Best Free Pomodoro Timer for iPhone: Eva vs Forest, Tide & Others
25 minutes of work, 5 minutes off. Simple idea that actually works. The catch: most iPhone timers cost money. Forest is $3.99, Tide runs $59.99/year, Focus Keeper sells Pro for $2.99.
Eva has a full Pomodoro timer with 13 ambient sounds, Live Activity, session stats, and automatic Do Not Disturb. No subscription, no ads.
Dark theme, rain sound, countdown running.
How it stacks up
What you get in Eva out of the box vs. what costs extra elsewhere:
| Feature | Eva (free) | Forest ($3.99) | Tide (subscription) | Focus Keeper ($2.99) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pomodoro timer | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Ambient sounds | 13 | — | 4 free / 30+ paid | — |
| Live Activity (lock screen) | ✓ | ✓ | — | — |
| Custom intervals | 4 presets + custom | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Task-level stats | ✓ | — | — | Pro |
| Daily goal (sessions) | ✓ | — | — | ✓ |
| Auto Do Not Disturb | ✓ | — | — | — |
| Keep screen awake | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Apple Health (Mindful Minutes) | ✓ | — | ✓ | — |
| Price | Free | $3.99 | $59.99/yr | $2.99 |
Automatic Do Not Disturb
🔕 Focus without distractions
When a work session starts, Eva enables Do Not Disturb automatically. Calls, notifications, messages – all silenced. On break, DND turns off.
Setup takes 30 seconds: Eva installs two iOS Shortcuts directly from the timer settings. Forest, Tide, and Focus Keeper can't do this – you'd need to toggle DND manually every time.
13 ambient sounds
Tide has 4 sounds unlocked, the rest 30+ behind a $59.99/year paywall. Forest has no sounds at all. Eva has 13, all available right away:
Sound fades in when a session starts and fades out on break. Volume is controlled by a separate slider, independent of system volume.
Sound picker at the bottom of the timer screen.
4 built-in presets
No need to fiddle with settings every time:
Classic – 25 / 5 / 15
Standard Pomodoro. 25 minutes work, 5 break, 15 long break after 4 sessions.
Deep Work – 50 / 10 / 20
For tasks that need sustained focus: coding, writing, design.
Sprint – 15 / 3 / 10
Short bursts. Email, small tasks, routine work.
Marathon – 90 / 15 / 30
Ultra-focus. Thesis, book, research.
Manual tuning: work from 1 to 120 minutes, breaks from 1 to 60, sessions before long break from 1 to 10.
Presets and manual interval settings.
Live Activity on the lock screen
Start a session – the timer shows up on the lock screen and in Dynamic Island, even when the app is in the background. No need to unlock the phone to check how much time is left.
What's displayed:
- Time remaining – countdown
- Phase – work, break, or long break
- Progress – sessions completed out of the daily goal
- Task – if you set one before starting
Live Activity on the lock screen.
Session stats
Eva tracks all your focus sessions:
- Total focus time – by week, month, or all time
- Day streak – current and personal best
- Best day – when you focused the longest
- By weekday – which days you're most productive
- By task – time spent on each task
Filter by period: 7, 30, 90 days, or all time.
Apple Health
Completed sessions are logged to Apple Health as Mindful Minutes. One toggle in settings – and your focus data sits alongside steps and sleep.
What else Eva includes
The timer is part of a full daily planner. Here's what comes with it:
- Tasks and habits – checklists, birthdays, recurring tasks
- Daily digest – weather, moon phase, holidays, outfit tips, life hacks (27 blocks)
- Wallpaper from tasks – your daily plan right on the lock screen
- Mood tracker – 5 levels, notes, statistics
- 35+ widgets – Home Screen and Lock Screen
- Voice input – "Meeting with Sarah at 2pm on Thursday"
- Sync – Apple Calendar, Reminders, Google Calendar
No account, no ads, no subscription.
"The focus timer with rain sounds – exactly what was missing." – App Store review