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HYPER, Forest, Opal and Focusmate: how do they differ?

Four focus tools, four different jobs, compared from each company’s own pages on 15 October 2026, by the maker of one of them.

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Forest, Opal, Focusmate and HYPER are focus tools that do four different jobs: Forest grows a virtual tree while you stay off distracting apps,1 Opal blocks the apps you choose,2 and Focusmate pairs you with a live partner3 on video.11 HYPER (“HYPER: Hyperfocus” in the app stores), a free iPhone and Android app made by Hyperstate, blocks nothing: it is a ritual for going into deep focus and coming back out, and a record of what you make there.

In short

  • Blocking: Opal is built around it;4 Forest blocks apps when Deep Focus6 or Time Guard is on;1 Focusmate’s pages don’t describe it; HYPER blocks nothing.
  • Accounts: HYPER needs none and keeps what you make on your phone; Opal’s is optional on iOS;5 Forest uses one to sync across platforms;6 Focusmate needs a sign-up for some features.7
  • Forest8 and Opal9 use streaks and rewards, Focusmate keeps a timeliness score,10 and HYPER has no streaks, badges or missed-day counts.
  • Focusmate runs in the browser11 with your camera on;10 Forest, Opal and HYPER run without a partner.
  • Written by HYPER’s maker; every Forest, Opal and Focusmate detail comes from that company’s own pages, read on 15 October 2026.

How do Forest, Opal, Focusmate and HYPER compare?

Forest, Opal, Focusmate and HYPER differ most on three things: blocking, partners and streaks. Opal is built around blocking apps,4 Forest blocks them when you turn on Deep Focus or Time Guard,1 and HYPER blocks nothing. Only Focusmate puts a live partner in every session.3 And Forest’s analytics track streaks,8 Opal counts daily streaks,9 Focusmate keeps a timeliness score,10 and HYPER has no streaks, badges or missed-day counts.

Each Forest, Opal and Focusmate cell is footnoted to that company’s own page, read on 15 October 2026; where their pages don’t say, the cell says so. The HYPER column comes from the app itself and the answers at hyperstate.app/#faq.

HYPERForestOpalFocusmate
What it isA ritual for going into deep focus and coming back out, and a record of what you make there.A focus timer that grows a virtual tree while you stay off distracting apps.1A screen-time app whose core function is blocking distracting apps.4Virtual coworking: a live video session with a partner.11
How a session worksSet one mission, then cross the Threshold: about twenty seconds of dark, breath and a slow 3 · 2 · 1, with a quiet “not now” the whole way in. Hyper Mode shows your mission, the elapsed time and your music. The Echo asks what exists now that didn’t exist before, and the session rests in the Vault.Pick a length and a tree species; the tree grows as you focus and joins your forest when you finish.1 With Deep Focus on, leaving means tapping Give Up, which kills the tree.6Choose a focus and a length, then lock in until the timer runs out.2 Sessions block the apps and websites you pick; on iPhone, the strictest level (Pro only) allows no early exit beyond one emergency pass a week.12Book a time and get matched with a member; greet your partner on video, share goals, work, and check in at the end.3 Sessions last 25, 50 or 75 minutes.10
Blocks other appsNo.Yes, when Deep Focus6 or Time Guard is on; both are free.1 Deep Focus can’t be switched off mid-session.6Yes; blocking is its core function.4Not stated on their site. Its “locked-in” sessions keep the same partner.13
Streaks and rewardsNo streaks, badges or missed-day counts; a session ended early is kept like any other. HYPER Deep’s Almanac may recall a season’s longest run of days.Coins for focus, friends and a leaderboard;14 streaks in its focus analytics.8Daily streaks;9 milestone rewards called Focus Gems.2No rewards described; whether streaks still exist is not stated (a 2018 blog post announced them).15 Lateness and no-shows lower a timeliness score.10
AccountNone: no sign-up and no server. What you make lives on your phone, and backups are files you keep; the privacy page has the details.An account syncs your forest across platforms;6 whether the free tier needs one is not stated on their site.Optional on iOS;5 social features need one linked to a phone number.16Some features need a username and password from sign-up.7 No card needed to start.10
PlatformsiPhone (iOS 16.4 or later) and Android, in English.iPhone, iPad, Android, and Chrome and Firefox extensions.6iPhone, Mac and Android;2 Opal says its Android app doesn’t yet have every feature.17In the browser, desktop or mobile, with nothing to download.11 Needs a camera and microphone.10
PriceThe whole ritual is free, forever, with unlimited sessions. Optional HYPER Deep: US$4.99 a month, US$34.99 a year with a 14-day free trial, or US$89.99 once for life (US prices; each country’s store shows its own).Free tier with occasional ads, never during a session.6 Plus has a free trial; its price is not stated on their site, which points to the app stores.14Free tier. Pro: $99.99 a year with a free week, $19.99 a month with a 3-day trial, or $399 once.18Free for three sessions a week. Plus: $8 a month billed yearly, or $12 billed monthly.10

Is there a focus app that doesn’t block other apps?

Yes. HYPER, a free iPhone and Android app, doesn’t block, lock or police anything else on your phone. It looks after the session instead: your mission, the elapsed time counting up and your music on one screen, and a way out that is held rather than tapped by default, so you never leave by accident.

Focusmate’s pages don’t describe blocking apps either; its sessions are built around another person on camera.10

In Forest, blocking is a mode you choose. Deep Focus blocks apps that aren’t on an allowlist during a session and can’t be switched off partway; without it, Forest says you can switch apps without consequence.6 Time Guard schedules blocks through the day, outside sessions too.1

Opal is the one built around blocking: its help center names blocking distracting apps as its core function.4

Is there a Focusmate alternative for working alone?

Yes. Forest, Opal and HYPER all run without a partner; Focusmate is the one built around a second person. HYPER has no partner and no account: the session is you, one mission and the clock.

On Focusmate you book a time, get matched with another member, greet each other on video and share goals, then check in at the end.3 Your camera stays on throughout, and talking is kept to the start and the end.10

Forest adds an optional group mode, Plant Together, in which everyone’s tree dies if one person gives up.6 Opal’s social features include an opt-in leaderboard of friends’ daily screen time.16

Do Forest, Opal, Focusmate and HYPER use streaks or rewards?

Forest and Opal use both. Focusmate keeps a timeliness score, and HYPER has no streaks, badges or missed-day counts.

Forest pays coins for focus time and lists friends and a leaderboard on both its Free and Plus plans.14 Daily missions reward coins and items, and monthly ones build toward a signature tree.6 Its focus analytics track streaks8 and sit in the Plus plan.14 A tree that dies stays in your forest, which Forest describes as a record of the journey rather than a verdict.6

Opal counts streaks of consecutive days with an active session or limit.9 It marks milestones with rewards it calls Focus Gems.2

Focusmate’s pages describe no points or reward badges, and its FAQ and help pages don’t mention streaks, though a 2018 blog post announced weekly ones.15 It does keep a timeliness score, which lateness and no-shows lower.10

By design, HYPER has no streaks, badges or missed-day counts, and turning back at the Threshold leaves no trace. Patterns mirrors your own rhythm and never sets a target. That is HYPER’s design position, not a research finding and not a verdict on any other app; the thinking behind it is in HYPER’s design note on streaks.

What’s a good alternative to Forest, Opal or Focusmate?

Pick by the job: Opal, or Forest with Deep Focus on, for locked apps; Forest for a visible reward; Focusmate for company while you work; HYPER for a ritual and a record.

  • You want certain apps locked. A blocker fits. Opal is built for it,4 and Forest’s Deep Focus and Time Guard do it too.1
  • You like a visible reward for time away from other apps. Forest turns focus time into a growing tree1 and pays coins along the way.14
  • You want company while you work. Focusmate puts a live partner on screen with you.3
  • You want a ritual and a record. HYPER gives you a slow way in, one mission while you’re there, one question on the way out and a Vault of what you made, with nothing blocked and no streak to keep up.

If what you really want is to keep one long session intact, whichever app you use, there’s a page on protecting a deep work session.

Who wrote this comparison, and how current is it?

The founder of HYPER wrote it. I know HYPER from the inside and the other three only from what their makers publish, so that is all I used: each company’s own website, help center, terms and pricing pages, read on 15 October 2026. No reviews, no third-party articles, and no hands-on testing of any of them.

A company’s own pages sometimes describe the same thing two ways. Forest’s home page says using other apps kills your tree,1 while its FAQ says that without Deep Focus you can switch apps without consequence.6 Where that happens, both appear here, each with its footnote.

Prices, plans and features change. If anything here differs from what a company says today, its own page is the one to trust.

Where HYPER fits

HYPER fits if what you’re after is neither a lock nor a partner but a crossing: one mission, a slow way in, and one question on the way out. If a thought arrives mid-session, the Slip lets you set it down without leaving, and the clock never resets; the next time you return to that project, it greets you: “where you left off…”

HYPER doesn’t score you or block anything. There’s no account; what you make lives on your phone, and backups are files you keep. The whole ritual is free, forever, on iPhone and Android. If you want other apps locked, a blocker is built for exactly that.

Sources

  1. Seekrtech (n.d.). Forest website, home page. forestapp.cc — Forest’s own page, accessed 2026-10-15
  2. Opal OS Corporation (n.d.). Opal website, home page. opalapp.com — Opal’s own page, accessed 2026-10-15
  3. Focusmate Inc. (n.d.). Focusmate website, how it works. focusmate.com — Focusmate’s own page, accessed 2026-10-15
  4. Opal OS Corporation (n.d.). Opal help center, what Opal is. opalapp.com — Opal’s own page, accessed 2026-10-15
  5. Opal OS Corporation (n.d.). Opal help center, deleting your account. opalapp.com — Opal’s own page, accessed 2026-10-15
  6. Seekrtech (n.d.). Forest website, FAQ. forestapp.cc — Forest’s own page, accessed 2026-10-15
  7. Focusmate Inc. (2026). Focusmate terms of service, updated June 2026. focusmate.com — Focusmate’s own page, accessed 2026-10-15
  8. Seekrtech (n.d.). Forest website, features. forestapp.cc — Forest’s own page, accessed 2026-10-15
  9. Opal OS Corporation (n.d.). Opal help center, Streaks and Focus Hours. opalapp.com — Opal’s own page, accessed 2026-10-15
  10. Focusmate Inc. (n.d.). Focusmate website, FAQ. focusmate.com — Focusmate’s own page, accessed 2026-10-15
  11. Focusmate Inc. (n.d.). Focusmate website, home page. focusmate.com — Focusmate’s own page, accessed 2026-10-15
  12. Opal OS Corporation (n.d.). Opal help center, Sessions. opalapp.com — Opal’s own page, accessed 2026-10-15
  13. Focusmate Inc. (2026). Focusmate help center, locked-in sessions, updated 8 February 2026. support.focusmate.com — Focusmate’s own page, accessed 2026-10-15
  14. Seekrtech (n.d.). Forest website, plans and pricing. forestapp.cc — Forest’s own page, accessed 2026-10-15
  15. Focusmate Inc. (2018). Focusmate blog, feature update of 13 August 2018. focusmate.com — Focusmate’s own page, accessed 2026-10-15
  16. Opal OS Corporation (n.d.). Opal privacy policy, served at its /terms address. opalapp.com — Opal’s own page, accessed 2026-10-15
  17. Opal OS Corporation (n.d.). Opal help center, Opal for Android. opalapp.com — Opal’s own page, accessed 2026-10-15
  18. Opal OS Corporation (2026). Opal website, pricing page. opalapp.com — Opal’s own page, accessed 2026-10-15

This page makes no research claims, so none of its sources comes from HYPER’s evidence ledger. Each Forest, Opal and Focusmate detail comes from that company’s own page, linked above and read on 15 October 2026, and is kept word for word in HYPER’s competitor-facts record. Details about HYPER come from the app itself. How these pages are sourced.