The 7 best focus apps with real stakes

Updated September 13, 2026 · By the Stint team

Short answer

Focus apps with real stakes fall into three kinds: money you can lose, a person who is watching, and a contract you signed. The best one depends on which of those moves you. Stint is the pick for focused work sessions with money in a shared prize pool and real app blocking. Beeminder and StickK are the picks for any measurable goal with a pledge. Forfeit is the pick for one-off tasks with photo proof. Focusmate and Flow Club are the picks if a live human works better for you than money. Opal is here as the best blocker without stakes, for comparison.

Download on theApp Store

Stint is the only one on this list that combines real app shielding with a prize pool shared by the people who finish.

How this list was made

We make Stint, so read the ranking with that in mind. The other six are here because they are the apps people mention in the same breath, and each is honestly better than Stint for at least one kind of person. Descriptions are kept to what each app is for and how it creates its stakes, not prices or feature counts that go stale.

1. Stint: focus sessions with a shared prize pool

Stint is a focus challenge for iPhone. You join a pool, a small group committing to the same daily deep-work goal for a set number of days, and pay an entry fee into a shared prize pool. During sessions, the apps you chose are shielded with Screen Time; focus time counts only in your chosen work apps, and opening a blocked app ends the session. Everyone who meets the goal qualifies and splits the pool. Miss it and you forfeit your share; nothing further is charged.

Best for: developers, writers, students and founders who work in blocks and keep bypassing plain blockers. Weakest for: people who want an all-day phone limit rather than defined sessions. iPhone only.

2. Beeminder: pledges on any measurable goal

Beeminder tracks a number over time, hours worked, words written, and charges a pledge when you fall off the line. It is the most flexible stakes tool here and connects to many data sources. It does not block anything and has a learning curve. Best for people who like graphs and want stakes on goals beyond focus.

3. Forfeit: money on a task, with photo proof

Forfeit lets you put money on completing a specific task by a deadline, with a photo as proof. It is direct and simple. Best for one-off tasks and habits; less suited to hour-by-hour focus.

4. StickK: commitment contracts with a referee

StickK, born from behavioural economics research, has you sign a contract, name a referee and choose where your money goes if you fail. It works across any goal and has been around for years. No blocking, and the experience is more form than app. Best for long commitments with a friend as referee.

5. Focusmate: a live partner

Focusmate pairs you with another person on video for a timed work session. The stake is social presence. For many people it is remarkably effective; for others the scheduling and the stranger are the friction. No blocking.

6. Flow Club: group co-working sessions

Flow Club runs hosted group sessions on video with a shared structure. More community than Focusmate, same social stake. Good if you want a scheduled rhythm and other people's energy.

7. Opal: the best blocker without stakes

Opal is here for contrast. It is a polished Screen Time blocker with schedules and stricter modes and no stakes at all. If you are honest that you rarely bypass blockers, it may be all you need.

Pick by what moves you

Money, and you work in sessions: Stint.
Money, and the goal is anything measurable: Beeminder or StickK.
Money, on a single task: Forfeit.
A person watching: Focusmate or Flow Club.
No stakes, just a good block: Opal.

Questions people ask

Is putting money on focus a form of gambling?

Not in Stint. The outcome depends entirely on whether you do the focused work, you are never charged for missing a goal, and finishers split the pool. It is a skill-based challenge, like an entry fee for a race.

What if everyone in a pool finishes?

Then everyone qualifies and the pool is split equally after the platform cut set when the pool was created. Fewer finishers means a larger share each.

Focus with money on the line.