The full review
What is Forest?
At its core, Forest is a focus app built around one stubborn idea: while you concentrate, a virtual tree grows, and if you leave for another app, the tree dies. The vendor calls it a pomodoro-style focus timer with a twist. You pick a session length and a tree species, watch it grow in real time, and a finished session joins a forest you keep.
What sets Forest apart from a plain countdown is that the timer carries a consequence and leaves a record. Sessions accumulate into a visible landscape, not a spreadsheet row. Forest has run since 2014, and the site reports over 60 million downloads, a 4.8 App Store rating, and Google Play Editors' Choice recognition.
Deep Focus and Time Guard for blocking distractions
Deep Focus is the in-session blocker. Switch apps mid-session and Forest pulls you back; the only exit is to give up and lose the tree. You can allowlist the tools you genuinely need and shut out everything else.
Time Guard works on a schedule instead: set windows when apps should not reach you, such as no feeds during working hours or before bed. Forest names Instagram, TikTok, X, Reddit and YouTube among blockable apps, and says both tools are free. The Free plan covers one app or site under Time Guard; Plus extends it across multiple apps and sites and unlocks the Custom App Allowlist.
Study sessions, deep work, and phone-free evenings
Forest maps onto three situations the site calls out. For studying, the pomodoro timer turns exam-crunch hours into trees while Deep Focus blocks whatever pulls attention away. For work, Time Guard locks feeds down during the day, and Mindful Space turns a break into genuine rest through a sound-led breathing room, not another scroll.
The third is digital detox: dinner or bedtime with the phone face down. Plant Together adds a social layer: sync a session with friends so everyone grows the same tree, and if one person quits, the shared forest falls.
Focus analytics and trees that leave the app
Focus Tracking ships free; Focus Analytics and Custom Focus Tags sit in Plus, covering focus patterns, streaks and total hours by day, week or month. Focus Challenge sets daily and monthly missions rewarding exclusive tree species, Seasonal Events run themed tracks such as Spring Focus Season, and Ambient Sounds layer rain, cafe or forest audio under a session.
The most distinctive part happens outside the app. Coins earned from focus fund planting through nonprofit partner Trees for the Future across five African countries; Forest reports over 2 million trees planted since 2014 and runs a live counter on the homepage, covering the cost from app revenue.
Free vs Plus, and the retired Pro unlock
The free tier is a real product, not a trial. Forest states there is no payment required and no time limit, with focus sessions, app blocking, group focus and wellbeing tools included. Plus adds exclusive, seasonal and early-access tree species and land styles, every Mindful Space soundscape, a 3x coin boost, seasonal event VIP tier, and planting real trees with earned coins. A free Plus trial starts inside the app.
Forest Pro, the older unlock, is no longer sold to new users, though the vendor confirms existing Pro status does not expire. Worth knowing before you compare: Forest publishes no subscription amounts on its site, pointing you to the App Store or Google Play for your local price.
Who should choose Forest
The app suits students working through exam blocks, remote workers whose distractions live one tab away, and anyone wanting a phone-down ritual at home. It also resonates with ADHD users; the vendor is careful to say Forest is not a medical treatment, but frames visible progress, immediate feedback and short sessions as a behavioral aid. Cross-platform sync across iPhone, iPad, Android and browser keeps your history intact, and core focus works offline.
It is not right for teams needing shared dashboards, admin controls or consolidated billing. Forest is a personal app with social focus rooms attached, not workplace productivity software.
Strengths
- Core app is genuinely free with no time limit and no credit card
- Fun, effective gamification: your virtual tree dies if you leave the app
- Funds real trees via Trees for the Future (2.1M+ planted)
- Forest Plus at ~$36/year undercuts subscription rivals like Freedom
Watch out for
- Moved from a $3.99 one-time buy to freemium with ads plus a subscription
- Free tier now shows ads and limits soundscapes, analytics and trees
- App-blocking is less robust and tamper-resistant than dedicated blockers
- Consumable Crystals/Elixir add gacha-style microtransactions
Key features
| Feature | What it does |
|---|
| Gamified focus timer | Plant a virtual tree each session; leaving the app to use your phone kills the tree, giving a visible stake in staying focused. |
| Deep Focus & Time Guard | Blocks distracting apps and sites during sessions; free tier guards one app/site, Plus allows multi-app allowlists. |
| Real tree planting | Earn coins from focus sessions and redeem them to fund real trees via the Trees for the Future partnership (2.1M+ planted). |
| Plant Together | Run synced group focus sessions with friends or colleagues so everyone's trees survive—or die—together. |
| Focus analytics & tags | Track focus time by tag and view history; Plus adds richer custom-tag analytics and reporting. |
| Mindful Space soundscapes | Ambient focus sounds; free tier includes one soundscape, Plus unlocks the full library. |
How Forest compares
| Alternative | How it differs |
|---|
| Freedom | Cross-platform site/app blocker (~$8.99/mo, $39.99/yr, or ~$99 lifetime). Stronger, tamper-resistant blocking but no gamification or free tier. |
| Flora | Free Forest-style app that grows trees as you focus and can plant real ones; adds optional money 'stakes' with friends. Less polished. |
| Focus Keeper | Simple, cheap Pomodoro timer (free with small IAP unlock). No tree gamification or real-tree planting. |
Frequently asked questions
Is the Forest app free?
Yes. As of 2026 Forest is free to download on both iOS and Android, with no credit card or expiration. The free tier includes the core focus timer, Deep Focus app-blocking and virtual tree planting, but shows occasional ads outside sessions and limits soundscapes, analytics and exclusive trees. A paid Forest Plus subscription removes ads and unlocks the extras.
Is Forest a one-time purchase or a subscription?
It changed. Forest was once a $3.99 one-time paid app on iOS, but that Forest Pro option is now discontinued. Today it runs a freemium model: free with ads plus an optional Forest Plus subscription ($5.99/month or $35.99/year in the US). Existing Pro owners keep their features permanently and never have to subscribe.
How much does Forest Plus cost?
In the US App Store, Forest Plus is $5.99 per month or $35.99 per year, with an Early Bird annual rate around $32.49. Prices vary by region and platform. Plus removes ads and unlocks all soundscapes, exclusive and seasonal trees, custom app allowlists, deeper focus analytics and a permanent 3x coin boost.
Does Forest actually plant real trees?
Yes. Through a partnership with Trees for the Future, Forest spends part of its revenue to plant real trees when users redeem coins earned from focus sessions—historically up to five per account. The company reports more than 2.1 million real trees planted to date across its user base, funded from app revenue rather than extra user fees.
Does Forest work on both iPhone and Android?
Yes. Forest runs on iOS and Android, plus Apple Watch and free Chrome and Firefox browser extensions for blocking distracting sites on desktop. Progress syncs across devices. The mobile apps carry the tree-growing gamification, while the browser extensions focus on website blocking during your planted focus sessions.
Forest ratings on other platforms
Independent user ratings from third-party review sites, linked here for transparency.
These are not our editorial score, are captured on the date shown, and may have changed since.