Focus is a Mac productivity app that blocks distracting websites and applications on a schedule or on demand, helping you carve out uninterrupted deep-work sessions throughout the day.
What is Focus?
Focus is a site and app blocker for macOS that enforces your own attention rules when willpower alone isn't enough. You define a list of distractions — Reddit, Twitter/X, YouTube, Slack, or any app cluttering your Dock — and Focus locks them out for a set duration. During an active session, attempts to visit a blocked URL are met with a customisable motivation page instead of the usual time-sink.
I've been running it daily for weeks alongside a Pomodoro rhythm, and the friction it removes is genuine. Knowing I cannot idly tab over to Hacker News changes how I sit down to write or code. The blocker isn't just passive — it's a commitment device.
What does Focus do best?
Focus excels at the combination of scheduling and scripting that most blockers skip. You can build recurring block sessions tied to your calendar rhythm — say, 09:00–12:00 weekdays — so the deep-work window opens automatically without you having to remember to start it. Beyond time-blocks, Focus ships with an AppleScript/shell-script hook so you can trigger custom actions when a session begins or ends: starting a Spotify playlist, toggling Do Not Disturb, or logging hours to a time-tracker.
- Flexible block lists: mix domains, URL patterns, and native Mac apps in one list.
- Scheduled sessions: recurring blocks that fire without manual activation.
- Motivation overlay: a custom message or quote replaces blocked pages — no blank 404, just a nudge.
- Allowlist mode: flip the logic and permit only a whitelist of URLs during crunch time.
- Scripting hooks: shell commands run at session start/end, opening doors to deep automation.
How much does Focus cost?
Focus offers a free tier that covers basic blocking functionality — enough to evaluate whether the concept works for your workflow. The Pro upgrade, available as a one-time purchase or subscription, unlocks scheduled sessions, advanced scripting, and the allowlist mode. Pricing is published at heyfocus.com; it sits comfortably in the range of what you'd pay for a month of a distraction-inducing streaming service, which is a fair trade if it buys back a few productive hours each week.
Who should use Focus?
Focus is best suited to knowledge workers who already know their enemy — you've identified the exact rabbit holes that eat your afternoons, and you want software to close them on a schedule rather than relying on resolve. Writers, developers, designers, and students all land in this profile. If your distraction pattern is more diffuse (general phone overuse, meeting culture, ambient noise), Focus won't fix the root cause; you'd be better pairing it with something like a calendar audit or an iOS Screen Time policy.
Compared to Cold Turkey, Focus is lighter and more scriptable but less nuclear — Cold Turkey's "Frozen Turkey" mode is nearly impossible to bypass, whereas Focus can be quit from the menu bar if you're determined enough. Freedom syncs blocks across devices and has a stronger mobile story. 1Focus is a worthy, simpler Mac-only alternative at a lower price. Focus sits in the middle: more capable than the bare-minimum blockers, less totalitarian than Cold Turkey, and deeply native to macOS in a way Freedom's cross-platform architecture never quite matches.
What are the best Focus alternatives?
The clearest alternatives are Cold Turkey (strictest enforcement, Windows-first but has a Mac build), Freedom (cross-device, iOS/Android sync), 1Focus (lightweight Mac-only, single purchase), and SelfControl (free, open-source, uses /etc/hosts — irreversible until the timer expires). If you only need app blocking with no website dimension, macOS's own Screen Time settings handle that without a third-party install. For the power user who wants scheduling and scripting on macOS, Focus remains the most complete single package.
How does Focus compare to Freedom?
Freedom's headline advantage is sync: one block session can reach your Mac, iPhone, and iPad simultaneously. If multi-device distraction is your problem, Freedom wins. Focus, by contrast, is macOS-native and scriptable in ways Freedom's abstracted cross-platform layer doesn't permit. Focus also lets you block specific native Mac applications directly — not just browser URLs — which is critical if Slack or Messages is where your attention actually leaks. For a single-Mac workflow with deep macOS integration requirements, Focus has the edge.
