FocusScore vs alternatives
Most focus tools either block content (Freedom, Unhook) or log which app and page was open (RescueTime, Rize). FocusScore measures something neither of those captures: attention quality inside the page — Shorts versus long-form, scroll speed, how often you switched away — and then removes the parts of the feed that cost you.
When one of the others is the better answer
We would rather you found that out here than a month in. Four cases where we are honestly not the right tool:
- RescueTime or Rize
- if you need your whole desktop measured — Word, Figma, the terminal, calls. A browser extension cannot see any of that.
- Rize
- if your work is calendar-shaped and you want focus blocks written back into it. Their calendar integration is two-way; ours is read-only on purpose.
- Freedom
- if you want hard, cross-device enforcement you cannot easily switch off. We block inside the page and we let you turn it off.
- Unhook
- if all you want is a cleaner YouTube and no account at all. It does that one job well and asks nothing of you.
Full feature comparison
A factual, side-by-side comparison of capabilities as of September 2026.
| Feature | FocusScore | RescueTime | Rize | Freedom | Unhook / DF Tube |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary approach | Measure in-page & cut | Track time | Track time (AI) | Block | Block |
| Runs without a desktop agent | ✓ Yes | ✗ No | ✗ No | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |
| Attention quality scored inside the page | ✓ Yes | ✗ No | ✗ No | ✗ No | ✗ No |
| Whole-computer tracking (apps, docs) | ✗ No | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | Partial | ✗ No |
| Removes Shorts / Reels / sponsored posts | ✓ Yes | ✗ No | ✗ No | ✗ No | YouTube only |
| Site-level blocking | Limits | Focus Sessions | Partial | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
| Ad filtering (EasyList + in-player) | ✓ Yes | ✗ No | ✗ No | ✗ No | Partial |
| Deep-work block detection | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✗ No | ✗ No |
| Calendar correlation | Read-only | ✓ Yes | Two-way | ✗ No | ✗ No |
| Reflection journal tied to measurement | ✓ Yes | ✗ No | ✗ No | ✗ No | ✗ No |
| Co-working rooms with other people | ✓ Yes | ✗ No | ✗ No | Sessions | ✗ No |
| Team reporting with enforced minimum size | ✓ Yes | — | — | — | ✗ No |
| Household view both sides can see | ✓ Yes | ✗ No | ✗ No | Partial | ✗ No |
| Public API | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | Via Zapier | — | ✗ No |
| MCP server for AI assistants | ✓ Yes | — | — | — | ✗ No |
| Signed webhooks | ✓ Yes | — | — | — | ✗ No |
| Free tier includes core features | ✓ Yes | Limited | ✗ No | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |
* Checked September 2026 against each product's own site and docs. “—” means we could not confirm it either way, not that the answer is no. Competitor features change — check their sites for the current position, and tell us if we have something wrong here.
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, and RescueTime is the better tool for one of them. RescueTime runs a desktop agent and measures your whole computer — Word, Figma, the terminal, calls — which a browser extension cannot see at all. FocusScore measures attention quality inside the page: short-form share, scroll velocity, switches, idle. If most of your lost time goes into feeds, that is the more actionable number. If it goes into desktop apps, RescueTime is the right answer.
Rize is a desktop app with AI categorisation, URL-level tracking and a genuinely deeper, two-way calendar integration — it can write focus blocks back into your calendar, which we deliberately do not. FocusScore is browser-only, scores behaviour inside the feed rather than logging which page was open, and removes the Shorts shelf and sponsored posts rather than blocking whole sites. Several people use one of each.
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, LinkedIn promoted content, and TikTok sponsored posts. 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.