs.

Distraction blocking

Blocks distracting websites and apps during a session, on the computer and, the vendor says, on your phone. A free Chrome extension extends the blocking across the browser.

AI task manager and coach

A task list keeps the next step in view, and the AI assistant breaks a task that feels too big into one specific next step. To-dos can be imported from Todoist, Linear and Google Tasks.

Automated Pomodoro timer

Sessions run on a work-and-break rhythm with prompts for healthy breaks, and streaks and points track how consistently you show up.

Slack status updates

When a session starts, Sukha sets your Slack status to say you are in a session and mutes incoming notifications.

Focusmate

• Free$0

  3 sessions per week, with no credit card required.

• Plus$8

  per month, billed annually; $12 billed monthly

  Unlimited sessions. The pricing page notes that taxes may be added at checkout.

• BusinessCustom

  For enterprises, small businesses and learning communities. No price is listed; the page links to more information and an inquiry form.

Sukha

• Monthly$20

  per month

  Unlimited daily focus sessions, flow music, distraction blocking on desktop and phone, AI task manager, Pomodoro timer and AI focus assistant.

• Lifetime$400

  one-time

  Everything in Monthly for a single payment, with all future features and priority support.

Focusmate

• Annual discount

  Annual billing costs a third less than monthly

  Plus is $8 a month when billed annually and $12 a month when billed monthly, which works out to about 33% less over a year.

• Other savings

  Help for people who cannot afford Plus

  The pricing FAQ invites anyone who cannot afford the full price of Plus to contact the company. It does not state an amount or eligibility rules.

Sukha

• Lifetime license

  Lifetime access for a one-time $400

  A single $400 payment replaces the $20 monthly membership, the same cost as twenty months, and includes all future features and priority support.

• Other savings

  Discounts on request

  The pricing page invites students, people between jobs and people in other countries who need a lower price to email the founder, who says he will work something out.