Focus Timer vs Tomighty (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Tomighty grades higher than Focus Timer: 3.0 against 2.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 9, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Tomighty grades higher on ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and features.
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
Which one is for you
Pick Focus Timer if
- Fits if you're on Linux and want a Pomodoro timer built for the desktop
- Works for people who skip breaks and need the whole screen covered to make them stop
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you're on Windows or a Mac, as it's Linux only
- Not for you if you want the same timer on your phone, since no phone app is listed
- Too light for blocking, as nothing in it blocks a website or an app
- Watch out: the GNOME top bar indicator is a separate extension, needs GNOME Shell 48 or later, and only shows after you log out
- Watch out: moving from GNOME Pomodoro means copying your old database across by hand, and the D-Bus interface has no manual yet
Pick Tomighty if
- Fits if you want a no-account Pomodoro timer in a browser tab
- Works for Windows or Mac users who want a small free desktop timer
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you want your own interval lengths, because custom times are only planned
- Skip it if you want notifications or background music; the site lists both as planned
- Not for you if you want tasks or statistics, as the pages we read show neither
- Watch out: no Linux, iOS or Android app is listed
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAFocus TimerGood | 3.0GPATomightyVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree and open source under the GPL, with no paid version at all, when the rest of this category starts at $2.99 a month. It runs on donations through GitHub Sponsors, Ko-fi, Liberapay and PayPal. | AFree to use online and to install, with no paid plan on the site. |
| Free plan and trial | AAll of it is free: timer, break overlay, statistics, tray icon, shortcuts and the automation. Nothing is held back to sell you later, because there's nothing to sell. | AFree outright on the web and on Windows and Mac, with no paid plan listed and no cap. |
| Features | CIt does Pomodoro timing completely: your own lengths, a full-screen overlay when a break starts, pause, rewind, extend or skip, daily, weekly and monthly stats, and shell, D-Bus or command-line hooks. But timing is the smaller job here. Nothing blocks a website or an app. | CThree timer modes, with a short technique explainer. Custom times, auto-start and notifications are planned, so the web timer has none of them, and there is no task list or statistics. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record, and a few hurdles the listing admits to: the GNOME top bar indicator is a separate extension that only appears after you log out, and moving from GNOME Pomodoro means copying your old database across by hand. | BNo store rating on record. Open the page or install the app and start a round, with nothing to set up. |
| Platforms and integrations | DLinux and nothing else, as a Flatpak on Flathub with community packages for Fedora and Arch. One operating system. No Windows, macOS or phone app is listed. | CWeb, Windows and Mac. No phone app and no integrations. |
| Best for | a free Pomodoro timer on the Linux desktop | a plain Pomodoro timer, free in browser or desktop |
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 Tomighty. How we grade
Price against what you get
Focus Timer has no paid plan and scores 1.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Tomighty has no paid plan and scores 2.3.
Tomighty scores higher for the same starting price. Of the other focus apps on the chart, none scores higher than Focus Timer for less, and none scores higher than Tomighty for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Focus Timer also covers time tracking.
In commonFree planOpen sourcePomodoro timer
At a glance
| Focus Timer | Tomighty | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| 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. | Free to use online and to install on Windows or Mac; the site lists no paid plan. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Made by | Kamil Prusko | Célio Cidral Junior |
| Price read from | flathub.org | tomighty.org |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
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.
Tomighty
- The site lists custom times, auto-start, notifications and background music as planned features, so the web timer has none of them yet.
- No Linux, iOS or Android app is listed.
- There is no task list or statistics on the pages we read.
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.
Tomighty
- Three timer modes
- Switch between pomodoro, short break and long break from one screen; the default pomodoro is 25 minutes.
- Runs in the browser
- The online version needs no install and starts from the home page.
- Windows and Mac apps
- Separate downloads exist for Windows and macOS.
- Open-source desktop apps
- The Windows and Mac pages say the apps are free and open source under the Apache 2.0 License.
- Technique explainer
- The home page walks through the Pomodoro Technique in five steps.
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.
Tomighty
Tomighty$0
The Pomodoro, short break and long break timer in the browser and as Windows and Mac apps.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Focus Timer or Tomighty?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Focus Timer and Tomighty are free to use.
Which has a free plan, Focus Timer or Tomighty?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Focus Timer and Tomighty have a free plan.
Which platforms do Focus Timer and Tomighty run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Focus Timer lists a Linux app and only Tomighty lists a web app and macOS and Windows apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.