FocusScore vs alternatives
Most focus tools either block content (Unhook, DF Tube, Freedom) or passively track time (RescueTime). FocusScore does something different: it measures your attention quality as a live score and gives you the insights to actually improve.
Full feature comparison
A factual, side-by-side comparison of capabilities as of June 2026.
| Feature | FocusScore | Unhook / DF Tube | Freedom | RescueTime |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real-time attention score (0–100) | ✓ Yes | ✗ No | ✗ No | ✗ No |
| YouTube Shorts / Reels blocker | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | Partial | ✗ No |
| Behavioural insights (why you lose focus) | ✓ Yes | ✗ No | ✗ No | Partial |
| Multi-platform tracking | ✓ Yes | ✗ No | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Facebook Suggested Post filter | ✓ Yes | ✗ No | ✗ No | ✗ No |
| Personalises over time (learns your patterns) | ✓ Yes | ✗ No | ✗ No | ✗ No |
| Weekly focus report email | ✓ Yes | ✗ No | ✗ No | Paid |
| Before & after comparison view | ✓ Yes | ✗ No | ✗ No | ✗ No |
| Privacy-first (no keystroke logging) | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | Partial | Partial |
| Free tier includes core features | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✗ No | Limited |
| Chrome extension | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Primary approach | Measure & improve | Block | Block | Track time |
* Capabilities verified as of June 2026. Competitor features may change — check their websites for latest information.
Why measuring beats only blocking
Blockers without data: restriction without insight
- →Hard blocks create a willpower-vs-restriction dynamic that often leads to rebound usage.
- →You don't learn which specific content costs you the most focus.
- →No way to measure whether your attention is actually improving over time.
- →Static rules can't adapt to your changing usage patterns.
FocusScore: measure, understand, and improve
- →Real-time Focus Score shows the exact impact of every Shorts binge or tab switch.
- →Before/after view proves your attention is improving — with actual numbers.
- →Personalised weekly report identifies your highest-cost platform and gives tailored tips.
- →Optional content blocking is paired with measurement so you can see the score improvement.
Choosing the right focus tool
Comparison FAQs
Unhook and DF Tube remove YouTube elements with static rules. FocusScore measures your attention quality as a live Focus Score (0–100) and provides adaptive insights so you can improve rather than only block. FocusScore also works across YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, Reddit, and LinkedIn — not just YouTube.
They solve different problems. RescueTime passively tracks time spent in applications across your entire computer. FocusScore focuses specifically on online attention quality with a real-time score and behavioural insights into why you lose focus. Many users find a score more actionable than raw time logs.
Yes, and many users do. FocusScore measures and improves attention awareness while Freedom enforces hard limits. They complement each other — use FocusScore to understand your patterns and Freedom to enforce your boundaries.
Optionally yes. FocusScore can hide YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, Facebook Suggested Posts, Reddit Trending, and LinkedIn promoted content. But unlike pure blockers, it pairs every block with measurement data so you can see the impact on your Focus Score.
Yes. FocusScore's core features — real-time Focus Score, Shorts blocker, basic analytics — are completely free. Unhook, DF Tube, and RescueTime all have free tiers but limit core features. Freedom requires a paid subscription for its most useful capabilities.
Try the only tool that measures and improves your focus
Free forever. No credit card. Works alongside any blocker you already use.