Honest comparison
Focus Meter vs Apple Screen Time
Screen Time was built for parental controls. Focus Meter is built for understanding your work.
Apple Screen Time is fine for checking a kid’s iPad. For understanding where your focus goes on a Mac, it misses the three things that matter most: which websites you used, how productive you were, and whether you’re getting better over time.
At a glance
| Feature | Apple Screen Time | Focus Meter |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free (built-in) | $19 one-time |
| Individual website tracking | No | Yes |
| Works with Chrome / Arc / Firefox | No | Yes |
| Focus score (0–100) | No | Yes |
| Weekly digest | No | Yes |
| Trends over weeks / months | Limited | Detailed |
| Custom productive/distracting categories | No | Yes |
| Export (CSV / JSON) | No | Yes |
| Idle detection | Basic | HID-based, smart |
| Data location | On-device | On-device |
Where Apple Screen Time shines
- Free and built into macOS — nothing to install.
- On-device by default, like Focus Meter.
- Good for enforcing app limits on a kid’s iPad or iPhone.
Where Focus Meter is different
Website-level detail
Screen Time tells you “Safari: 4 hours.” Focus Meter tells you docs.google.com took 2h 10m, reddit.com took 45m, and github.com took 1h — so you can see what those 4 hours actually were.
Works with Chrome, Arc, and Firefox
Screen Time only sees Safari. If you live in Chrome, Arc, or Brave, its website data is effectively zero. Focus Meter reads the active URL from every major Mac browser.
A focus score, not raw minutes
Screen Time shows you app hours. Focus Meter distills the day into a single 0–100 focus score so you can see at a glance whether today was better than yesterday.
Weekly digest + trends
Focus Meter delivers a Monday-morning digest of the previous week and charts trends over months. Screen Time resets your thinking to “what did I do yesterday.”
Custom categories and export
Classify anything as productive, neutral, or distracting. Export the full dataset as CSV or JSON. Screen Time offers neither.
Cost over three years
| Apple Screen Time | Focus Meter | |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $0 | $19 |
| Year 2 | $0 | $19 (same app) |
| Year 3 | $0 | $19 (same app) |
Use Apple Screen Time if…
Parents managing a child’s iPad, anyone who only needs rough “how long was I on Safari” numbers, and users who don’t care about website-level or Chrome/Arc data.
Use Focus Meter if…
Knowledge workers who want to see where their work hours actually went — down to the website — and track focus trends over time.
FAQ
Can Apple Screen Time track Chrome usage on Mac?
Not in any useful way. Screen Time sees Chrome as a single app called “Google Chrome” with a total time. It does not know which websites you visited inside Chrome. Focus Meter reads the active URL from Chrome, Safari, Arc, and Brave.
Is Screen Time accurate on Mac?
Screen Time counts time when an app is open and the machine is unlocked. It doesn’t distinguish between focused use and idle time sitting on a window. Focus Meter uses HIDIdleTime to pause when you step away.
Do I have to turn Screen Time off to use Focus Meter?
No. They run independently. Many users keep Screen Time on for iPhone/iPad family limits and use Focus Meter for their Mac work.
Is Focus Meter as private as Screen Time?
Yes. Focus Meter makes zero network requests. All data lives in a local SQLite database on your Mac. No account, no cloud, no telemetry.
Screen Time tells you “Safari: 4 hours.” Focus Meter shows you what those 4 hours were.
$19 one-time · No subscription · 100% on-device