Best Focus Apps in 2026

Time to focus, on focus. Yes, there are some great apps for focus in the productivity space.

In this article, we’ll help you find the best focus apps on the market. Many apps help you stay on task and coordinate your activities without distractions. Some block websites, while others improve your focus by enhancing your ability to concentrate.

Focus apps are essential for improving the quality of your work and are often underrated tools in the productivity space.

Why try deep work tasks?

Here are some of the benefits of deep work states:

No Deep Work

• Switching tasks

• Leads to burnout

• Feeling a lack of success

Deep Work

• Focusing on one task

• More rewarding sessions

• Reduces chances of burnout

The concept of deep work was developed by Cal Newport in a book called Deep Work, which outlines how you can get into flow states of work to narrow your focus, get more done, and reduce the risk of burnout.

1. Endel

Best for Sound Productivity

Endel is a popular solution if you’re looking to incorporate sound into your daily productivity.

Many people like to use repetitive and recurring sounds while they work to help them get into the zone. Some prefer soundtracks from movies or DJ music, but Endel combines your health data, circadian rhythm, and other metrics to create a soundscape that helps you focus.

It’s not just about focus—it also includes relaxation and sleep soundtracks, though many people primarily use it for focus. One popular feature is its ADHD mode, which incorporates colored noise to help users narrow their attention and improve focus with ADHD. It is an interesting option, and if you already use sound, it might help improve the quality of your tasks. It also includes a timer and device features to block distracting apps, reducing interruptions.

2. Focused Work

Best for Time Tracking

Looking for some help with your time tracking?

What is Focused Work?

Focused Work is an iOS & macOS timer application that lets you create sessions with focused time, breaks, and preparation periods.

You can customize workflows to set up routines throughout your day. This app incorporates a timer to help you get into a focus zone and set clear intentions for each task. Many people enjoy using Focused Work because it helps them concentrate while offering flexibility to design workflows tailored to their preferred focus environment. You can also whitelist or blacklist websites that tend to distract you for each workflow. Additionally, it integrates with Toggl, allowing you to track and report your time usage effectively. This also works as a good pomodoro timer.

3. Dumb Phone

Best for Phone Minimalism

Dumb Phone is a compelling application that helps to reduce your phone down to the basics: your phone messages, camera, photos, and Safari.

This helps remove the complexity of distractions on your phone and keeps you on task as you work. The idea is to strip your phone back to its most simple use case. Many people have been raving about Dumb Phone on TikTok, as it’s part of a growing trend to block out distractions. Apps like Forest are also popular for removing the temptation to get distracted. Coming from the developers of Focused Work, Dumb Phone is a great option for those who want the simplicity of a dumb phone without buying a separate device but still want features like a quality camera for taking photos on the go.

4. Flown

Best for Body Doubling

Flown has been an incredibly popular app in the last year to help people stay on task. The concept is very simple: you enter a virtual co-working space managed by the Flown team, which helps you stay focused by working with other people online. This is great for remote workers who want to work with others and incorporate intention and focus.

Many people like this concept, often referred to as body doubling in the ADHD space, as it helps hold them accountable while focusing on daily tasks. Flown is a good app because it’s led by instructors and helps you set intentions for each session. It also comes with a monthly subscription, which many people like as it adds accountability to attend the sessions.

5. iA Writer

Best for Writing

iA Writer is one of the most attractive markdown writers on the market, and many people really like how it’s available on desktop for both Mac and Windows. People love, in particular, the new focus modes that help you better enhance your writing. There’s also a way to dim out distractions and allow you to type in a pure way, which helps you focus on grammar and the structure of your sentences.

This is an invaluable markdown experience with easy formatting and syntax highlighting if you need it. Many people like this speedy, raw experience for just getting into the work instead of being distracted. You can also add images, use templates, and export easily, so you can start writing without worrying about the final result and focus on the quality of the work at hand.

6. reMarkable

Best for Offline Focus

Whilst not an app, a good consideration. The Remarkable is a paper tablet designed to help you achieve a better state of focus. Its main objective is to remove distractions and reduce the interruptions caused by notifications during your workday. While it connects and functions off-office, it provides tools for signing and managing documents, creating visual ideas, and offering a pen-like writing experience without giving you access to notifications or alerts.

You can send emails out but won’t receive them, making it more of a creative workspace for document management. Many consider the Remarkable a higher-level solution for handling documents and staying focused in a distraction-free environment.

7. Freedom

Best for Distraction Blocking

Freedom is popular for blocking distractions. Even the likes of applications that you use on those devices on a routine basis.

You can either set it to be during scheduled periods of time, or you can actually have blackout periods of using the service, which is perfect for making sure that you don’t go on those websites during studying or getting into deep states. This is something a lot of people use and is becoming increasingly popular to reduce distractions and avoid going on sites like YouTube and Netflix during work states. A lot of people have taken benefit from using this at work.

8. LifeAt

Best for Workspace

LifeAt is a simple workspace application that lets you add background music while you work. It supports YouTube Music, Lo-Fi music, Spotify, and more. The app also includes features like timers, a to-do list, and customizable backgrounds, creating a creative and personalized workspace.

LifeAt allows you to join co-working rooms for focus, using a body doubling concept similar to Flown, but without requiring interaction with others. Many people like LifeAt for its simplicity and its planner-like feature to help you manage your day more effectively. With millions of users, LifeAt is a solid choice for enhancing focus and productivity.

8. Five Minute Journal App

Best for Offline Journal

Five Minute Journal is a really good one that you can use every single day to better enhance your productivity.

Now, this will help you to reduce the risk of burnout because it will allow you to do a daily session that lasts five minutes, using the application to better focus on how and what your day looked like. The Five Minute Journal is a series of questions that can be inputted into the application and follows a unique system that they’ve developed over many years.

The company behind Intelligent Change automates a range of products that are in the physical market too, but this Five Minute Journal experience is something that is worth checking out. A journal can be a great way to recap and refresh your focus for the day ahead.