Forest review: price, free version and privacy

Our verdict

Forest is a strong pick for students who lose study time to their phone and like a visual reward. If ads or tracking matter to you, compare it with a plainer focus timer.

What Forest is

Forest is a focus timer built on a simple idea: start a session and a virtual tree grows; leave the app early and it withers. Allow Lists block distracting apps during focus sessions, and Time Guard blocks apps on a schedule. Finished sessions unlock new trees and soundscapes, and statistics show focus time by custom tag, with Apple Health sync.

Who it suits

• Students who reach for their phone while studying
• People motivated by visual progress

Strengths

• A simple, visual reason to stay off your phone during study sessions.
• Allow Lists and scheduled Time Guard windows block distracting apps (Allow Lists need iOS 16 or later).
• Focus statistics by tag, with weekly, monthly and yearly history and Apple Health sync.
• Friends can plant trees together during shared sessions.
• Rated 4.8 from about 49,600 ratings and updated in October 2026.

Limits

• The App Store age rating notes advertising.
• Contact info and usage data are declared for tracking.
• Listed for iPhone and iPad only, though the developer mentions browser extensions.
• Coin and crystal packs add in-game spending on top of the subscription.

What the free version does

The description presents Forest Plus as an add-on with triple coin rewards, Plus-only tree species and real tree planting, which suggests the focus timer itself is free. The listing does not list the free features one by one.

Price

On the US App Store in November 2026, Forest Plus is listed at $5.99 (Monthly, Early Bird) and $35.99 (Annual, Early Bird). Sunshine Elixir and Crystal packs range from $0.99 to $21.99.

Privacy

The privacy label says contact info and usage data may be used to track you. Purchases, contact info, user content, identifiers, usage data and diagnostics are linked to you.

What the screenshots show

The screenshots show a growing tree on the timer screen and a small isometric forest of tree species, with one withered tree warning "Stay focused, or I'll wither!".