Focus5 vs TickTick: a simpler TickTick alternative
Both apps have a focus timer. TickTick costs $35.99 a year and leaves you to choose what to work on. Focus5 costs $29 once and chooses for you.
TickTick is a to-do list with a built-in Pomodoro timer, a habit tracker, five calendar views, Kanban, a Timeline and an Eisenhower matrix. Premium is $3.99 a month or $35.99 a year. It is a lot of app for the money.
Focus5 also has a focus timer, so that is not the difference. The difference is what happens before it starts. TickTick shows you the list and lets you choose. Focus5 chooses, and starts the clock.
Here is how the two compare on price, features and who each one suits.
| TickTick | Focus5 | |
|---|---|---|
| Core idea | One app for lists, habits, calendar and focus | Hands you the next task with the clock running |
| Choosing what to do | You decide, every time you open it | Focus queues them for you, 5 on screen at a time |
| Focus timer | Pomodoro, 25 minute intervals, with stats | One task on screen, clock running, rest hidden |
| Views | List, Kanban, Timeline, Eisenhower, 5 calendar views | Today, Agenda, Calendar. That’s it |
| Extras | Habit tracker, countdowns, 40+ themes | None of those, on purpose |
| Price | Free plan; Premium $3.99 a month or $35.99 a year | $29 once, lifetime |
Why people pick Focus5 over TickTick
A timer that already knows what you are working on
In TickTick you open the list, read it, decide which task deserves the next 25 minutes, then start the timer. That decision is where the morning goes.
In Focus5 the decision is already made. Open Focus and the next task is on screen with the clock running, chosen by the queue rather than by you.
Three screens, not eight views
Kanban, Timeline, Eisenhower, and five calendar views are real features, and they are also five more ways to rearrange work instead of doing it. Rearranging feels productive, which is exactly the trap.
Focus5 has Today, Agenda and Calendar. There is no view that makes a heavy day look lighter, because there is no view to switch to.
You talk, it writes
TickTick captures quickly, but you are still typing, and still choosing a list and a date as you go.
In Focus5 you ramble about your day and it writes the tasks down, dates them, and files them into the right book. Nothing has to be organised to get out of your head.
One payment, not a subscription
TickTick Premium is $3.99 a month or $35.99 a year. That is genuinely cheap for the amount of app you get.
It is still a bill that arrives forever. Focus5 is $29 once, and five years of TickTick Premium is about $180.
Where TickTick is the better fit
TickTick is more app for less money than almost anything else in this category, and there are clear cases where it wins.
You want habits and tasks in one place. TickTick’s habit tracker is built in and Focus5 has nothing like it.
You want your calendar in the same app. TickTick offers five calendar views and syncs with your real calendar. Focus5 shows only its own tasks and knows nothing about your 3pm meeting.
You need it on an iPhone or a watch. TickTick runs on phones, tablets, desktops and watches. Focus5 is on Google Play for Android and runs in a desktop browser, so on iPhone you are waiting.
You like having views to switch between. Some people genuinely think better in a Kanban or a matrix. Focus5 removes that option rather than offering it.
If you want one app that does lists, habits, calendar and focus for under $36 a year, TickTick is a straightforwardly good answer and this page isn’t going to pretend otherwise.
Who Focus5 is for
Choose Focus5 over TickTick if:
- You’ve used a focus timer for months and the list still grows.
- You want fewer views, not more.
- You want the app to decide the order so you do not have to.
- You’d rather pay once than carry another subscription.
- You want a bad day to just end, not to break a habit chain.
See Focus5 in action
Frequently asked questions
Does Focus5 have a Pomodoro timer?
Not a Pomodoro in the strict sense. Focus mode puts one task on screen with the clock running and the rest out of sight, and it runs until you finish or pause rather than for a fixed 25 minutes. If the 25-on, 5-off structure is what you want specifically, TickTick does that and Focus5 does not.
How much does TickTick cost?
TickTick has a free plan. Premium is $3.99 a month or $35.99 a year.
Does Focus5 track habits?
No. Habits are a different job from finishing today’s work, and bolting one onto the other is how a small app stops being small. TickTick does this and does it well.
Can you import TickTick tasks into Focus5?
No, there’s no importer. Most people switching start fresh with today’s five anyway.
Is $29 really the whole price?
Yes. One payment, no renewal, no expiry date. Your account keeps every premium feature, including the ones that aren’t built yet.
Can you try Focus5 without paying?
Every feature is unlocked for your first 7 days, with no card. After that, Today, Agenda, Calendar and 2 books stay free with no time limit, and nothing you wrote gets deleted.
Compare Focus5 with another app
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Neither app charges a subscription. Things 3 is Apple only and costs up to $79.97 across devices. Focus5 is $29 once for every device, with a focus queue Things does not have.
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Notion makes you build your own task system. Focus5 gives you one you cannot change, and a Focus mode that decides what you do next.
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Focus5 vs Microsoft To Do
Microsoft To Do is free and syncs with Outlook. Focus5 costs $29 once and adds a Focus mode that queues your tasks and times them.
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Focus5 vs Google Tasks
Google Tasks is free and sits inside Gmail. Focus5 costs $29 once and adds a Focus mode that picks your next task and times it.
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ClickUp runs a whole company’s work. Focus5 runs your next hour: it picks the next task and starts the timer.
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Focus5 vs Superlist
Both apps let you add tasks by talking. Superlist is $59 a year. Focus5 is $29 once and adds a Focus mode that queues them and times them.
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