Is Focuh a free Be Focused alternative?

Yes. Focuh is a free focus timer with no account and no telemetry, and unlike a pure timer it also blocks distracting websites and apps during a session. The Mac app blocks at the operating-system level, covering Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Arc, and native apps at once. You get the Pomodoro-style structure Be Focused gives you, plus the blocking it leaves out, without a paywall on the blocking itself.

What's the main difference between Focuh and Be Focused?

Be Focused measures focus; Focuh enforces it. Be Focused is a well-made Pomodoro timer that counts your intervals and logs your sessions, but it has no website or app blocking, so nothing stops you from opening a distraction mid-timer. Focuh runs the timer and blocks your chosen sites and apps for the length of the session at the OS level. If your timer keeps running while you scroll, blocking is the missing piece, and that's the core difference.

Does Focuh have a Pomodoro timer like Be Focused?

Yes. The Focuh Mac app includes a focus timer with a live countdown in the menu bar, so you can run timed work sessions the way you would in Be Focused. The difference is what happens during the session: Focuh also blocks your distracting sites and apps for the duration, so the timer isn't just a stopwatch you ignore. You get the same timed structure with enforcement layered on top.

Can Focuh block websites during a focus session?

Yes, and that's the main reason to switch from a timer-only app. When you start a focus session, the Focuh Mac app blocks your chosen websites and apps at the operating-system level until the session ends, covering every browser and native app at once. Be Focused has no equivalent — it times your work but leaves every distraction one click away. If the goal is to actually stay off those sites, blocking is what makes the timer stick.

Does Focuh sync across Mac and iPhone like Be Focused?

Be Focused offers iPhone, iPad, and Mac apps with sync, which is a genuine strength if you want your timer on every device. Focuh is focused on the desktop, where the distraction problem usually lives, and its system-level blocking is Mac-only by design — blocking websites and apps system-wide is something only a desktop OS allows. If cross-device timer sync is essential to you, that's a point for Be Focused; if desktop blocking is the priority, Focuh fits better.

How do I switch from Be Focused to Focuh?

Download the free Focuh Mac app, grant the macOS Accessibility permission so it can block across browsers and apps, and add the sites and apps that usually derail your sessions. Then start a focus session the same way you'd start a Be Focused timer — except this time the distractions are blocked while the clock runs. You can keep Be Focused installed and compare them side by side for a day before deciding.

Is Focuh better than Be Focused?

It depends on what you need. If you want a clean cross-device Pomodoro timer and you already have the discipline to stay off distracting sites, Be Focused is a solid, polished choice. If your timer keeps running while you drift to other tabs, Focuh is better because it adds the blocking that makes the timer mean something. Neither charges for its core focus features, so trying Focuh costs only the download.

Be Focused Alternative

Best Be Focused Alternative for Mac (2026)

Q: Why look for a Be Focused alternative?

The most common reason is that Be Focused is a timer and nothing more. It runs Pomodoro intervals and tracks them well, but it doesn't block the websites and apps that interrupt those intervals. So you start a 25-minute timer and open Reddit ninety seconds later, and Be Focused just keeps counting. People look for an alternative when they realize the timer alone doesn't stop the distraction — it only measures how long they meant to focus.

A free Be Focused alternative for Mac: Focuh keeps the Pomodoro timer you like and adds system-level website and app blocking Be Focused doesn't have.

June 22, 2026

Why Look for a Be Focused Alternative?

Be Focused is a clean, well-liked Pomodoro timer for Mac and iPhone. It runs your intervals, logs your sessions, and stays out of the way. For a lot of people it does exactly what they want. But if you're searching for a Be Focused alternative, there's usually one specific reason: the timer runs, and you keep getting distracted anyway.

That's not a knock on Be Focused — it's a category limit. Be Focused is a timer. It measures focus; it doesn't enforce it. You start a 25-minute session meaning to write, and ninety seconds later you're on Reddit while the timer keeps cheerfully counting down. The number on screen tells you how long you intended to focus, not how long you actually did. When that gap gets frustrating enough, people go looking for something that closes it.

The other reason is scope. Be Focused is built around the Pomodoro method and little else. If you want website blocking, app blocking, or a way to make the focus session actually hold, you need a tool that does more than count.

How Focuh Compares to Be Focused

Focuh is a free focus app built on the idea that a timer should come with enforcement. It runs timed focus sessions like Be Focused does — with a live countdown in the menu bar — and during each session it blocks the websites and apps that would otherwise interrupt you.

Blocking, not just timing. This is the whole difference. Be Focused times your work. Focuh times your work and blocks your distractions for the length of the session, so the timer isn't a stopwatch you can ignore.

System-level, not browser-level. The Focuh Mac app blocks at the operating-system level using macOS Accessibility APIs. A focus session covers Safari, Chrome, Firefox, and Arc at once, plus native apps. There's no single browser to switch out of to escape the block.

Genuinely free. Focuh has no account, no email signup, and no telemetry, and its blocking isn't locked behind a paywall. Your settings stay on your device.

Honest about its scope. Focuh's system-level blocking is Mac-only, because blocking sites and apps across the whole system is something only a desktop OS allows. Be Focused's cross-device timer sync is a real advantage if you live on your phone.

Feature	Focuh	Be Focused
Pomodoro / focus timer	Yes	Yes
Menu-bar countdown	Yes	Yes
Website blocking	Yes (system-level)	No
App blocking	Yes (system-level)	No
Account required	No	No
Telemetry	None	Varies
Cross-device timer sync	Desktop-focused	Yes (Mac + iOS)
Free core features	Yes	Yes

What Focuh Does Better

The gap is blocking, and it's the gap that matters most. A Pomodoro timer assumes you'll keep yourself off distractions for 25 minutes; the reason you wanted a timer in the first place is usually that you can't. Be Focused doesn't solve that — it documents it. You end the day with a tidy log of sessions and a vague sense that half of them weren't real.

Focuh removes the assumption. When the session starts, the distracting sites and apps you listed are simply unavailable until the clock runs out. The impulse to check X passes in seconds when there's nothing to check. You're left with the timer's structure and an environment that actually supports it, which is what a focus tool is supposed to provide.

System-level blocking is the part a browser extension or a timer can't match. Because Focuh blocks through the OS, switching from Chrome to Safari doesn't get you around it, and neither does opening a native app. For why that layer matters, see system-level vs browser website blocking.

Where Be Focused Still Wins

A fair comparison says where the alternative loses. Be Focused has polished iPhone and iPad apps with sync, so your timer and your stats follow you across every device. Focuh concentrates on the desktop, where the distraction problem usually lives, and its system-level blocking is Mac-only by nature. If having the same timer on your phone, tablet, and Mac is central to how you work, Be Focused does that and Focuh doesn't try to.

Be Focused is also a deliberately small, single-purpose app. If all you want is a clean Pomodoro timer and you already have the discipline to stay off distractions on your own, that simplicity is a feature, and there's no reason to add blocking you won't use.

How to Switch from Be Focused to Focuh

You don't have to uninstall Be Focused to try Focuh — run both for a day and compare.

Download the free Focuh Mac app.
Grant the macOS Accessibility permission when prompted, so Focuh can block across every browser and app.
Add the websites and apps that usually derail your sessions — youtube.com, reddit.com, Messages, Slack, whatever yours are.
Start a focus session the way you'd start a Be Focused timer. This time, the distractions are blocked while the clock runs.

The shift is small but it changes everything: the timer stops being a measurement and starts being a commitment. For more on how the timer and blocking work together, see the Pomodoro timer with website blocking page.

Who Should Switch and Who Shouldn't

Switch to Focuh if your Be Focused timer keeps running while you drift to other tabs, you want website and app blocking built into your focus sessions, and you mostly work on a Mac. If you also block in the browser, the free Chrome extension covers Chrome on top of the Mac app.

Stay on Be Focused if you want a clean cross-device Pomodoro timer, you already keep yourself off distractions without help, and timer sync across your phone and Mac matters more than blocking.

If the timer alone has never been enough, the blocking is the missing piece. Download Focuh free for Mac and start a session where your distractions are actually gone — not just counted.