Best free focus timer apps for kids with ADHD, compared

A timer is one of the cheapest things you can try with a child who has ADHD: it makes time visible, it turns "do your homework" into "do the next 15 minutes", and it gives everyone an end point. There are dozens of timer apps, and many start free and then ask for money. We read each app's own page this week and wrote down what you get for nothing, what you don't, and who each one suits. One of them is ours (Versed Study), and we say where it fits and where it doesn't.

What to look for in a timer for a child with ADHD

Before you install anything, it helps to know what you need it to do. Four questions sort most of them out.

• Can your child see the time going? Many children with ADHD find it hard to feel how much time has passed (we wrote about time blindness here). A ring or bar that empties is easier to read than a number.
• Can you set a short first block? The classic Pomodoro is 25 minutes of work and 5 of rest. For a child who struggles to start, 10 or 15 minutes is often a better first block. Pick an app that lets you change it.
• What interrupts the session? Ads, sign-up prompts and notifications all pull attention away from the work. Check when an app shows ads before you hand it over.
• Does it need an account? Every extra step between "sit down" and "start" is a chance to wander off.

The apps, compared

Pomofocus

A simple Pomodoro timer that runs in a web browser on a computer or phone, with downloads for Mac, Windows and Linux. Pomofocus's privacy page says it uses third-party advertising partners to show ads. The free version saves up to three timer templates; a premium plan removes that limit, but its price was not shown on the page we read. Best for: an older child or teen who wants a plain timer on the family computer.

Forest

You plant a tree when you start focusing, and it grows while you stay off your phone. On iPhone, Android, and as Chrome and Firefox extensions. Forest says its core app is free and includes the focus timer, a Deep Focus mode and Time Guard for one app or site, with occasional ads that it says never appear during an active focus session. Forest Plus adds all the soundscapes, the analytics and planting real trees; its price varies by country and platform, so check the price shown in the app. Best for: a child who is motivated by watching something grow, and whose main distraction is the phone itself.

Focusmate

Focusmate is not a timer so much as a booked co-working session: you are paired with another person on video and you both get on with your own work. That is body doubling, and many people with ADHD say it helps, though the research on it is still thin. The free plan gives 3 sessions a week; Focusmate Plus is $8 a month billed yearly or $12 billed monthly, for unlimited sessions. You join with an account. Best for: an older teen or adult. Because it pairs you with a stranger on camera, a parent should look at it before a younger child does.

Brain.fm (not free)

Brain.fm comes up in every ADHD focus list, so here is the honest version: it is focus music, not a timer, and it is paid. Its pricing page lists $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year, with a free trial you can cancel; we saw no ongoing free plan. Best for: someone who already knows that music helps them settle and wants to pay for it.

Versed Study rooms and Tiny steps (ours)

Versed Study is a small online study room with a shared Pomodoro timer. You pick a pixel pet, join a room, and the timer runs for everyone in it, so it works a little like body doubling without a camera. It is free and needs no account. Chat in public rooms is filtered, and private rooms start with chat off. There is also a flow timer that counts up instead of down, for children who panic at a countdown. Its sister tool, Tiny steps, shows one small step of a task at a time with a five-minute timer, for the moment before starting. Where it doesn't fit: there are no lock-your-phone features, and the shared room depends on who else is studying at that hour. Best for: a child who works better with company, or who needs the first five minutes made smaller.

Quick comparison

• Free with no account: Versed Study rooms and Tiny steps.
• Free, with ads: Pomofocus; Forest (Forest says never during a session).
• Free but limited: Focusmate (3 sessions a week, account needed).
• Paid: Brain.fm ($14.99 a month or $99.99 a year, after a trial).

We left out two popular apps, Focus To-Do and Flora, because their own pages did not tell us what the free version includes. We'd rather leave an app out than guess.

Don't forget the timer you already have

The clock app on your phone, or a kitchen timer you can see from the table, is free, has no ads and needs no account. For many children that is enough. An app earns its place only if it adds something your child actually uses: a picture of time passing, company, or a reason to leave the phone alone.

Making any timer work

• Start shorter than you think. One 10-minute block that ends well beats a 25-minute block that ends in a fight.
• Agree on the break before the timer starts, and keep it short.
• Move first if you can. A short burst of exercise before homework helped children with ADHD in one study; we wrote about that and about fidgeting in should kids with ADHD move during homework?
• Stop while it is still going well. Ending on a win makes tomorrow's start easier.

References

• Pomofocus, home and privacy pages (pomofocus.io), read 16 October 2026.
• Forest, features and pricing (forestapp.cc), read 16 October 2026.
• Focusmate, pricing (focusmate.com/pricing), read 16 October 2026.
• Brain.fm, pricing (brain.fm/pricing), read 16 October 2026.
• Versed Study and Versed Tools (study.versedapps.com, tools.versedapps.com), checked 16 October 2026.