Snitch vs Forest: Growing Trees vs Saving Hours Together
Forest is a classic for focus sessions: put your phone down and a tree grows. Snitch caps your whole day, with friends. Which you need, or use both.
Forest is a classic. Put your phone down, a little tree grows; pick it up, the tree dies. It’s charming, and for focus sessions it really works. Snitch is built for something different: your whole day, with your friends.
The quick answer
- Pick Forest for timed focus sessions: studying, deep work, an hour of reading.
- Pick Snitch to cut your total screen time across the day, with friends keeping you honest.
Side by side
| Forest | Snitch (ours) | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Focus sessions | All-day limits |
| How it works | Stay off your phone and a virtual tree grows | Friends share a daily time pot |
| Social | Plant Together: if one person gives up, everyone’s tree dies | Built around a group of up to 5 |
| Rewards | Virtual trees; real trees planted with Trees for the Future | Monthly rewards for groups that hit their goals |
| Platforms | iPhone, Android, Chrome and Firefox extensions | iPhone, Android |
| Price | Free, with an optional Forest Plus subscription | Free plan blocks up to 2 apps; Premium from $2.99/mo (US) |
Forest details from forestapp.cc.
Where Forest wins
Focus sessions. If you need 50 minutes of revision without checking your phone, Forest is lovely. Planting with friends works across iPhone and Android, and the real-tree planting is a nice touch too.
Where Snitch wins
Forest only works while a session’s running. The rest of the day, you’re on your own. Snitch caps your whole day, and your friends get a say when you want more.
The rewards are offline: groups that hit their goals unlock rewards for things to do with the people you’re cutting down with.
Use them together
Forest for the study session, Snitch for the day. Snitch’s focus hours do something similar inside Snitch: set times when your apps can’t be unlocked without the group’s OK.