Forest vs Flora
Flora wins on price (free) and group sessions; Forest wins on polish and a one-time cost with no upsell pressure. The dead-tree guilt mechanic exists in both; if that lands badly for you, neither is your blocker, read the app blocker ranking instead.
Every score on this page comes from the same published rubric. how we score
Forest
KEEP78/100
- Setup friction 17 out of 20
- Capture friction 12 out of 15
- Forgiveness 9 out of 15
- Reward design 7 out of 10
- Notification quality 8 out of 10
- Price honesty 9 out of 10
- Accessibility 8 out of 10
- Staying power 8 out of 10
Stay off the phone and a tree grows; leave and it dies.
Flora
KEEP75/100
- Setup friction 17 out of 20
- Capture friction 12 out of 15
- Forgiveness 10 out of 15
- Reward design 7 out of 10
- Notification quality 7 out of 10
- Price honesty 9 out of 10
- Accessibility 7 out of 10
- Staying power 6 out of 10
Forest's free cousin with group planting and optional money stakes.
Side by side
| Criterion | Forest | Flora |
|---|---|---|
| Setup friction /20 | 17 | 17 |
| Capture friction /15 | 12 | 12 |
| Forgiveness /15 | 9 | 10 |
| Reward design /10 | 7 | 7 |
| Notification quality /10 | 8 | 7 |
| Price honesty /10 | 9 | 9 |
| Accessibility /10 | 8 | 7 |
| Staying power /10 | 8 | 6 |
| Taps to capture | Not yet measured | Not yet measured |
| Price | one-time $ + optional | free + optional stakes |
| Total | 78 | 75 |
Pick by scenario
Pick Flora if…
You want group focus sessions with friends at zero cost, and you are on iOS.
Pick Forest if…
You want polish and cross-platform support, and prefer paying once to never seeing an upsell.
Pick neither if…
Guilt mechanics land badly for you. Then a friction blocker is the better tool.
Questions people actually ask
Is Flora really free?
Yes, with optional money stakes you can ignore entirely.
Does the tree mechanic keep working?
For some people for years, for others for a fortnight. Forgiveness scores tell you how much a missed session costs you.
We may earn a commission when you buy through links here. Commissions never change a score or a verdict. How we make money →