Focus Kitten vs TomatoBar

TomatoBar is a lightweight open-source menu bar timer with plain text logs. Focus Kitten builds on that same menu bar footprint with custom session lengths, built-in focus music, and a room that grows with your work.

	Focus Kitten	TomatoBar
Timer location	✓In the Mac menu bar, visible without switching apps	✓In the Mac menu bar, visible without switching apps
Work companion	✓A named kitten with six colors, sitting beside you	No companion, the timer counts alone
Gamification	✓Coins for finished sessions, building a room over time	No rewards, sessions leave no trace
Session length	✓1 to 180 minutes, fitting short or long tasks	✓Selected preset lengths
Break length	✓0 to 30 minutes, or no break at all	✓Set before starting a session
Session finish	✓A chime and a spoken response from your kitten	✓A system sound and notification
Statistics	✓Daily, weekly, and monthly totals in the popover	Plain text log file stored locally
Stopwatch	✓Counts up for work without a set length	Countdown only, requires a set length first
Built-in music	✓Lo-fi, deep focus, and jazz tracks built in	Ticking sounds only, no music
Account	✓No sign-up or account needed, opens instantly	✓No sign-up or account needed, opens instantly