Best free Pomodoro timer with task list (2026): 8 tested picks

Last updated 23 May 2026 — pricing, free-tier limits, and feature sets verified against each vendor's live site this week.

Pomodoro tools are everywhere. Pomodoro tools that actually combine a 25/5 timer with a working task list, run in your browser, and don't ask for a credit card — those are surprisingly rare. Most "free" picks fall into one of three traps: no task list (you keep your to-dos somewhere else and the timer is just a countdown), a free tier capped at three tasks or templates, or "free" with mobile ads that interrupt the very focus you came for.

This guide tests eight tools we use day-to-day, ranks them by how well they hit the free + task list + timer trifecta, and is honest about every paid alternative's caveats. We built and ship the #1 pick ourselves — full disclosure noted in that section — but you'll see the case for each tool on its own merits below, including where ours falls short (web-only, no native apps yet).

What changed in 2026
Pomofocus added a $3/mo Pro tier and now caps free templates at 3 (was unlimited in 2024). TickTick raised Premium to $35.99/yr. Llama Life held at $39/yr but added Android and dropped its 7-day trial to 3 days. Sukha rebranded "Centered" features into its main app at $10/mo. Forest is still $3.99 one-time on iOS, free-with-ads on Android. PomoDoneApp rebranded to RoundPie with a free tier.

At a glance: the eight picks

Why the Pomodoro + task list combo wins

A bare Pomodoro timer assumes you already know what you're doing for the next 25 minutes. In practice you don't — you sit down, the timer starts, and the first five minutes are spent picking a task and getting set up. By the time you're actually doing the work, the chime is two-thirds of the way to interrupting you.

The fix is structural: name the next four to eight tasks before you start, give each one a time estimate, and let the timer run per task, not per session. Finish a task before the timer ends? The list shrinks, you move on. Run out of time? The overtime counter tells you exactly how much you slipped, so the next estimate is more honest. This is the loop Francesco Cirillo described in 1987, and it's what makes the technique stick — not the 25-minute number.

The tools below were graded on three things: do they support a real task list (not just a single "what are you working on?" text field), are they actually free without dark-pattern upsells, and do they have a soundscape or focus-audio layer that survives a tab switch.

1. Codersera Focus Timer — the free + task list + soundscape combo

Best for: anyone who wants a real task list, a per-task timer, and ambient focus audio without paying or signing up.
Price: Free forever. Optional Google sign-in for cross-device sync — still free.
Try it: codersera.com/tools/focus-timer

Full disclosure: we build and maintain this tool. It's free with no upsell because it exists to support our broader developer audience — not as a SaaS product line. Take the ranking with that in mind, then read the honest caveats two paragraphs down.

Focus Timer was built after we lined up the existing free options and realised every single one made you choose: free or a real task list, browser-based or ambient sound, no signup or cross-device sync. The combination doesn't exist as a free-forever product anywhere else we looked, which is the gap this tool fills.

What it does well:

• A timer per task, not per session. Add four to eight tasks for the morning, estimate each one, hit Space. The first task counts down; when it ends (or you press D to mark it done), the next one auto-advances. The list shrinks instead of the day blurring.
• Hard alarms. Four built-in chimes, browser notifications, and a flashing tab title — designed for the "I switched tabs and missed the chime" failure mode that hits everyone.
• Overtime counter. Hit zero and the clock keeps counting up so you know exactly how much you overran. No silent slipping.
• Keyboard-first. Space = start/pause, D = done, S = skip, R = restart, N = new task. The mouse is optional.
• Soundscapes. Curated lo-fi and ambient tracks (CC0-licensed) play on loop with master-gain control. Nothing to configure.
• Persistence without signup. Tasks live in your browser's IndexedDB. Want sync across devices? Sign in with Google — still free, no upsell.
• Service-worker notifications. Alarm fires even when the tab is hidden or backgrounded.

Honest caveats:

• Web-only. No native iOS or Android apps yet. It works in mobile browsers, but it's a browser app — if you live in iOS-native productivity tools, you'll prefer Session or Be Focused for the Today widget integration.
• No deep integrations. If you want Pomodoro sessions to auto-import from Todoist or Jira, PomoDoneApp / RoundPie does that better.
• Soundscape catalog is small. Around half a dozen tracks today, curated and CC0-licensed. Sukha has a much bigger library if music selection matters more to you than free pricing.

If those caveats matter, one of the picks below is probably a better fit. If they don't — if you want a real task list, a Pomodoro timer, and focus audio in your browser, today, for free — this is the tool.

2. Pomofocus — the simplest 25/5 with a task list

Best for: users who want a clean web Pomodoro with a list and don't mind a 3-template ceiling.
Price: Free with ads / Pro upsell. Pro is $3/mo, $18/yr, or $54 lifetime (pomofocus.io).

Pomofocus is the default web pick for a reason: open the page, add tasks in the right panel, estimate Pomodoros per task, hit start. It's been around since 2019 and the interface is the least-fussy of any tool here. The free tier covers most casual use.

The catch in 2026: the free tier caps you at 3 saved templates (it was unlimited in 2024), and the Pro tier removes ads — meaning the free tier shows them. Pro also unlocks projects, CSV export, and Todoist import. None of that is critical for personal use, but if your day involves more than three recurring task templates, you'll hit the ceiling fast.

Use it if you want the absolute simplest web Pomodoro with a list and you can live with the template cap. Skip it if you need soundscapes (the Pomofocus alarm is the only audio) or want a per-task countdown rather than a session-based loop.

3. TickTick — best if your task list is already your life

Best for: heavy task-list users on multiple devices who want Pomodoro as a feature of their main todo app.
Price: Free tier is generous. Premium is $35.99/yr or $3.99/mo (ticktick.com).

TickTick is a full task manager — lists, due dates, recurring tasks, calendar view, habits — with a Pomodoro timer bolted in as one of many features. If you already use it (or want to), the Pomodoro is essentially free and integrates with the tasks you've already entered. Tap a task, start a Pomodoro on it, and the session is logged against that task's history.

The free tier in 2026 gives you 9 lists, up to 99 tasks per list, the Pomodoro timer with white-noise audio, and natural-language input. Premium ($35.99/yr) unlocks 299 lists, 999 tasks per list, calendar subscriptions, statistics, additional focus sounds, and timesheet-style reports.

Use it if you're a list-of-lists person and want Pomodoro inside the tool you already live in. Skip it if you don't want a full PIM — TickTick is overkill if you just want a timer with a few tasks for the morning.

4. Marinara Timer — the purest free option (no task list)

Best for: minimalists who keep tasks in a separate tool and just want a timer.
Price: Free, no signup, no ads, open source (marinaratimer.com).

Marinara is the OG web Pomodoro. Three modes — Pomodoro (25/5), Custom, Kitchen Timer — nothing else. No task list, no audio beyond the chime, no account. The source is on GitHub and the entire bundle is under 12 KB.

It made this list because honesty matters: if you already have your tasks in a notebook, Notion, or your editor's TODO list, you don't need another task surface. Marinara is the cleanest, smallest, most reliable timer that just works in a tab.

Use it if the task list is somewhere else and you literally just want a timer. Skip it if you want anything more than a countdown — no soundscape, no per-task timing, no sync.

5. Llama Life — the paid pick for ADHD / time blindness

Best for: ADHD users who need a "done by" time stamped at the top of the screen.
Price: $6/mo or $39/yr. 3-day trial, no free tier (llamalife.co).

Llama Life was built by a founder with ADHD and that's visible everywhere: instead of running an indefinite Pomodoro session, you list your tasks with time estimates, and at the top of the screen the app always shows the projected completion time for the whole list. Move a task, change an estimate, the "done by" updates. For people whose biggest problem is time blindness rather than concentration per se, this is the killer feature.

Built-in soundscapes (white noise, nature, lo-fi) play while you work, and the app spans Web, iOS, and Android in 2026. The catch is the price: no free tier at all, and the trial recently dropped from 7 to 3 days.

Use it if the rest of this list doesn't help and "I never know how long things will take" is your core problem. Skip it if you don't want to pay or you're not specifically chasing the time-blindness fix — Focus Timer covers the per-task-countdown pattern for free.

6. Sukha — timer + serious focus music (paid)

Best for: music-driven focus where the soundtrack matters as much as the timer.
Price: $10/mo, 14-day trial (thesukha.co).

Sukha rebuilds the focus loop around its biggest investment: a science-backed focus music library, with Spotify integration if you want to bring your own. Around that it stacks a Pomodoro timer, distraction detection, phone-locking, time tracking, and a "co-working" community feature.

It's the most "all in one" of the paid picks, and at $10/mo it's also the most expensive. The music library is the moat — if focus audio is what makes the difference for you, this is the deepest catalog of any tool here. If it isn't, the price is hard to justify against TickTick Premium ($35.99/year).

Use it if music selection is what makes you focus and you're willing to pay for curation. Skip it if the timer matters more than the soundtrack — you can layer free focus playlists from YouTube or Spotify on top of any tool here.

7. Be Focused & Session — Mac-native picks

Best for: Mac users who want a menu-bar timer that lives in the Apple ecosystem.
Price: Be Focused free / Pro $4.99; Session free / Pro $4.99/mo or $39.99/yr.

Be Focused is the simpler of the two — a basic Mac and iOS Pomodoro with a task list, a menu-bar icon, and a Pro tier that adds reports and removes ads.

Session is the more polished modern pick. It syncs across Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, integrates with Apple Calendar, sets your Slack status to "focusing" automatically, and blocks apps and websites during a session. Free tier is enough for a basic timer; Pro ($39.99/yr) unlocks the analytics dashboard, calendar integration, and the app/site blocker.

Use them if you live in macOS and want a menu-bar Pomodoro that talks to the rest of the system. Skip them if you work in a browser-first workflow — you're paying for native integration you won't use.

8. Forest — gamified mobile-first

Best for: people whose biggest distraction is the phone itself.
Price: iOS $3.99 one-time; Android free with ads, $1.99 to remove (forestapp.cc).

Forest is the gamified pick: plant a virtual tree at the start of a session, and the tree grows while the timer runs. Leave the app to check Twitter, the tree dies. It's been on the App Store since 2014 with over 100,000 ratings and remains the best behavioural nudge for people whose distraction is specifically phone-checking.

Tasks are tag-based rather than a true list — you tag a session ("Writing", "Coding") rather than ticking off discrete items. The Pro tier on either platform unlocks more tree species, statistics, and a partnership with Trees for the Future that plants real trees from your in-app currency.

Use it if the phone is the enemy and gamification works on you. Skip it if you mostly work on a laptop — the Chrome extension exists but the experience is built for mobile.

Decision tree: which one for you

• I want a free browser-based Pomodoro with a real task list and ambient audio. Codersera Focus Timer.
• I want the simplest possible web Pomodoro with a list and I'll never need more than three task templates. Pomofocus.
• I already use a heavy task manager (or want one). TickTick — Pomodoro comes free with the task system.
• I keep tasks in a separate tool. I just want a timer. Marinara Timer.
• I have ADHD or specifically struggle with time blindness. Llama Life — worth the $39/yr for the projected-completion feature.
• Focus music is the lever that works for me. Sukha.
• I live in macOS and want native integration. Session for the polish, Be Focused for the simpler / cheaper option.
• My phone is the problem. Forest.
• I'm a freelancer billing hourly. Toggl Track — the Pomodoro is a bonus on top of real time tracking.

Pomodoro technique — a 90-second primer

Francesco Cirillo invented the Pomodoro Technique as a graduate student in the late 1980s. The original method is five rules: pick a task; set a timer for 25 minutes (one "Pomodoro"); work on the task with zero context switching; when the timer rings, take a five-minute break; every four Pomodoros, take a longer 15–30 minute break.

The 25-minute number is not magic — it's a default that's short enough to start and long enough to make real progress. Most apps let you adjust it. The actual mechanism is constraint: a fixed timebox forces you to start, and a fixed interruption forces you to step back and reassess. The task-list layer that the better apps add is the missing piece in Cirillo's original method — without it, you have a timer but no answer to "what am I doing for the next 25 minutes?"

Frequently asked questions

Is there a truly free Pomodoro timer with a task list?

Yes. Codersera Focus Timer, Marinara Timer (no list), and Pomofocus (3-template cap) are all free in the browser. TickTick's free tier on mobile and desktop also includes the Pomodoro timer alongside up to 9 lists.

What's the difference between a Pomodoro timer and a task-list timer?

A classic Pomodoro timer runs a single 25-minute countdown that you start, work through, then break. A task-list timer (like Focus Timer or Llama Life) gives each task its own countdown so you can chain four to eight short tasks back to back, with a per-task time estimate and an overtime counter when you overrun.

Does Pomofocus have ads in the free version?

The free web tier shows in-app Pro upsells. The Pro tier ($3/mo, $18/yr, or $54 lifetime) removes them and lifts the 3-template cap.

Is Llama Life worth $39/year?

For users with ADHD or chronic time blindness, the projected "done by" feature is genuinely differentiating and worth the price. For everyone else, the same per-task-countdown pattern is available free in Codersera Focus Timer.

Can I use TickTick's Pomodoro without paying?

Yes. The free tier includes the Pomodoro timer with white-noise audio. Premium ($35.99/yr) adds more sounds, statistics, calendar sync, and lifts the lists/tasks caps.

What's the best Pomodoro app for Mac?

Session if you want polish and Apple Watch sync; Be Focused if you want the cheapest Mac-native option. Both have free tiers; Pro is needed for analytics and integrations.

What's the best Pomodoro app for ADHD?

Llama Life is purpose-built for ADHD, with the projected-completion-time feature most users describe as the killer hook. Focus Timer's per-task-countdown plus hard-alarm design also works well as a free alternative.

Do any of these run on Linux?

The browser-based picks (Codersera Focus Timer, Pomofocus, Marinara, TickTick web) all work on Linux. Native Linux desktop apps are rare — the closest is TickTick's web/Electron build or the open-source community Pomodoro tools on GitHub.

Can a Pomodoro app run offline?

Marinara Timer, Codersera Focus Timer, and Pomofocus all run in your browser and continue working with no network (state lives in localStorage / IndexedDB). Native mobile apps (TickTick, Llama Life, Session, Be Focused, Forest) work offline by default.

Is the original 25/5 split actually optimal?

It's a Cirillo default, not a research finding. Many users prefer 50/10 or 90/20 for deep work; the apps above all support custom intervals. Pick the rhythm that gets you to actually start.

References & further reading

• Francesco Cirillo — The Pomodoro Technique (official site)
• Pomofocus — pricing & Pro features
• Llama Life — pricing & features
• Sukha — product & pricing
• TickTick — Pomodoro timer documentation
• Marinara Timer and the open-source Chrome extension
• Forest — App Store listing
• Toggl Track — Pomodoro timer feature
• Be Focused — App Store listing
• Codersera Focus Timer (the #1 pick — full disclosure: ours)