App on 10 lists

Focus Train Editor’s pick

MiaAppLog · Free · Productivity · 5.0 (5 ratings)

What it does

Starting is the hard part: board, and the train rolls while you work. From 5 apps for chronic procrastinators.

Focus Train has no checklist, no setup and no streak to protect. The ticket is already printed, so the only thing left is to get on, and every session becomes a route you can look at later. From 7 apps for the first week back.

Instead of the Clock timer: every focus session becomes a train ride. From 7 iPhone apps better than the defaults.

Board, and the timer rolls like a train ride; look away and it just waits. From 5 apps for a long train ride.

Every focus session is a train ride. Look away and it just waits. From 7 apps that made the cut out of 400+ we screened.

Board a train that rolls while you work; look away and it simply waits. From 5 apps for the moment you sit down to work.

Stand it on the desk as a focus timer: a train rolls while you work. From 6 jobs for a spare iPad.

A study session becomes a train ride; look away and it just waits. From 6 apps for studying on an iPad.

Focus Train turns a study session into a train ride: board, and the train rolls while you work. Look away and it simply waits at the platform. By the end of the week there is a map of where your attention went. From 5 apps for teaching yourself something.

In Focus Train a focus session becomes a train ride. Pick 25, 50 or 90 minutes; the train covers real distance. Look away and it just waits at the platform. From 5 apps for what Screen Time won't fix.

Alternatives to Focus Train

The closest alternatives to Focus Train are one sec, Alarmy, 3Things Pal, Streaks, Class Timetable, Cape, Roots, BlockSite, Brainscape, Dark Noise, Things 3, Fantastical, Bear, MusicPal, CARROT Weather, Spark Mail, Trainline, Amazon Kindle, Duolingo, NYT Games, Merlin Bird ID, Splitwise, Tile, Sunshine, Google Translate, Waze, Portal, Tot Pocket, Notion Calendar, Libby, LiveMarquee, forScore, Digital Photo Frame, Khan Academy Kids, Notability, Quizlet, Photomath, Merriam-Webster, Brilliant, AnkiMobile Flashcards, Goodnotes, Habitica, Blank Spaces, ATracker and Instapaper — 45 apps from the 10 lists Focus Train appears on, each answering the same moment a different way.

• one secPuts one breath between you and a distracting app before it opens.
• AlarmySolve a math problem or do squats before the alarm will stop.
• 3Things PalOne question each morning: what three things matter today? Not ten.
• StreaksTick off up to 24 daily habits and keep each streak going.
• Class TimetableClass Timetable draws your week of classes as coloured blocks, with homework attached to each one and a home screen widget for whatever is next.
• CapeRather than hard-blocking, Cape pauses an app once you hit your limit and gives it back later. Built for people who struggle with attention or ADHD.
• RootsRoots gives you app limits, scheduled downtime and a daily balance score, plus a one-tap Block Now for the moment you decide you are done scrolling.
• BlockSiteBlockSite blocks websites and apps, free, with a scheduler for the hours you want kept clear and a password lock so you cannot casually undo it.
• BrainscapeBrainscape has you rate how well you knew each card from 1 to 5, and the ones you rated low come back sooner. Build them from your own notes or a PDF.
• Dark NoiseDark Noise carries 50+ ambient sounds you can layer into custom mixes, with Shortcuts integration so one tap or your voice starts the one you want.
• Things 3Instead of Reminders: plan today and every project in one tidy list.
• FantasticalInstead of Calendar: type “lunch Friday at 1” and the event is made.
• BearInstead of Notes: write in Markdown, sort with tags. No account needed.
• MusicPalInstead of Music: play the audio files you own, offline. No feed, no ads.
• CARROT WeatherInstead of Weather: forecasts from a robot with five personalities.
• Spark MailInstead of Mail: every account in one inbox, real people on top.
• TrainlineBook the ticket and follow the live journey, across Europe.
• Amazon KindleEvery book you've bought, plus free samples of the next one, in a pocket.
• DuolingoBite-sized lessons in 40+ languages, small enough for one stop.
• NYT GamesWordle, the Crossword and Spelling Bee, with new puzzles every day.
• Merlin Bird IDHold your phone up to a singing bird and it names it. Free.
• SplitwiseAdd the bill once and it works out who owes who. No awkward math.
• TileRing the tracker on your keys, or see on a map where they were last.
• SunshineTracks how much daylight you actually got, with nothing to press.
• Google TranslatePoint your camera at a menu or a sign and read it in your language.
• WazeLive traffic and accurate ETAs, rerouted around crashes as they happen.
• PortalFind your flow by the sea without leaving your desk, in spatial audio.
• Tot PocketSeven color-coded dots for scraps of text, synced to your Mac.
• Notion CalendarGoogle Calendar, plus a lock-screen widget that shows what's coming next.
• LibbyBorrow ebooks and audiobooks from your library, free, with a library card.
• LiveMarqueeType a message and it scrolls across the screen as an LED sign. No ads.
• forScoreYour PDF sheet music on the music stand, with setlists and page turns.
• Digital Photo FrameA slideshow of your albums, with the time, date and weather on screen.
• Khan Academy KidsReading and math games for kids aged 2 to 8. Free, no ads.
• NotabilityHandwrite notes, mark up PDFs and slides, and record the lecture.
• QuizletTurns any material into flashcards, practice tests and study guides.
• PhotomathScan a math problem and get the steps, explained one at a time.
• Merriam-WebsterThe dictionary and thesaurus, offline, plus a word of the day.
• BrilliantBrilliant teaches math, coding, data and physics as problems you work through with a tutor that sees where you are stuck and can sketch on your screen. Built for understanding rather than memorising formulas.
• AnkiMobile FlashcardsAnkiMobile is the mobile companion to Anki, the free open-source spaced-repetition program, written by its lead developer. Paid once, priced like desktop software, with free sync to the computer version. Beware the look-alikes with Anki in the name.
• GoodnotesGoodnotes holds handwritten notes and marked-up PDFs — the textbook, the worked problems — plus a mind map on an infinite canvas, and AI that summarises what you have captured.
• HabiticaHabitica turns the daily practice into a retro RPG: check the session off in real life and your avatar earns gold and experience. Parties let you team up with friends for accountability and fight foes by completing tasks.
• Blank SpacesBlank Spaces is a minimal widget that takes over the home screen: a short list of the apps you meant to open, and no grid of icons to fall into.
• ATrackerATracker starts and stops a log for anything in one tap, phone or not. Pie and bar charts then show where the hours actually went.
• InstapaperInstapaper saves the articles you keep meaning to read, stripped of clutter and readable offline. A saved list runs out. A feed does not.

Price and ratings

Focus Train and its alternatives, as the App Store listed them on 2026-10-13.

Focus Train is free to download from the iOS App Store and holds 5.0 out of 5 from 5 ratings, checked on 2026-10-13. Prices and ratings go stale; the App Store is the live source. It is listed there as “Focus Train: Pomodoro Timer”.

Appears on

• 5 apps for chronic procrastinatorsADHDone sec · Focus Train · Alarmy · 3Things Pal · Streaks
• 7 apps for the first week backFocusClass Timetable · Focus Train · Cape · Roots · BlockSite · Brainscape · Dark Noise
• 7 iPhone apps better than the defaultsEverydayThings 3 · Focus Train · Fantastical · Bear · MusicPal · CARROT Weather · Spark Mail
• 5 apps for a long train rideEverydayTrainline · Focus Train · Amazon Kindle · Duolingo · NYT Games
• 7 apps that made the cut out of 400+ we screenedEverydayMerlin Bird ID · Focus Train · Splitwise · Tile · Sunshine · Google Translate · Waze
• 5 apps for the moment you sit down to workEverydayThings 3 · Focus Train · Portal · Tot Pocket · Notion Calendar
• 6 jobs for a spare iPadHomeLibby · LiveMarquee · forScore · Digital Photo Frame · Focus Train · Khan Academy Kids
• 6 apps for studying on an iPadFocusNotability · Focus Train · Quizlet · Photomath · 3Things Pal · Merriam-Webster
• 5 apps for teaching yourself somethingFocusBrilliant · Focus Train · AnkiMobile Flashcards · Goodnotes · Habitica
• 5 apps for what Screen Time won't fixFocusone sec · Focus Train · Blank Spaces · ATracker · Instapaper