Focus Friend alternatives

By G, founder of Memenmo Studios · 6 October 2026

Checked against each app’s own website and store listing as of 6 October 2026. Prices change, so they’re left to the App Store.

Focus Friend, from Hank Green and Honey B Games, is a gentle, ad-free knitting-bean timer with Deep Focus blocking, and hard to beat for warmth. Look elsewhere for other languages, a different animal, friends to focus with or an Apple Watch app: Cat on Chair, Focus Dog, Forest and Doggydoro (ours) each cover some of that.

Doggydoro, one of the apps below, is made by Memenmo Studios, the people who run this site. We have no connection with Focus Friend or any of the others. What we say about them comes from their own websites, store listings and FAQs, checked on 6 October 2026.

What is Focus Friend, exactly?

A cosy focus timer made by Hank Green and Honey B Games. You start a session and your Bean Friend starts knitting; stop the timer and the bean is really, really sad. Finished sessions earn socks, socks buy decorations for the bean’s room, and there are bean skins to try, from Coffee Bean and Edamame to Hank and John Bean.

It does the important things well. Deep Focus Mode locks distracting apps during a session, on iOS through Screen Time and now on Android too. There’s a Lock Screen Live Activity and Pomodoro breaks. Its FAQ says it’s ad-free and doesn’t collect or sell your personal data, and its Google Play listing declares no data collected. It’s free, with a Pro subscription or lifetime purchase that adds scarves, and bean skins sold separately.

Why look for a Focus Friend alternative?

Mostly because it does one thing, very sweetly, and you may want something it doesn’t do:

Another language. Focus Friend is in English only.
A different companion. If the bean doesn’t do it for you, there are cats, dogs and trees.
Company. Its listings don’t describe friends, leagues or group sessions.
More devices. It runs on iPhone, iPad, Apple silicon Macs and Android, but its listings show no Apple Watch app or browser version.
More of a system. Its listings don’t describe a to-do list or detailed stats, and some people want those alongside the timer.

Which alternatives are worth a look?

App	The companion	Blocking	Platforms	Languages	Price model
Cat on Chair	A cat on a chair, in a room you decorate	Apps and websites, with an allowlist; free	iPhone, iPad, Apple silicon Mac, Apple Watch	Eleven	Free, with Pro as a subscription or lifetime
Focus Dog	A dog called Focus, fed with donuts	No app shielding described; leaving stops the donuts	iPhone, iPad, Apple silicon Mac, Android	Nine	Free, with Pro as a subscription or one-off purchase
Forest	Trees that grow into a forest	Deep Focus free; allowlist with Plus	iPhone, iPad, Android, browser	Fourteen	Free, with a Plus subscription
Doggydoro (ours)	A dog of your choosing, in a room you furnish	Strict, Allowlist or Chill out, plus a bedtime lock; free	iPhone only	English	Free, with Pro as a subscription or one-off purchase
Finch	A pet bird you raise through self-care	None; not a focus timer	iPhone, iPad, Android	English	Free, with a paid Finch Plus tier

Which is most like Focus Friend?

Cat on Chair. It has the same shape: a small creature keeps you company during a session, finishing earns something, and that something furnishes a room. When you finish, the cat brings you a gift; when you don’t, you may be left with a little trash. Gifts trade for fish, and fish buy furniture.

Where it goes further is the free tier: blocking apps and websites with an allowlist, a to-do list with reminders, a timeline of today’s sessions, Shortcuts, and your room as a wallpaper. Pro adds mixed ambient sounds, an Apple Watch app, full stats and more. It’s in eleven languages. It doesn’t list an Android version; its site links only to the App Store.

What if I want friends to focus with?

Focus Dog or Forest. Focus Dog has friends, weekly leagues and a global leaderboard, plus a dog you feed with the donuts you earn and gems you can donate as meals for shelter dogs. Forest has Plant Together, where a group shares one session and everyone’s tree withers if anyone gives up, and a free tier that includes app blocking. Both are on Android, and Forest is in the browser too. Both are also gamier than Focus Friend, with more stakes and less knitting. See Forest app alternatives for more on Forest.

Is Doggydoro a Focus Friend alternative?

For some people. It’s ours, and like Focus Friend it’s gentle: a dog settles into a chair in a small watercolour room while you work, and if you stop early it yawns rather than sulks. You choose from ten breeds and name the dog, and each breed keeps you company its own way; a Greyhound is asleep by minute two. Blocking runs through Screen Time, free, with Strict, Allowlist and Chill out, and an optional bedtime lock. There’s no account and nothing leaves your phone, which matches Focus Friend’s privacy stance rather than beating it.

Where it falls short of Focus Friend: it’s iPhone only, with no iPad, Mac or Android version, and it’s brand new, while Focus Friend has a head start. It’s English only too, so it doesn’t fix the language problem. If you’d like to compare it with the other dog, see Doggydoro vs Focus Dog.

What if the bean was really about being kind to myself?

Then have a look at Finch. It isn’t a focus timer: you raise a little bird by checking in on your mood, journalling, breathing and setting goals. Its listings describe no blocking and no focus sessions. But if what you liked about Focus Friend was a soft creature making the day feel manageable, Finch is built around that.

Which should I pick?

Stay with Focus Friend if you want the gentlest option, care about privacy, and only need English.
Cat on Chair for the same cosy shape with more tools, more languages and an Apple Watch app.
Focus Dog for a dog, friends and leagues, in nine languages.
Forest for group sessions and the most platforms.
Doggydoro for a dog of your choosing, free blocking with a bedtime lock, and no account, on iPhone.
Finch if it was never really about the timer.

To try a gentle timer before installing anything, our web timer runs in a browser tab. For all seven side by side, see focus apps with a pet in them.