The Pomodoro Technique is 25 minutes of work and a 5-minute break. That is the whole method, and you can run it on a kitchen timer.
So the useful question is not which app does Pomodoro. They all do. It is what each one adds on top, and whether that addition is worth a recurring payment.
I run Peazehub, which is on this list. Where another app is a better fit, I have said so.
The comparison
| App | What it adds | Platforms | 3-year cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pomofocus | Nothing — that is the appeal | Web | $0 |
| Peazehub | Streaks, stats, groups, leaderboard | Web (PWA) | $29.99 |
| Forest | A tree that dies if you leave | iOS, Android | ~$4 |
| Focus To-Do | A full task manager | All platforms | $11.99 |
| YPT | Subject-level tracking, study rooms | iOS, Android | $0 |
| Study Bunny | Coins and a pet rabbit | iOS, Android | $0 |
| Session | An app and website blocker | Apple only | Varies |
| TickTick | Tasks and a calendar | All platforms | $107.97 |
| Focusmate | A live human on a call | Web | $288 |
Pick the interval before you pick the app
25/5 is the default, not the rule. Francesco Cirillo picked 25 minutes in the 1980s because that was the length he could sustain as a struggling student — it was never a finding about human attention.
In practice:
- 10–15 minutes — when starting is the barrier. Common for ADHD, and the reason short intervals matter more than they look.
- 25/5 — the default. Good for reading, revision, problem sets.
- 50/10 — fewer context switches, better for writing and coding.
- 90/20 — one full ultradian cycle. The longest interval most people can hold.
Any app that locks you to 25/5 is imposing a 1980s constraint on you. Most of the list lets you change it; check before you commit.
1. Pomofocus — the minimal one
Free · Web
A tab with a timer and a task list. No account, no install, no upsell in your face. For a lot of people, the correct answer.
Falls short on: streaks, history, community. Premium pricing is not published.
2. Peazehub — the one that keeps the record
$29.99 one-time · Web (PWA)
Nine presets including 25/5, 50/10, 52/17, 60/15 and 90/20. Every completed session writes to a streak, a lifetime focus-hour total, a heatmap, and the weekly leaderboard.
The distinction from most of this list: it is built around what happens *after* the session. A Pomodoro app tells you when to stop. This one tells you what you have accumulated.
Falls short on: no blocker, and no native mobile app yet — iOS and Android are in development and included in the same one-time payment.
3. Forest — the one that punishes you
One-time, about $4 on iOS
Leave the app, the tree dies. Effective, cheap, and unchanged in its pricing model for years while the category drifted to subscriptions.
Falls short on: depth of tracking.
4. Focus To-Do — the one with the task manager
$11.99 lifetime · every platform
Pomodoro plus a real task manager, on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android and web. The lifetime tier is the same idea as ours at a similar price, and it earns the placement.
Falls short on: community and streak mechanics.
5. YPT — the one for exam candidates
Free · iOS, Android
Per-subject timers, live study rooms, rankings, all free. If you are preparing for something large and need to know where the hours went by subject, this is unusually strong.
Falls short on: mobile only, dense interface.
6. Study Bunny — the one for school students
Free with ads · iOS, Android
Coins, a rabbit, flashcards. Aimed at younger students and effective with them.
Falls short on: ad load, shallow tracking.
7. Session — the one that blocks
Paid, App Store pricing varies · Apple only
Pomodoro with an integrated app and website blocker across Safari, Chrome, Brave and Edge, syncing across iPhone, iPad and Mac.
Falls short on: Apple only. No Android, no web, no shared features.
8. TickTick — the one inside a to-do app
$35.99/year · every platform
A good task manager with a competent timer attached. Sensible if you already pay for it; expensive if the timer is what you came for.
Falls short on: $107.97 over three years, and no study community.
9. Focusmate — the one with a person
From $8/month billed yearly · Web
Booked 25, 50 or 75-minute video sessions with a stranger. Genuinely different from everything else here, and genuinely the most expensive.
Falls short on: scheduling, camera, and $288 over three years.
Free versus paid
The free options here are real, not crippled trials. Pomofocus, YPT and Study Bunny will run the technique properly without payment. Peazehub is paid — $29.99 once — but there is no subscription behind it.
What paying tends to buy across this category:
- Cross-device sync
- Long-term history and analytics
- Removal of ads
- Blocking
Decide which of those four you actually need. If the answer is none, take Pomofocus or YPT and stop.
The pricing model matters more than the feature list
Three years of Focusmate is $288. Three years of TickTick is $107.97. Forest is about $4, Focus To-Do $11.99 and Peazehub $29.99 — each paid once, and that is the whole bill.
Pomodoro is a habit you are trying to hold for years. A one-time price fits that shape; a monthly one does not, and the monthly one keeps charging during the months the habit lapses — which are exactly the months you are least inclined to defend the expense.
That is why we charge once. Start a 25-minute session.