Apps Like YPT: 6 Study Timer Apps for Studying With Friends (and on PC)

YPT (short for Yeolpumta, 열품타 in Korean) is a study timer built on one idea: you study harder when other people can see you. You time each subject, join study groups where you can see whether your friends are studying or on a break, and check your rank among people in the same study category. While the timer runs, it stops you from using other apps. Its daily stats calendar gets darker the more you study. It says 5 million people use it, and it has a 4.7 rating from about 1,800 US ratings.

People look for something like it for a few reasons. Some want to study on a laptop. Some find the rankings stressful rather than motivating. Some want to study with friends without the leaderboard. And some realize what keeps them going isn’t a rank but a reward.

Here are six apps, picked by what you want from YPT. One of them is ours, Habit Rewards; we’ve tried to describe the others fairly.

If you want…	Try
To study next to other people, in a cozy room	Focustown
Friends keeping you honest, without a ranking	Flora
A small group of friends studying together	Focus Traveller
Your phone locked, free	Forest
A study timer on Windows or Mac	Focus To-Do
Rewards you can use in real life	Habit Rewards

1. Focustown: study next to real people

Focustown is the closest to YPT’s feeling of not studying alone. You sit in a low-poly cafe or library next to real people who are studying at the same moment, and you can start sessions with your own friends. Focus sessions earn coins that you spend on accessories for your character. It’s from 2026, free on iPhone and Android, with a 4.8 rating from about 8,500 US ratings.

Good for: people who study better at a library than at home.

Less good if: you want detailed stats per subject.

2. Flora: friends, without the leaderboard

Flora grows a tree while you stay off your phone and blocks distracting apps while it grows. You can plant with friends, and if anyone gives up early, everyone sees whose tree died. That’s accountability between friends rather than a ranking against strangers. It also has a to-do list with reminders, and you can tag each tree with a to-do to see where your time went. It’s free on iPhone and Android, with a 4.8 rating from about 83,000 US ratings.

Good for: study groups who want to keep each other honest.

Less good if: a little competition is what gets you going.

3. Focus Traveller: climb with your friends

In Focus Traveller, the longer you focus, the higher your traveller climbs. You can invite up to 10 friends into a travel group and focus together in real time, choose a countdown or an open-ended stopwatch, and start sessions from a Home Screen widget. It’s free on the iPhone, with a 4.9 rating from about 4,000 US ratings.

Good for: a few close friends studying for the same exams.

Less good if: you need app blocking.

4. Forest: lock the phone, for free

Forest grows a tree while you focus; leave the app and it withers. Deep Focus blocks the apps you choose during a session, Time Guard blocks them on a schedule, and you can plant one tree together with friends. All of that is in the free version on iPhone and Android. There’s also a Chrome and Firefox extension that brings the timer and Deep Focus to your laptop browser. More in apps like Forest.

Good for: people whose problem is picking up the phone, not motivation.

Less good if: you want a ranking or per-subject stats.

5. Focus To-Do: a study timer for your PC

If you searched for YPT on PC: YPT’s own site only lists the App Store and Google Play. Focus To-Do is a Pomodoro timer and to-do list with apps for Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android and Apple Watch, plus a Chrome extension, and it syncs between your phone and computer. You can time each task, set recurring tasks and reminders, and see reports of where your time went. It’s free on iPhone and Android, with a 4.8 rating from about 14,700 US ratings; Premium is $11.99 once in the US App Store.

Good for: students who do most of their studying at a desk.

Less good if: you need other people around to stay on task.

6. Habit Rewards: rewards you choose

This one’s ours. YPT pays you in rank; Habit Rewards pays you in coins for your own store. You write a list of rewards, like a bubble tea, a new game, an episode of your show or a Saturday off, and give each one a coin price. You add “Study” as a daily habit, with a goal such as 3 hours a day, and it pays coins by how hard it is (1, 4, 8 or 16). One-off work like “finish the chemistry problem set” goes in as a task and pays coins once. When your balance covers a reward, you claim it.

If you need a day off, a Skip costs 10 coins and keeps your streak alive. It’s on iPhone and Android, free for three habits, with a Pro subscription for more.

Good for: students who already treat themselves and want the treat to be earned. Our guide to rewarding yourself for studying shows the system on paper first.

Less good if: you want a timer. Habit Rewards doesn’t have one. Plenty of people keep timing in YPT and check the habit off in Habit Rewards when they’re done.

A list of rewards with coin prices in Habit Rewards

How to pick

Think about what YPT was doing for you. If it was the feeling that other people are studying too, try Focustown. If it was your friends watching, Flora or Focus Traveller, with no ranking. If it was the app lock, Forest. If you study on a laptop, Focus To-Do. And if the hours only start to matter once they buy something, give your study time a price: that’s what Habit Rewards is for. A study timer and a habit tracker work fine side by side.

More cozy study apps: apps like Study Bunny and apps like Focus Friend. Still at school? We also compared habit tracker apps for teens.

FAQ

What does YPT stand for? YPT is short for Yeolpumta (열품타), itself short for the Korean 열정품은타이머, roughly “a timer that holds your passion”.

Which country is the YPT app from? South Korea. It’s made by Pallo Inc., based in Seoul.

Is YPT on PC? YPT’s website lists only the App Store and Google Play. For a study timer on Windows or Mac that syncs with your phone, Focus To-Do is the closest option; Forest also has a browser extension.

Is YPT free? YPT is free to download, with optional in-app purchases and subscriptions.

Which YPT alternative lets me spend my study time on real rewards? Habit Rewards: a study habit pays coins each time you check it off, and you spend them on rewards you set yourself, like an evening off or a new book. More apps that work this way: apps that reward you for completing habits.

Habit Rewards is free on iPhone and Android. YPT is made by Pallo Inc.; we’re not affiliated with it or with the other apps mentioned.

✅ Try Habit Rewards: the habit tracker that pays you

Every habit pays coins by how hard it is (1, 4, 8 or 16). Write your own reward list, put a coin price on each treat, and claim it once you've earned it.