Interval & flow timer for iPhone
A timer for the things you do in chunks — and the things you do until you're done. Huge numbers. Beeps, not voices. 168 palettes. $3.99 once.
$3.99 once. No subscription. No ads.
The problem
Coach chatter. Workout encouragement. Audio overlays you didn't ask for.
And the rigid ones are just as bad. A fixed 25 minutes ends while you're finally deep in it, or drags on for ten minutes after you're done.
Pulse is just a timer. Two beeps, your choice of palette, and the biggest numbers on the App Store. It counts down when the work has a shape, and counts up when it doesn't.
What you get
New in 1.3 Flow mode
Start a flow session and Pulse counts up. Work as long as it's working, then tap Break — Pulse divides your focus time by 3, 4, or 5 (5 by default) and counts the break down for you. When it's over: Go again, or Finish.
Lock screen & wrist
A Live Activity puts the timer on your Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island — counting down through intervals, counting up through a flow session. Interval timers also run on Apple Watch, with a haptic tap at every transition.
New in 1.3 History, labels, streak
Give a timer a label — Work, Study, Gym, Boxing, whatever you type — and Pulse remembers it with the session. The Stats tab now lists every session grouped by day, each one tappable for the full detail, on top of the stat cards and the weekly heatmap you already had.
New in 1.3 Shortcuts & Control Center
Two new Shortcuts actions — “Start a flow” and “Start my <timer>” — plus a Start Flow button you can drop into Control Center or onto your Lock Screen on iOS 18. No menus, no setup screen.
Palette is the point
Searchable by name, color, and mood — Coral, Tokyo Night, Sunset, Brutalist, Forest, Pastel, Cyber, Neon, Calm and 159 more. Eight are free; one payment unlocks all 168. Change it mid-session if you feel like it.
Does this sound familiar?
01
The bell rings right when it finally clicked.
Fixed intervals don't know how you're doing. Flow mode counts up and lets you decide when the focus block is over.
02
You look up and two hours are gone.
Or twenty minutes were. Optional reminders every 5 to 30 minutes keep you oriented without stopping you, and history shows you what actually happened.
03
The timer nags. You wanted a clock, not a coach.
Pulse has two configurable beeps and haptics. Nothing talks. Nothing congratulates you. Your music never gets ducked.
04
Every timer on your phone looks like every other timer.
168 palettes, a full-screen color block, and numerals you can read from across the room or the mat.
Free, no download
Every one is real and working — big color-coded phases, beeps, wake-lock so the screen stays on, keyboard shortcuts. Nothing to install, nothing to sign up for. They're the same ideas as the app, minus your pocket.
Pricing
Same app, same features, same permanent unlock. The supporter price just tips the developer. Pick either one at checkout.
Standard
$3.99
One payment. Everything unlocked.
Supporter — tip the dev
$9.99
One payment. Identical app.
No subscription. No auto-renew. No recurring billing. No ads.
One payment. No subscription, no ads, no account, no analytics. Just the timer, in a color you picked.
$3.99 once. No subscription. No ads.
Honest answers
A flow session counts up instead of down. You focus for as long as it's working, then tap Break and Pulse gives you a break proportional to the focus you just did — your focus time divided by 3, 4, or 5, with 5 as the default. Twenty-five minutes of focus earns a five-minute break. The break is clamped to a minimum of one minute and a maximum of thirty.
You can set an optional target; Pulse chimes once when you reach it and keeps counting rather than cutting you off. You can also ask for a gentle reminder every 5, 10, 15, 20, or 30 minutes. When the break ends, you choose: Go again, or Finish.
Yes. Pro is $3.99 on the App Store — one payment, permanent. There's an optional $9.99 supporter price if you want to tip; it unlocks exactly the same app. No subscription, no auto-renew, no ads, no upsells.
Flowtime is a focus and time tracker for iPhone and Android with projects, app blocking, and detailed reports, priced as a subscription with a lifetime option. Pulse is an interval timer that also does flow sessions: color-first, huge numerals, Apple Watch and Live Activity, on-device only, $3.99 once.
If you want project tracking, app blocking, or Android, Flowtime is the better fit. If you want one timer that handles Tabata rounds and open-ended focus in a color you chose, and you don't want another subscription, that's Pulse. Full side-by-side comparison →
Interval timers do. Pulse ships a real Apple Watch app — start a saved interval timer from your wrist and get a haptic tap at every transition.
Flow timers are phone-only in 1.3. The Watch list just doesn't show them. We'd rather say that plainly than ship a half-working wrist experience.
No. Pulse makes two configurable beeps — a countdown tick and a transition beep — plus optional haptics. There is no narration, no coach, and nothing talking over your music. Your music keeps playing underneath: Pulse mixes on top and never ducks it.
That's the whole point. 168 palettes ship with the app, searchable by name, color, and mood. Eight are free; all 168 unlock with the one-time Pro purchase. Pick one and the entire app flips instantly — running screen, lists, Live Activity, Watch.
No. Pulse runs entirely on-device. No analytics, no tracking, no ad SDKs, and no account to create. Your timers, labels, and session history stay on your phone — which is also why CSV export exists, so you can get them out yourself.
Intervals: Tabata and HIIT circuits, EMOM, boxing and MMA rounds, stretching, planks, breathwork, cooking, music practice. Flow: writing, coding, studying, editing, practicing — anything where you don't know in advance how long the good part lasts.
Free browser versions of most of these live at /timers/ if you want to try the idea before buying anything.