An honest comparison
Added Time vs Forest
Two iPhone apps for focused time. We make Added Time, so read this as the interested party's comparison: every claim below is dated and checkable, and Forest's strengths come first.
Facts checked against Forest's US App Store listing and forestapp.cc · September 24, 2026
Where the two agree
Both are free to download with a paid tier. Both can hide distracting apps during a focus session for free (Forest calls it Deep Focus; in Added Time, apps step aside during a block), and both have a free scheduled block (Forest's Time Guard covers one app or site; Added Time keeps one standing window forever). And both are made for people with something to work toward: Forest's listing names “studying for exams,” and an exam is exactly the kind of goal Added Time was built to hold.
What Forest does that we don't
Forest has been around since 2014, and it has earned its place. Honest reasons to pick it over us:
- Charm. A tree grows while you focus, new species and soundscapes unlock as you go, and the game genuinely works for many people. Added Time is a scoreboard and a notebook; Forest is a garden.
- Real trees. Forest says more than 2 million real trees have been planted through its partnership with Trees for the Future, with the cost covered from app revenue. Plus and Pro members can spend the coins they earn focusing to have up to five real trees planted on their behalf.
- Focusing with friends. Plant Together, free, lets a group share one session and plant the same tree, with iPhone and Android users in the same room.
- More places. iPhone and iPad, plus Android and browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox, with your forest synced across them. Added Time is made for iPhone.
- A countdown or a stopwatch. Forest can count down to zero or count up with no finish line; our clock only counts up, toward the goal you set.
- Somewhere to rest. Mindful Space pairs soundscapes with guided breathing between sessions, and one soundscape is free.
The numbers, side by side
| What | Added Time | Forest |
|---|---|---|
| Yearly | $29.99 · 7-day free trial | $35.99, listed as “Annual (Early Bird)” (the list also shows one at $32.49); a free Plus trial is offered |
| Monthly | $4.99 | $5.99, listed as “Monthly (Early Bird)” |
| Lifetime | $79.99, one payment, never renews | None in its App Store list; Forest Pro, its old one-time purchase, is no longer sold |
| In-app items | None | Crystal packs, $0.99 to $21.99; Sunshine Elixir, $0.99 and $1.99 |
| Ads | None | Occasional ads on the free tier, never during a focus session; Plus is ad-free |
| Account | None; there's nothing to sign up for | Signing in syncs your data and Forest Plus across platforms |
| Runs on | Made for iPhone (iOS 18 or later) | iPhone and iPad (iOS 16 or later), Android, and Chrome and Firefox extensions |
| Pausing | The whistle, on every tier; the pause is added on to the end | Plus and Pro only, up to 5 minutes a pause; “your tree is safe during a pause” |
| Ending early | Every minute you played is kept | Its listing: “Leave early and it withers.” |
| History | Subjects, goals and the whole Record, free | Focus tracking and your forest, free; custom tags and Focus Analytics are Plus |
| App Privacy label | Data Not Collected | Contact info and usage data may be used to track you; purchases, contact info, user content, identifiers, usage data and diagnostics may be linked to you |
Forest's figures are from its US App Store listing (the in-app purchase list, compatibility and App Privacy label) and forestapp.cc, as of September 24, 2026. Forest says Plus pricing varies by region and platform, and each App Privacy label is the developer's own answer, which Apple doesn't verify: ours included. Prices move, so check Forest's listing for today's numbers. If a row here has gone out of date, write to us and we'll correct it.
Added Time is free to download, and its record is free forever. See it on the App Store ›
What Added Time does differently, on purpose
Forest treats a tree that didn't make it kindly — in its own words, “an honest record of the journey, not a verdict.” Added Time takes another route: a pause is added on to the end, ending early keeps every minute, and the record only counts what you kept.
- The whistle is free, and the pause comes back. One tap holds the clock while a second clock counts the pause; tap again and you're back in play. The goal still gets every minute it asked for, so +7′ only means the session ran seven minutes long. One tap, and no question about why.
- Ending early keeps every minute. Stop at 33 minutes of an hour and all 33 are banked: a full mark and a part-drawn one, on the page with the rest. Nothing you played is thrown away.
- The record costs nothing, forever. Every subject, goal and habit, the Week, History and the Record (every hour since your first block) are free, with no caps and no expiry. What Plus pays for is the doorman: more standing windows, daily limits and screen-time goals, the parts that work on days you never open the app, plus the doorman's ledger of what they held.
- If Plus lapses, nothing breaks. We can only speak for ourselves here: nothing is deleted. Extra windows, limits and screen-time goals rest, visibly, and pick up where they were if you come back.
- No account, no servers of ours, no ads. There's nothing to sign up for, and Apple handles every purchase. Everything Added Time records is yours: we never see it, and nothing is ever sent to us. Its App Store label says so in three words: Data Not Collected.
Which should you pick?
Pick Forest if a growing forest keeps you going, you want to focus with friends, or you work across Android and a browser. It's charming, and it plants real trees.
Pick Added Time if you have hours you owe yourself — an exam, a degree, a craft — and want every one of them recorded, free, with no account and no ads. The hours are the point; apps stepping aside is only how they get protected.
Not sure yet? Try the free focus & study timer in your browser first.
Free to download · no account · the record is free forever
Forest is a trademark of its owner, Seekrtech. Added Time is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Forest in any way. We wrote this because people compare before they choose, and a comparison only helps if it's fair.