Forest alternative: Stint vs Forest
Pick Forest if you want free, gentle focus sessions where a virtual tree grows while you stay off your phone. Pick Stint if a tree isn't enough of a reason: you and your pool each pay an entry fee, and everyone who meets the daily focus goal splits the prize pool.
Updated
Stint vs Forest at a glance
Price, platforms, blocking, how hard it is to get around, and where money comes in.
| Feature | Stint | Forest |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free to download. Each pool has its own entry fee. Stint Pro is optional, US$5.99 a month. | Free, with no time limit. Forest Plus is an optional upgrade for allowlists, statistics and more. |
| Platforms | iPhone (iOS 18 or later). Android, Mac, Windows, Chrome and Edge coming soon. | iPhone, iPad, Android and the browser. |
| How it blocks | 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. | Each focus session grows a virtual tree. Deep Focus blocks the apps you pick during a session, and Time Guard blocks them on a schedule. |
| 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. | Forest says the only way out of a Deep Focus session is to give up and let the tree die. |
| 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. | Solo, or with friends in Plant Together: everyone grows the same tree, and it dies if anyone gives up. Free. |
| 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. | None for meeting a goal. Coins you earn can fund real trees through Trees for the Future. |
Forest details from forestapp.cc and Forest's App Store page, checked 2 October 2026. Prices are in US dollars and can change.
When to pick Forest instead
Forest does some things Stint doesn’t. If any of these matter most, it’s the better fit.
Pick Forest if
- You want free blocking with no money involved. Deep Focus and Plant Together are free.
- You use Android, an iPad or a browser. Forest runs on all of them; Stint is iPhone-only for now (Android, Mac, Windows, Chrome and Edge are coming).
- You want something gentle. Forest says its approach is “built around motivation, not pressure.”
- You like that your focus can plant real trees, through its partner Trees for the Future.
- You often work without a signal. Forest says its core focus works offline.
Pick Stint if
- A virtual tree isn’t enough to keep you there. An entry fee in a group prize pool is a bigger reason.
- You want focus counted only in your work apps, not just time away from your phone.
- 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.
A tree or a prize pool
Forest turns a focus session into something you can see: a tree that grows while you stay focused and dies if you leave. With Plant Together, a group can share one tree.
Stint keeps the group and replaces the tree with a prize pool. Everyone pays the same entry fee, focus counts only in the work apps you choose, and the people who meet the goal on the days the rules require split the pool. See how prize pools work.
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 Forest free?
Yes. Forest says you can use it for free with no time limit, and its free plan includes focus sessions, app blocking and group focus with friends. Forest Plus is an optional upgrade with extras such as custom allowlists and advanced statistics.
Is there an app like Forest for friends?
Forest has one built in: Plant Together, where everyone grows the same tree and it dies if anyone gives up. Stint is the same idea with real money: everyone in a pool pays the same entry fee, and everyone who meets the daily goal splits the prize pool.
Does Forest block apps?
Yes. Forest’s Deep Focus blocks the apps you choose during a focus session, and Time Guard blocks them on a schedule outside sessions. Forest says both are free.
What happens in Stint if I leave a session?
You can unlock a blocked app, but Stint asks you first and it ends that day’s session. If you don’t meet the goal on the days the pool requires, you don’t qualify and you forfeit your share. You’re never charged more than your entry fee.
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. Stint is free to download, and Stint Pro is optional at US$5.99 a month.
Give focus a reason
Stint is free to download. You pay a pool’s entry fee only when you join one.
