Focus Timer vs Pomofocus
We give Focus Timer a 3.2 GPA and Pomofocus a 3.6, out of 4.0. Pomofocus grades higher on platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Focus Timer
Free Pomodoro timer for Linux, formerly GNOME Pomodoro
Free
Pomofocus
Browser-based Pomodoro timer with a task list and reports
Free plan · from $3/mo
How we grade them
| 3.2GPAFocus TimerVery good | 3.6GPAPomofocusExcellent | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AIt's free and open source under the GPL, and the project lists no paid version. It runs on donations through GitHub Sponsors, Ko-fi, Liberapay and PayPal. | APremium is $3 a month or $18 a year, and $54 buys it for good. Paid yearly, that's about a third of a typical focus app. It takes the ads away and adds projects, yearly reports, Todoist import and webhooks. |
| Free plan and trial | AAll of it is free: the timer, the break overlay, the statistics, the tray icon, the shortcuts and the automation. Nothing is held back to sell you later. | AThe timer, a task list with estimates and a finish time, daily, weekly and monthly reports and custom settings are all free. You get up to 3 templates, and you get ads. Most people could stay here. |
| Features | AYour own focus and break lengths, a full-screen overlay when a break starts, and daily, weekly and monthly statistics. You can pause, rewind, extend or skip a session, run shell commands on timer events, and script it over D-Bus or the command line. For a Pomodoro timer, that's deep. | ASet your own pomodoro and break lengths, estimate each task in pomodoros, save repeated tasks as templates, and see focused time by day, week and month. Premium loads tasks from Todoist, with ticks synced both ways, and calls webhooks for Zapier and IFTTT. |
| Ease of use | BThere's no App Store rating to go on, so a B is as far as we'll go. It installs from Flathub like any other app. On GNOME, the top bar indicator is a separate extension that's only picked up after you log out. | BWe have no App Store rating on record for it, so a B is as far as we'll go. It opens in a tab with the timer right there. One wrinkle: the Windows download isn't signed with a developer certificate, so Windows shows a safety warning. |
| Platforms and integrations | DLinux only. It ships as a Flatpak on Flathub, with community packages for Fedora and Arch. No Windows, macOS or phone app is listed. | BDesktop and mobile browsers, plus downloads for Mac, Windows and Linux. Todoist, Zapier and IFTTT hook in on Premium. No native phone app is listed, and the Mobile Alarm sound isn't supported on iOS. |
| Best for | a free Pomodoro timer on the Linux desktop | a Pomodoro timer with a task list, in a browser tab |
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 Timer and Pomofocus. How we grade
Where they differ
- Focus Timer is free. Pomofocus starts at $3 / month, or $18 / year.
- Only Pomofocus lists a web app.
- Only Pomofocus lists macOS and Windows apps.
- Focus Timer is open source, according to its own site.
- Pomofocus can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Pomofocus also covers templates and tasks.
In commonFree planLinuxPomodoro timerTime tracking
At a glance
| Focus Timer | Pomofocus | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | $3 / month, or $18 / year |
| Free plan | Free and open-source software under the GPL 3 or later, installed from Flathub. The project lists no paid version and takes donations through GitHub Sponsors, Ko-fi, Liberapay and PayPal. | The timer, a task list with estimates and finish time, up to 3 templates, daily, weekly and monthly reports, and custom settings. It shows ads. |
| Free trial | None listed | 7-day free trial of Premium |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Made by | Kamil Prusko | FocusLab LLC |
| Price read from | flathub.org | pomofocus.io |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Focus Timer
- Linux users who want a Pomodoro timer built for their desktop
- People who skip breaks and want a full-screen reminder
- Scripting actions around the timer with shell commands or D-Bus
Pomofocus
- People who want a Pomodoro timer that opens in a browser tab
- Planning a day's tasks in pomodoros with an estimated finish time
- Todoist users who want to run their tasks through a timer
Worth knowing
Focus Timer
- Linux only: it ships as a Flatpak on Flathub, with community packages for Fedora and Arch. No Windows, macOS or phone app is listed.
- On GNOME, the top bar indicator needs the separate Focus Timer extension, which supports GNOME Shell 48 and later and is only picked up after logging out.
- Renamed from GNOME Pomodoro: people moving to the Flatpak version copy their old database file across by hand to keep their statistics.
- The D-Bus interface has no reference manual yet; the FAQ points to the interface XML files in the repository instead.
Pomofocus
- The free version shows ads and stops at 3 templates; projects, yearly reports and report downloads need Premium.
- Todoist import and webhook connections are Premium features.
- No native phone app is listed: on a phone it runs in the browser, and the Mobile Alarm sound is not supported on iOS.
- The site warns that the Windows download is not signed with a developer certificate, so Windows shows a safety warning.
Key features
Focus Timer
- Custom sessions with full control
- Set your own focus, short-break and long-break lengths. A running session can be paused, rewound, extended or skipped, and work resumes automatically after a break by default.
- Screen overlay on breaks
- A full-screen overlay appears when a break starts as a prompt to step away. Notifications and sounds mark the start and end of sessions, and an announcement warns before a break.
- Statistics
- Daily, weekly and monthly statistics show how much focused work was logged. History sits in a local SQLite database that is backed up automatically every day.
- Tray icon and global shortcuts
- A system tray icon shows timer status with quick actions, global shortcuts control the timer from any app, and a compact mode shows a small countdown window.
- GNOME Shell extension
- An optional extension for GNOME Shell 48 and later adds a top bar indicator, a live countdown in notifications, automatic Do Not Disturb and a lock screen widget.
- Automation, D-Bus and CLI
- Custom actions run shell commands on timer events, media playback can pause for breaks, and a D-Bus interface and command-line options link the timer to your own scripts.
Pomofocus
- Adjustable Pomodoro timer
- Set the length of the pomodoro, short break and long break, choose how many rounds come before a long break, and have breaks or pomodoros start automatically.
- Tasks with estimates
- Add the day's tasks, estimate the pomodoros each will take and pick one to work on. The app shows an estimated finish time for the list.
- Templates
- Save a set of repeated tasks as a template and add it in one click. The free version keeps up to 3 templates.
- Reports
- Charts show focused time by day, week and month. Premium adds yearly reports, a CSV download of focus history and time tracked per project.
- Todoist import and webhooks
- Premium can load tasks from a Todoist account, with checked and unchecked states synced both ways, and call webhooks for services such as Zapier and IFTTT.
- Mobile Alarm
- A registered phone can receive the alarm with its screen off, including when the timer is running on a computer. It needs an account and a home screen shortcut.
Plans
Focus Timer
Focus Timer$0
The complete Linux app and its optional GNOME Shell extension: timer, break overlay, statistics, tray icon, shortcuts and automation.
Pomofocus
Free$0
Timer, tasks with pomodoro estimates, up to 3 templates, daily, weekly and monthly reports, and custom settings, with ads.
Premium (monthly)$3
per month
Projects, yearly reports, report download, unlimited templates, Todoist import, webhooks and no ads.
Premium (yearly)$18
per year
The same Premium features billed once a year; the subscription renews until cancelled.
Premium (lifetime)$54
one-time purchase
Premium features for a single payment, listed in the app as including future updates.
Ways to pay less
Focus Timer
No public discounts listed.
Pomofocus
- Annual discount
Yearly Premium costs half of paying monthly
The app lists Premium at $18 a year against $3 a month, which comes to $36 over twelve months.
- Lifetime license
Lifetime Premium for a one-time payment
The app's plan list includes a Lifetime option at $54, paid once, alongside the monthly and yearly subscriptions.
