Forest vs Otto

Forest

• People who respond to a visual reward for staying off their phone
• Friends or study groups who want to focus in a shared session
• Short timed work sessions in the Pomodoro style

Otto

• People who do most of their work inside Chrome
• A Pomodoro timer and a site blocker in a single extension
• Buyers who prefer a lifetime license to a subscription
• People who want a gentle, game-like nudge instead of a hard lockout

Forest

• Seekrtech does not publish Forest Plus prices on its site; it says they vary by region and platform and points to the app stores.
• No Mac or Windows app is listed; on a computer Forest runs only as a Chrome or Firefox extension.
• Custom app allowlists, focus analytics, custom tags and real-tree planting need Forest Plus.
• Forest Pro, the earlier unlock, is no longer available to new users; existing Pro holders keep it.

Otto

• It is a Chrome extension: there is no desktop or mobile app, and the vendor gives no date for the mobile app on its roadmap.
• The free version caps scheduled blocking at 2 rules, autoblock at 1 rule, the task timer at 3 tasks of 15 minutes and analytics at 7 days.
• The one-year license does not carry on: when it expires, Pro features stop and the extension drops back to the free version.
• There is no free trial of Pro, though refunds are given within 14 days. The web version is a plain timer without blocking.

Forest

Tree-growing focus timer

A tree grows during a countdown or stopwatch session and dies if you leave to use other apps. Each finished session is added to your forest.

Deep Focus Mode

A stricter mode that blocks other apps or sends you back to Forest when you open one. It is free; building a custom allowlist of permitted apps needs Plus.

Time Guard

Scheduled windows during which chosen apps or sites are blocked. The free tier covers 1 app or site and Plus covers several.

Plant Together

Create a room, invite friends with a code and plant the same tree in a synchronized session. If one person gives up, the tree dies for everyone.

Real tree planting

Plus and legacy Pro users can spend coins earned from focus sessions to have real trees planted through Trees for the Future, up to 5 per account.

Focus statistics and tags

Your forest shows total focus time, patterns by day, week or month, and streaks. Focus analytics and custom tags are part of Plus.

Otto

Pomodoro focus timer

Work and break intervals with lengths you can change and no cap on sessions. Pro adds a reverse work and break timer and a strict lock on the timer.

Blocking during focus sessions

Sites on the blocklist are blocked whenever a work session is running. Sites can be added in one click and unblocked temporarily when you need them.

Scheduled blocking

Chosen sites can be blocked at set hours and on set weekdays without a focus session running, and rules can target specific URLs instead of a whole site.

Autoblock time limits

Instead of blocking a site at once, Autoblock starts a countdown and blocks it when the time runs out. Each rule has its own duration and the count syncs between tabs.

Task timer

Naming a session turns it into a task timer with an in-browser to-do list, single-task and sequence modes, and a record of the time spent on each task.

Analytics and the Otto character

Focus and distraction analytics cover 7 days on the free version and all time on Pro. A game mechanic builds a bond with the Otto character as you focus.

Forest

• Free$0

  Countdown and stopwatch timer, Deep Focus app blocking, Time Guard for 1 app or site, 1 soundscape and group focus rooms.

• Forest Plus (monthly)$5.99

  per month, US App Store in-app purchase

  Custom app allowlist, Time Guard for multiple apps and sites, all soundscapes, focus analytics, custom tags and real-tree planting.

• Forest Plus (annual)$32.49 or $35.99

  per year, US App Store in-app purchase

  The same Plus features billed yearly. The App Store lists two annual purchases and does not say which one a new subscriber pays.

Otto

• Free$0

  Unlimited focus sessions, 4 focus block rules, 2 scheduled blocking rules, 1 autoblock rule, a 3-task timer and 7 days of analytics.

• The Friend$29

  for one year, paid once (not a subscription)

  Otto Pro for a year: unlimited blocked sites, schedules and autoblock rules, tasks of up to 90 minutes, strict lock and all-time analytics.

• The Guardian$66

  one-time purchase, lifetime license

  The same Pro features with a license that never expires, free lifetime updates and the planned mobile app at no extra cost.

Forest

• Annual discount

  Annual Forest Plus costs about half of monthly

  The US App Store lists the monthly Forest Plus purchase at $5.99 and annual purchases at $32.49 and $35.99, so a year paid annually costs about half of twelve monthly payments.

Otto

• Lifetime license

  Lifetime license for a one-time $66

  The Guardian plan unlocks every Pro feature for good for a single $66 payment, against $29 for one year, and includes the mobile app once it is released.