Focusmate alternative: Stint vs Focusmate
Pick Focusmate if you focus best with a partner on video, for any task, in any browser. Pick Stint if you'd rather skip the camera: your phone verifies your focus, the apps you choose are blocked, and your group shares a prize pool that everyone who finishes the challenge splits.
Updated
Stint vs Focusmate at a glance
Price, platforms, blocking, how hard it is to get around, and where money comes in.
| Feature | Stint | Focusmate |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free to download. Each pool has its own entry fee. Stint Pro is optional, US$5.99 a month. | Free for three sessions a week, no card needed. Focusmate Plus is unlimited for US$8 a month billed yearly, or US$12 monthly. |
| Platforms | iPhone (iOS 18 or later). Android, Mac, Windows, Chrome and Edge coming soon. | Any web browser, on a computer or a phone. Nothing to download. |
| How it works | Apple’s Screen Time on iPhone. Only the apps you choose are blocked, and only while a session runs. Focus counts only in your work apps. | You book a 25, 50 or 75-minute session, get matched with a partner, and work side by side on a video call. |
| Getting around it | You can unlock a blocked app, but Stint asks first and it ends that day’s session. Miss the goal on the days the pool requires and you don’t qualify. | Nothing is blocked. What keeps you working is a partner who can see you on camera. |
| Solo or group | Group only. Join a public pool, or a private one with friends shared by a code or a link. Hosting a pool takes Stint Pro. | One-to-one with a partner from its community. You can favourite partners or cowork with a friend. |
| Money involved | Everyone pays the same entry fee up front into a prize pool. Everyone who qualifies splits it. You’re never charged more than your entry fee. | The Plus subscription only. Nothing is paid in or paid out for finishing. |
Focusmate details from focusmate.com, checked 2 October 2026. Prices are in US dollars and can change.
When to pick Focusmate instead
Focusmate does some things Stint doesn’t. If any of these matter most, it’s the better fit.
Pick Focusmate if
- You work best with another person present. Body doubling on video is what Focusmate is built for.
- Your work isn’t all on a screen: cleaning, cooking, art or exercise all count on Focusmate. Stint counts only time in your work apps.
- You want it on a computer today, in any browser. Stint is iPhone-only for now (Android, Mac, Windows, Chrome and Edge are coming).
- You want a free option with no card: three sessions a week.
- You like short, booked sessions on your calendar rather than a daily goal.
Pick Stint if
- You’d rather not be on camera. Stint has no video: your phone reports the time you spend in your work apps.
- You want the apps that pull you away blocked while you focus.
- You want a daily goal over a multi-day challenge, with the same group the whole way.
- You want finishing to pay off: everyone who qualifies splits the prize pool.
Company or a challenge
Focusmate gives you company in the moment: one partner, one session, a camera. It works because someone can see you, and it works for almost any kind of task.
Stint gives you a group for the whole challenge. Everyone pays the same entry fee, everyone has the same daily goal, and your phone does the watching, so there's no call to join. The people who meet the goal split the prize pool. See how Stint works.
How Stint works
A group, a daily focus goal and a prize pool. Your phone keeps score.
- Step 1
Join a pool
Every member pays the same entry fee into the prize pool. The goal, length and any platform cut are shown first.
- Step 2
Focus
Time counts only in your work apps. The apps you chose to block stay blocked during a session.
- Step 3
Your phone verifies it
Your phone reports each minute of a session to Stint. No self-reporting.
- Step 4
Qualify and split
Meet the goal on the days the rules require. Everyone who qualifies splits the prize pool equally.
The full rules are on how Stint works, and the arithmetic of the split, with a worked example, is on how prize pools work.
Questions people ask
Is Focusmate free?
Focusmate is free for three sessions a week, with no credit card. Focusmate Plus gives unlimited sessions for US$8 a month billed yearly, or US$12 billed monthly, according to its pricing page in October 2026.
What is body doubling?
Body doubling is working on your own task while someone else is present, in person or on video. Focusmate pairs you with a partner on a video call for it. Stint keeps the company of a group but drops the camera: your phone verifies the work instead.
Is there a Focusmate alternative without video?
Yes. Stint has no camera or calls. You join a pool taking the same daily focus challenge, the apps you choose are blocked during a session, and your phone reports each minute you spend in your work apps.
Does Stint work on a computer?
Not yet. Stint is on iPhone now, and Android, Mac, Windows, Chrome and Edge are coming soon. Once linked, a computer or browser counts toward the same session as your phone.
What does a Stint pool cost?
Each pool sets its own entry fee, shown before you join, and the entry fees make up the prize pool. Everyone who qualifies splits it equally. You’re never charged more than your entry fee. Stint Pro is optional at US$5.99 a month.
Focus together, no camera
Stint is free to download. You pay a pool’s entry fee only when you join one.
