Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

FocusMe VS Joplin

Compare FocusMe VS Joplin and see what are their differences

FocusMe logo FocusMe

With so much access to information and distractions on the internet, it's easy to get sidetracked.

Joplin logo Joplin

Joplin is a free, open source note taking and to-do application, which can handle a large number of notes organised into notebooks. The notes are searchable, tagged and modified either from the applications directly or from your own text editor.
  • FocusMe Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-09-22
  • Joplin Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-01-20

FocusMe videos

Focusme Review

More videos:

  • Review - Hands On Review of the Distraction-Blocking Software FocusMe

Joplin videos

Joplin, a free, open source, self hosted syncing note taking alternative to Evernote and OneNote..

More videos:

  • Review - Joplin Is An Open Source Alternative To Evernote
  • Review - Joplin Desktop: Take Notes With A Rich Markdown Editor

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to FocusMe and Joplin)
Time Tracking
100 100%
0% 0
Note Taking
0 0%
100% 100
Time Management
100 100%
0% 0
Todos
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using FocusMe and Joplin. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare FocusMe and Joplin

FocusMe Reviews

  1. Started using FocusMe six years ago. I rely on it heavily.

    I have been using FocusMe software on all my PCs and phones for over six years. I have a paid license. I would really like to commend the developers of FocusMe. As someone who spends more than 8 hours a day at a computer, it is easy to let it take over your life, even to the point where I found myself watching, chatting and posting even when I didn't particularly want to. I wanted to take control, and FocusMe was a really good solution. FocusMe differed from other products because it handled the entire scope of the problem: 1) lock out stuff from my kids, 2) lock out some of the same stuff from me, 3) not interfere with special internet use (like GitHub, or work related youtube), and 4) to give a whole range of solutions for partial lockout, by time, location, overall usage, multiple password schemes, etc. They do a really good job protecting the software from anyone who might trying to hack around it. There really isn't anything like it.

    🏁 Competitors: Freedom.to, Stay Focused, SelfControl
    👍 Pros:    Easy to use|Easy user interface|Strong feature set|Highly customizable|Detailed reports|Cost effective|Great customer support
    👎 Cons:    Configuration is repetative|Needs tweeking to get rules right|Limited trial version
  2. The Best Application for Managing Digital Distractions

    Wow! Where should I start? I've been constantly searching in these two years for finding a complete solution that could really help me manage my digital distractions and focus on my daily life routines, most applications are either not effective enough, so easy to circumvent or very resource-intensive, then I found FocusMe!

    1) It has everything I was searching for, most applications are not effective enough, some are just browser extensions, have a few options and not customizable enough, with FocusMe I can easily create very flexible plans to:

    a) Destroy bad habits and create good ones. For example block Internet at a certain time of night to help me sleep at a certain time each night. This has helped my insomnia a lot and my sleep times are getting regulated now.

    b) Block unnecessary and possible harmful contents completely. For example, it may be a personal choice but I choose to block online adult contents for most weekdays, which has helped my brain to regulate my dopamine system tremendously.

    c) Time limit other contents during work days, Contents that are useful but can also easily waste a lot of your daily time if not careful enough, like emails, news, social media...

    2) Most other applications can be circumvented easily, if you have a little computer knowledge, most of these applications are useless, but FocueMe! OMG! It goes to great lengths to make sure you stick to your plan, when you create and start a plan, you can't cheat it! You can even create punishment if you try to bypass your plan, to restrict your access more which can prevent any kind of future cheatings. It is evident that FocusMe creators really love what they do and really pay attention to details, which is what distinguishes this from most other similar applications.

    3) Some other applications are very resource-intensive, you can see in windows task manager that they swallow all of your computer resources or even slow down your web surfing/loading experiences which makes them useless, because no one wants to have a slower computer just to have an application to control his/her daily habits, but when I use FocusMe, there are no computer/web surfing slow downs and also the resource consumption is minimal which also makes this software a great choice.

    4) Last but not least, FocusMe has a superb support system, you never feel alone on your path to more success and focus, they are always there for you answering your questions and always updating the software to newer greater versions.

    Let me emphasize this point: I don't know how I could live without this application and I wished I had found it sooner! Those that are searching for applications to help them live a healthier life know what I mean if they read my explanations above. It took me two years to find you, FocusMe! I would give you 10 stars if I could!

    After all these years, I finally feel in control of my life and my time, Thank you.

  3. FocusMe review

    It just all works properly unlike other softwares. I am very happy because if I have minor troubles, customer support is there the same day to help me fix it. A lot of good locking systems that so far I haven't been able to cheat.

    👍 Pros:    Great customer support
    👎 Cons:    Nothing, so far

Joplin Reviews

20 Obsidian Alternatives: Top Note-Taking Tools to Consider
Joplin is best defined as an open-source note-taking app. The app lets you take notes and access them anywhere as it backs all your notes on the cloud. You can create checklists, notes, and tables within Joplin or attach images and videos. In addition, Joplin supports diagrams and math functions, making it an inclusive note-taking app regardless of subject or topic.
Source: clickup.com
The 6 best note-taking apps in 2024
Not only is Joplin the best open source note-taking app on our list, but it's also the best free Evernote alternative too. For a number of reasons I'll explore below, I don't feel Evernote merits a spot on this list right now; however, because Evernote has been such a staple of the note-taking app space, most other apps compete by trying to be different. OneNote is awesome,...
Source: zapier.com
The best note-taking apps for collecting your thoughts and data
In order to synchronize Joplin among your devices, you need to set it up with one of several existing cloud services (such as Dropbox or OneDrive). You can also use Joplin Cloud, which is available in Joplin’s paid plans: Basic, which includes 2GB storage space and 10MB per note or attachment, and Pro, which offers 30GB storage space, 200MB per note or attachment, and other...
10 Best Open Source Note-Taking Apps for Linux
It also supports alarms (notifications) for to-dos, End-To-End Encryption (E2EE) for security, allows for saving web pages and screenshots as notes using the web clipper extension available in Firefox and Chrome web browsers, and supports synchronization with cloud or file storage services such as services including Joplin Cloud, Dropbox, and OneDrive.
Source: www.tecmint.com
The best encrypted note taking apps
Joplin is open-source, maintains Linux, Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows apps, and also offers built in cloud-sync functionality called “Joplin cloud.” Finally, Joplin scores highly on their use of end-to-end encrypted to keep all user notes private. For more convenience features Joplin offers a web clipper directly integrated into the notes app to allow for cataloging,...
Source: www.skiff.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Joplin seems to be a lot more popular than FocusMe. While we know about 350 links to Joplin, we've tracked only 11 mentions of FocusMe. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

FocusMe mentions (11)

  • WFH Developers how do you fight major procrastination?
    I would probably be homeless if it wasn't for FocusMe. I use it to block all sites except sites I need for work. Source: about 1 year ago
  • Build/compile/package restore times KILL my productivity
    It's called FocusMe (https://focusme.com/). I came across some years ago when it was still a simple little app. You had to manually set it to block a site and enter in a time period. I had my daily working schedule that I use now set up and I wanted FocusMe to run on a schedule as well. He freaked out when I told him how I would use his app: killing the app via DOS at the end of a time period, renaming the... Source: about 1 year ago
  • Software for permanent blocking websites
    How about Forest - https://www.forestapp.cc/ or FocusMe - https://focusme.com/. Source: over 1 year ago
  • [lichess addiction] Safe my flat mate!!
    I agree with the other answers that it is not your responsibility. For people that would like an efficient blocker for themselves, I used FocusMe during my time at ETH which works well. Source: over 1 year ago
  • App to track writing progress?
    I don't know of any specific app that does what you want but you can mix it up across platforms. I track all my writing time with Toggl Track's free plan and I use Google Sheets for word count. If you're looking for distraction blockers I'd recommend Forest for your web browser if you want something free, but if you're willing to pay for something more powerful I recommend Freedom or the even more restrictive... Source: over 1 year ago
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Joplin mentions (350)

  • My productivity app is a never-ending .txt file
    I've had great success with using Joplin for this, with Syncthing as a sync backend. Works well across OSes; I use it on Linux, macOS, Windows and Android. https://joplinapp.org/. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • My productivity app is a never-ending .txt file
    I use https://joplinapp.org because it allows for pasting images and files. Has easy sync and also mobile and desktop apps. Free and open source. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Ask HN: What do you use for note-taking or as knowledge base?
    Joplin, an open source, extendable, Markdown-based hierarchical note-taking app: https://joplinapp.org/ It lets you choose a synchronization backend, offers applications for every major desktop and mobile OS (also has a terminal version). You can create notebooks and subnotebooks to organize your notes. You can also add tags for better search experience. I created notebooks for specific domains (work-related, home... - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
  • Alternative for document storage/filing cabinet
    I'm not certain, but I believe that Joplin will serve your needs. Source: 6 months ago
  • Ask HN: What software did you purchase that positively impacted your family life
    Joplin (free, but sponsored) in combination with a Storagebox at Hetzner. Joplin allows us to share notes, shopping lists, to do lists, etc via Webdav between our various devices (mobile phones, laptops, desktops). https://joplinapp.org and https://www.hetzner.com/de/storage/storage-box. - Source: Hacker News / 8 months ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing FocusMe and Joplin, you can also consider the following products

Cold Turkey - Cold Turkey is a free productivity program that you can use to temporarily block distractions so that you can get your work done!

Standard Notes - A safe place for your notes, thoughts, and life's work

SelfControl - V2 updates! - Custom time interval for distraction free mode - Ability to turn off ' always on' mode - Improved UI -- Self Control -- A simple app to keep you focused online by blocking sites that you spend way too much time on.

OneNote - Get the OneNote app for free on your tablet, phone, and computer, so you can capture your ideas and to-do lists in one place wherever you are. Or try OneNote with Office for free.

Freedom.to - Freedom is a productivity hack that lets you block apps, websites or the entire Internet on iPhones, iPads, Windows and Mac computers.

Obsidian.md - A second brain, for you, forever. Obsidian is a powerful knowledge base that works on top of a local folder of plain text Markdown files.