Which is the best Pomodoro app? Francesco Cirillo, a well-known consultant, developed the Pomodoro method for managing his time in the 1980s. Pomodoro is an Italian word that means tomato. It was named after Cirillo’s tomato-shaped kitchen clock, which Cirillo used in developing the time-management method.
There are many Pomodoro apps, but which one is the best? That’s a difficult question to answer, as it depends on personal preferences. However, some Pomodoro apps are better than other productivity methods.
The Pomodoro Technique: Master Your Time
A Pomodoro is 25 minutes. You will be more productive if you have more Pomodoro in one workday.
Six core steps are required to use the technique.
Pick a task that you are interested in.
Your timer should be set to 25 minutes. You must work on your task for at least 25 minutes.
Keep working until the timer rings.
Put a checkmark onto a piece of paper when the timer rings. This signifies that you have completed an uninterrupted period of doing something.
Take a break. Take five minutes to rest, then return to step 1.
If you have more than four marks on your paper, it is a good idea to take a more extended break. It should be around 30 minutes.
This is the essence of the Pomodoro method. For more information on the Pomodoro technique, you can visit this post.
The Pomodoro Technique has many advantages
The idea of task planning and following-up is at the core of this challenge. Developers from all corners of the globe have developed task management software to solve this problem. While some of this software are accessible online via a SaaS model and others are displayed as third-party installers.
The Pomodoro Technique enhances the realizable side of things by setting up an efficient workflow that doesn’t impede progress. We all need a catch and release system because we are all human. Because of all the distractions around you, you can’t work.
We are busy working on tasks for one minute, and then something pops up on Facebook. It all disappears. Developers have created some fantastic Pomodoro Technique apps and dedicated Pomodoro Timers in this context to deliver clutter-free output.
Each Pomodoro Timer on the list had to have been up-to-date and be under active development. These types of apps are prevalent for independent developers. Many apps have not been maintained. They might still be functional, but they are likely to become obsolete in the future.
What makes a Pomodoro Timer App great?
The beauty of the Pomodoro Technique’s simplicity is its appeal. It doesn’t require eight filing cabinets and three filing boxes to make it work. You can use any timer, analog or digital. The good Pomodoro apps, many of which add a little more to the system.
The best Pomodoro timesters do more than your stopwatch app. It all depends on what you are looking for. Some automate switching between work and breaks; others track your time or sync between different devices.
Apps that are simple and easy to use (such as the Pomodoro Technique) are great. It shouldn’t take too much effort to set a timer. Any developer can build a timer app. There are many bad, poorly designed, unfinished, and otherwise terrible apps.
The best timers can be used with any app you want or on their own. Most people use the Pomodoro Technique in addition to other production techniques. You probably already have a to-do list and calendar app, so you’re not going to move everything over to a half-timer-half-to-do app.
Personalization is a crucial feature of the best timer apps. Cirillo settled on four sessions of 25 minutes each with a 5-minute break. This was through trial and error. These are not magic productivity numbers. You’ll likely find some adjustments as you learn the Pomodoro Technique. Because I find it easier to get into a flow, I prefer work blocks 35 minutes long for writing. For mundane admin stuff, I will do 15-minute blocks.
That’s all we wanted in our apps. Let’s move on to the ten best Pomodoro apps.
Top Rated 10 Best Pomodoro App
1. Focus Commit – best Pomodoro timers app for combining Kanban with Pomodoro
The Focus Commit App was created to increase productivity and integrate existing workflows and tools. Focus Commit is the #1 rated Pomodoro app on Microsoft Store.
It’s the first software to help you stay productive by combining Pomodoro techniques with a Kanban board and Getting Things Done.
Tasks should be completed in a block of approximately 25 minutes. You should break up larger tasks into smaller pieces.
You can use the Pomodoro Counter (best time-tracking Pomodoro apps) to reduce distractions and distractions.
A digital or physical project management software, Kanban Board, was also integrated into our app. It is designed to help visualize work and limit work in progress. To distract from the outside world, you can also listen to music.
The following video tutorial will explain more about us.
2. Pomotodo
Pomotodo offers two versions: a free and a professional version. The Pomotodo is compatible with both Android and iOS devices.
The pro plan costs $3.90 per month and includes advanced features like:
To-do lists with advanced features. To-do lists allow you to create subtasks, reminds, recurring tasks, as well as notes.
Pomo goals. You can set goals for how many pomos your goal is to complete in a day.
Integrations with iCalendar or Google Calendar. You can share this with your team members, so they can see your online Calendar to check if you are working on a Pomo.
Work report. Email your end-of-the-week work report. It will highlight areas where you were most productive and tasks you completed.
Customized duration. Pomotodo lets you customize your Pomo time – 10 minutes, 25 minutes, 30 minutes, etc.
You have a more extensive selection of sounds. Some Pomodoro apps can be completely silent, while others make a soft tickling sound. You can also use your music in some cases. Upgrade to Pomotodo Pro to access many sounds such as ambient white noise tracks, waves crashing onto a beach, or birds in the rainforest.
3. Forest
It works by representing every task in the app as a tree. As you work on your job, your trees grow. Your tree will die if you leave your assignment. The goal is to create a forest by adding commissions and completing them.
Forest’s adorable image is not a reflection of its powerful functionality. The analytics track your productivity and can be used to tag work periods. You can even see trends, and if you invite your coworkers or friends to join you, you can either compete to be the most productive or work together to plant trees.
4. Marinara Timer
Although the Pomodoro Technique is primarily a personal productivity tool, it can also improve small groups of people working together online or in person. After 25 minutes of work, you spend five minutes discussing the results. You can do it again. However, not many Pomodoro clocks can be set up in this way. Web-based Marinara Timer is our pick, despite its outdated look.
Marinara Timer is simple to use. You don’t even have to create an account to share timers. The website presents three options for timers: Custom, Pomodoro, and Kitchen. Pomodoro, the standard 25/5 setup, has a 15-minute break between each round. Custom allows you to set up any work/break/rest periods required by you or your team. The kitchen is just a simple timer.
Besides its poor design, Marinara Timer’s unique feature is sharing timers. Each timer has a unique URL you can share with coworkers from other places. This allows everyone to work from the same countdown. You can edit the link text by clicking Manage. An administrator link can also be created so that other people can reset their timers as needed.
5. Focus To-Do
Focus To-Do – a great Pomodoro timer app used on iOS and Android phones, is called Focus To-Do. This Pomodoro app has a simple interface, but it offers more customization than others.
You can also create color-coordinated categories or labels, such as a class dedicated to project-specific tasks. This makes it easy to see what jobs take up most of your time in Focus To-do analytics.
Focus To-Do has a paid version, but most customers feel that the free version is sufficient. You can get sounds and categories and customizable timers with the free version.
6. Clockwork Tomato
Clockwork Tomato, an Android-specific Pomodoro app, is a well-known Pomodoro application. It’s been in the market for many years and is well-received by Android users.
You can set the time, colors, sounds, and style. You can, for instance, set a Pomodoro of 30 minutes with a break of 10 minutes. The Clockwork Tomato can also customize it to play the rain sound while you work.
You can upgrade the app to get more functionality and activity logs for your productivity.
7. Focus Booster
Focus Booster offers three plans that range from free to $4.99 per month.
The free plan is a lightweight Pomodoro application that’s a simple Pomodoro timer and easy to use. You can keep track of 20 Pomodoro sessions each month. You can access a dashboard that will help you monitor your productivity once you have started using the paid plans with individual or professional tiers.
The Individual Plan costs $2.99 per month and includes 200 Pomodoro sessions. If you stick with the 25-minute Pomo option, you will get approximately 83 hours of tracking per month. This is just slightly more than 20 hours per week.
The professional plan costs $4.99 per month and includes unlimited Pomodoro sessions. You can also tie revenue reporting to your Pomodoro reports.
Noting: Although revenue reporting can be a nice feature, it is not easy to show the relationship between revenue growth and an individual’s hard work—the Pomodoro and not its effectiveness measure the length of a task.
8. FocusList
FocusList, a daily planner and focused app for iOS devices (including Mac computers), works with all iOS products.
This app has a few extra features not available in other Pomodoro apps. You can view your past activities in stats. This allows you to track how productive or unproductive your workdays were and lets you know when you did so.
You can also drill down to any day and see the same tasks you completed.
FocusList is more suited to people who wish to be disconnected from their work than those looking to increase their productivity in their workplace.
9. Toggl Track
You might consider a Pomodoro to track your hours and automatically invoice clients. Toggl Track does all of that and more. (Note that the Pomodoro feature can only be used in the macOS, Windows desktop apps, and the Firefox or Chrome browser extensions.
Toggl is primarily an app for time tracking. It’s one of our top picks. You can choose one of our alternatives if you don’t plan to use the time-tracking function as much as you would like. It can work well if you need to track your billable Pomodoros or if Toggl is already used and you wish to use the Pomodoro Technique.
Toggl is very easy to use. To track your activities, start a timer. It doesn’t matter if you specify the project or your client. You can do this after. Toggl has Pomodoro mode. The timer will count down to the Pomodoro length (25 min default). After that, a new activity is called Pomodoro Break. After a short respite, you will be able to roll into a new session.
Don’t be discouraged if you find yourself in a rhythm and can work through a break. Go to the web app and select the holiday you have completed. To assign the folder to a project or change its name, click on the icon.
Zapier integrates with Toggl to share your time entries via Slack and automatically create projects from a Trello board.
10. Focus Keeper: Work & Study Timer
The aptly named Focus Keeper – Work & Study Timer ($1.99 at PIXO Inc.), which follows the Pomodoro Technique, but replaces Pomodoros by Focus Sessions, is also available.
There are 14 alarms and 10 ticking sounds. You can adjust the volume and sound effects for Focus Sessions, short breaks, and long breaks. Even if Focus Keeper runs in the background, notifications are sent. You can track your productivity over time with 14- and 30-day activity records. You can set a goal for how many Focus Sessions you want to complete each day.
The only thing that is missing is the ability to label your Focus Sessions and keep track of what you are doing. If you wish to label your Focus Sessions, you will need to use another app or a notebook.
Read more about some productivity apps for students
Pomodoro Timer Apps Tip
- Many of the technique’s fans have a few common strategies in mind:
- Create a to-do list and then assign each task to a Pomodoro.
- You can break down projects into manageable steps so you can finish them in one Pomodoro.
- Limit the amount of Pomodoros allocated to each task if this is not possible.
- You can combine tasks that take less than 25 minutes to complete.
- Your first Pomodoro should be used to plan the day. Or, you can use your last Pomodoro for preparations the next day.
- Do not be too hard on yourself.
The Best and Worst Uses of Pomodoro
Some projects work better with the Pomodoro technique. It works well for the following:
- Writing.
- Eliminating your email backlog.
- Clearing your inbox (IT Support tickets, software bugs fixes, and other similar items).
- Homework, term papers and other student projects.
- Do your household chores.
- Home projects such as garage cleaning.
- You can complete projects in a short time.
- You have put off too much.
Don’t use Pomodoro for:
- Activities for leisure.
- Projects and tasks that require frequent breaks such as research or reading.
- Anything that does not fit in the technique after multiple attempts.