Best Pomodoro Apps Compared: Which One Suits You?

There is no single best Pomodoro app. The method itself is simple: work for 25 minutes, take a 5-minute break, and take a longer break after four rounds. The apps differ in what they add around that timer. Some add a game that keeps you off your phone. Some add a task list. Some track your time for work. Some are just a clock in a browser tab. This guide compares the main Pomodoro apps and says who each one suits, including our own free Focus Timer.

This comparison is based on what each product is designed for. Plans, features and prices change, so check each app's own site for current terms. If you're new to the method, start with our guide to the Pomodoro Technique.

The short version

App	Best for	Platforms	Works offline	Free to use
Forest	Staying off your phone while you focus	iPhone, Android, browser extension	Check their site	Has a free version
Pomofocus	A browser timer with a task list	Web	Check their site	Has a free version
Focus To-Do	Pomodoro rounds tied to a full to-do list	Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android, web	Check their site	Has a free version
Be Focused	A simple timer on Apple devices	Mac, iPhone, iPad	Check their site	Has a free version
Toggl Track	Tracking work time, with a Pomodoro mode	Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android, web	Check their site	Has a free version
Focus Timer (EveryApp)	Starting a timed session fast, with no setup	Any browser on phone or computer	Once the page is open	Yes

Forest

Forest turns focus into a small game. You plant a virtual tree when you start a session, and it grows while you stay off your phone. If you leave the app to check something else, the tree dies. Over time your sessions build a forest you can look back on. The company also works with a tree-planting partner, so focused time can lead to real trees.

Choose Forest if your phone is the main thing pulling you away from work. It is built around that one problem, and the tree gives you a reason not to pick the phone up. If you work at a computer and your phone isn't the issue, a plain timer may do the job with less fuss.

Pomofocus

Pomofocus is a Pomodoro timer that runs in your browser. It has a task list next to the timer, so you can note what each round is for and estimate how many rounds a task will take. You can change the lengths of work and breaks, and with an account it shows reports of your focus time.

Choose Pomofocus if you want a browser timer and a simple task list in the same place. It is the closest app here to ours. It does more: tasks and reports. If you want those, it is the better pick.

Focus To-Do

Focus To-Do combines a Pomodoro timer with a full to-do list. You create tasks and projects, set due dates and start a timer on any task. It counts how many rounds each task took and shows statistics over days and weeks. It syncs between devices.

Choose Focus To-Do if your Pomodoro rounds are part of a bigger task system and you want one app to plan the work and time it. It suits people who like to see where their time went at the end of the week.

Be Focused

Be Focused is a clean Pomodoro timer for Apple devices. It sits in the Mac menu bar, so the timer is always one click away while you work. You can add tasks, change the lengths of sessions and breaks, and see a history of your focus time.

Choose Be Focused if you work on a Mac and want a native timer that stays out of the way in the menu bar. If you also use Windows or Android, look at an app that covers those too.

Toggl Track

Toggl Track is a time tracker first. You start a timer for each piece of work, tag it by project or client, and get reports on where your hours went. It also has a Pomodoro mode that reminds you to take a break after a set time.

Choose Toggl Track if you need to track your hours for clients, invoices or a timesheet, and you want Pomodoro breaks built into that. If you only want focus rounds, it is more than you need.

Where Focus Timer fits

Focus Timer is our free online focus timer at EveryApp. It does one job: it runs the Pomodoro cycle of work and breaks for you. There's no task list, no game and no account. You open the page and press Start.

What Focus Timer does well

• Starts straight away. By default you get 25 minutes of focus, a 5-minute break, and a 15-minute long break after every four sessions. Press Start and it runs.
• Runs the whole cycle. A chime plays when each phase ends. With Start the next phase by itself ticked, the next phase begins straight away, so you don't reset anything between rounds. Untick it if you'd rather the timer waits for you.
• Every length is yours to set. In Settings, set focus, short break and long break from 1 to 180 minutes each, and choose a long break after 2 to 6 sessions. That covers the classic 25 and 5, longer 50 and 10 rounds, or the 52/17 rule.
• Visible from any tab. The time left shows in the browser tab title. On the page, a progress bar and a row of squares show where you are in the round.
• Pause, Skip and Reset. Pause if you're interrupted and Resume where you left off. Skip moves on to the next phase. Reset puts the current phase back to its full length.
• Works on any device. It opens in any browser on a phone, tablet or computer. There's nothing to install.
• No account. You don't sign up or sign in. The timer runs on your own device, and once the page is open it keeps counting if your connection drops.

What Focus Timer doesn't do

Be clear about the limits. Focus Timer has no task list, no history and no statistics. It doesn't sync between devices. Your settings and the session count go back to the defaults when you reload the page, so if you always use 50-minute rounds you set them again each time. It tells you a phase has ended with a chime and the tab title, with no pop-up notifications, and it only runs while the page stays open. It also doesn't block other apps or websites.

If you want tasks and reports next to the timer, Pomofocus or Focus To-Do are the better choice. If your phone is the problem, Forest is built for that.

How to choose

Start with what gets in the way of your focus, then check your devices.

• Your phone keeps pulling you away. Forest. Its whole design is about leaving the phone alone.
• You want a timer in a browser tab with no setup. Focus Timer or Pomofocus. Pick Focus Timer if you want to press Start with no account. Pick Pomofocus if you also want a task list next to the timer.
• You plan your day in a to-do list and want to time each task. Focus To-Do. Or keep your tasks in a to-do list and run Focus Timer next to it.
• You work on a Mac and want the timer in the menu bar. Be Focused.
• You bill clients or fill in timesheets. Toggl Track. Its time reports are the point of the product.
• You want to see how your focus adds up over weeks. Focus To-Do, Be Focused or Pomofocus, which keep a history. Focus Timer doesn't. A habit tracker can log a daily focus habit if you'd rather keep it simple.
• You use different devices at home, school and work. A browser-based timer avoids the gap. Focus Timer and Pomofocus run in any browser, and Focus To-Do and Toggl Track cover most platforms.

The app matters less than the habit. Whatever you choose, pick one task per round, keep your phone out of reach and take the breaks. For more ideas, read our focus tips for studying. If you only need a single countdown, the countdown timer is quicker.