Out of free Focusmate sessions?
Focusmate’s free plan gives you a handful of live sessions a week and then stops until the week resets. FocusTribe’s free plan gives each of you 5 focus sessions in any 7 days, with no card, and a new account starts with 30 days of Pro, where sessions have no limit at all. The catch is worth knowing before you sign up: you bring the other person, because nothing here matches you with a stranger.
How many free Focusmate sessions do you get?
The free plan is capped at a small number of live sessions per week rather than being unlimited, and the allowance resets weekly — an unused session does not roll over into next week. Their own pricing page described three sessions a week when it was last checked, in .
Check focusmate.com/pricing before you decide on it — session caps and plan names change, and their page is the only version that is current by definition. What has stayed true is the shape: the free plan is a sample, the paid plan is the product, and the cap is what sends people looking for a page like this one.
What “free” means here
It means the whole product, for two people, with no card. The shared workspace, both Pomodoro timers, the break room, the shared task board, the streaks and the private reflection journal are on from the first minute, and the first 30 days are Pro, with no limit on sessions. After that Free gives each of you 5 focus sessions in any 7 days and 60 new tasks a month.
There is a paid plan, and here is exactly what it is. Pro removes the session and task limits, keeps all of your reflections and insights instead of the last 14 days, adds a formatted export, and costs $5 a month for the whole workspace: one subscription, both people.
The free plan can be that generous because the product is small and deliberately limited. A workspace holds exactly two people, enforced in the database. There is no video infrastructure to pay for and no matching pool to keep stocked. Those are the same three reasons it is not a drop-in Focusmate replacement.
Sign-in is Google, or a six-digit code emailed to you. No password, no card, no install. The pricing page has the rest of it.
The two free plans, side by side
| FocusTribe | Focusmate free plan | |
|---|---|---|
| What the free plan limits | 5 focus sessions in any 7 days | Live sessions per week |
| What upgrading buys | Unlimited sessions, plus older history | A higher session cap |
| Who you work with | One person you invite | A stranger, matched for you |
| Camera | No video at all | Webcam on |
| Scheduling | None — start whenever | Book a slot in advance |
| What survives the session | Tasks, history, streaks | The session ends |
No competitor prices on this page, on purpose: they move, and a stale one is a claim nobody can defend. The full feature comparison carries the date it was last checked.
When Focusmate is the better choice
Free is not the only thing that matters, and for plenty of people the cap is worth paying to remove. These are the cases where switching would be a downgrade.
This is the deciding factor, and no amount of free changes it. Focusmate produces a partner on demand; FocusTribe has no matching, no queue and no marketplace. An empty workspace is a Pomodoro timer with extra steps.
A scheduled session with a real person waiting on video is a far stronger commitment device than an asynchronous shared board. If you reliably talk yourself out of starting, that obligation is the entire product, and it is the one thing this page cannot replace.
Some people need to be seen to work, and quietly know it about themselves. A status dot does not do the same job as another face on screen. That is not a Focusmate quirk to route around; it is why it works for them.
Booking sessions in advance imposes a shape on your calendar. FocusTribe assumes you bring your own — it never asks you to schedule anything, which is freedom if you have a routine and drift if you do not.
If two or more of those describe you, stay where you are. If none of them do, and the cap is the only thing in your way, switching costs one message to one person.
How it works
- 1Sign in. Google or a six-digit email code. A workspace is one click after that.
- 2Invite one person. A link or a code. They are in immediately — no approval step, nothing to install.
- 3Plan the day on one board. A column each, for today. Either of you can add a task for the other.
- 4Start your own timer. Pick a task and press start. They see you go into focus straight away, as often as you like.
The two timers are not synchronised, and that is deliberate — waiting for the other person to be ready is the most common reason a shared timer gets abandoned. The longer version is in how a Pomodoro timer with a friend actually works.
No partner yet? Start without one
If you are between accountability partners, the timers, the break room and the ambient sound are public and need no account at all. They are not accountability — nothing replaces another person — but they are free and they work today.
Browse the free focus tools, or go straight to the Pomodoro timer.
Frequently asked
How many free Focusmate sessions do you get?
Focusmate's free plan is capped at a small number of live sessions per week rather than being unlimited, and the allowance resets weekly — unused sessions do not roll over. Their pricing page described three sessions a week when it was last checked in September 2026, but caps and plan names change, so treat focusmate.com/pricing as the source of truth rather than any comparison page, including this one.
Is there a completely free alternative to Focusmate?
FocusTribe, with one condition: you bring the other person. The free plan gives each of you 5 focus sessions in any 7 days with no card, and a new account starts with 30 days of Pro, where sessions have no limit. You get a shared workspace for two, both Pomodoro timers, the break room, the task board, the streaks and 14 days of reflection history. The real trade is the condition: Focusmate matches you with a stranger, and FocusTribe expects you to invite someone you already know.
Does FocusTribe have a paid plan I will eventually hit?
There is a Pro plan, and it is worth knowing exactly what it does and does not touch. The free plan includes 5 focus sessions in any 7 days and 60 new tasks a month, and the timers, the break room and your partner's live status have no limit. Pro removes the session and task limits, shows all of your reflections and insights instead of the last 14 days, and adds a formatted export. It is $5 a month, one subscription covers both people in the workspace, and new accounts start with 30 days of Pro.
Can FocusTribe match me with a partner like Focusmate does?
No, and that is the honest reason to stay on Focusmate. There is no matching queue and no marketplace. You invite one person with a link or a code. If you cannot name somebody who would accept that invite, a free workspace is just a Pomodoro timer, and Focusmate is doing something this product does not attempt.
Do I need a webcam?
No. There is no video and no audio call anywhere in FocusTribe. What your partner sees is a status — in focus, on a break, away — plus the shared task board. For some people the camera is exactly what makes a session work; for others it is the reason they stopped. It depends which of those you are.
How many people can share a FocusTribe workspace?
Exactly two. It is enforced in the database, not a plan limit you can pay to lift. The product is built for one accountability relationship rather than for a room or a team.
Do both people have to be online at the same time?
No. Nothing is scheduled and the timers are not synchronised — you each run your own and see the other’s status. Seeing that your partner finished three blocks this morning still does its job when you start as they finish, which is what makes it workable across timezones.
How do I sign in?
Google, or a six-digit code sent to your email. There is no password to create and nothing to install.
More free sessions, and no limit on Pro.
Ask one person, make a workspace, and start with 30 days of Pro: as many blocks as you want. After that Free gives each of you 5 a week, and Pro keeps it unlimited.
Start free