Marinara alternatives
Marinara is still a strong pick: an open-source Pomodoro timer you can tune to your own intervals. If it doesn't suit you, pick by what's missing. For an even simpler timer, try Tomato Clock. For a to-do list, try Focus To-Do. For a website blocker named in its store listing, try Pomofocus, after you check the publisher. For a visual nudge to stay on task, try Forest.
Marinara and its alternatives at a glance
| Extension | What comes with the timer | Custom durations | Site blocking | Open source | Account needed | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marinara | Session history, desktop and sound alerts | Yes | Not stated | Yes (MIT) | Not stated | Listed as free | A classic, adjustable timer |
| Tomato Clock | Stats, notifications with custom sounds, dark theme | Yes | No | Yes (GPL-3.0) | No sign-in described | No price shown | A minimal, no-frills timer |
| Focus To-Do | To-do list, statistics, calendar view | Yes, per the listing | Not stated | Not stated | Not for local use; needed to sync | Premium tier exists | Timer and to-do list in one |
| Pomofocus | Task manager, website blocker | Yes, per the listing | Yes, gently, per the listing | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | One extension instead of several |
| Forest | A virtual tree, a forest of past sessions | Not stated | Deep Focus blocks other apps or sites, per the vendor | Not stated | Not stated | Free to download, optional upgrades | People who like a visual nudge |
What's the best simple alternative to Marinara?
Tomato Clock. Like Marinara, it is a timer and little else. It runs 25-minute intervals with short breaks and a long break after four, and the README says you can change the lengths. You get pause and resume, notifications with sounds you can change, stats and a dark theme. There is no task list and no site blocking.
Tomato Clock is open source too, under GPL-3.0, so you can read the code of both. Marinara uses the MIT license.
Which Marinara alternative has a to-do list?
Focus To-Do has the fullest one. The vendor lists reminders, repeating tasks and subtasks, and the Chrome listing adds priority levels, due dates, a calendar view and daily, weekly and monthly statistics. A premium tier exists, so check what it adds. Pomofocus also lists a built-in task manager.
Choose Focus To-Do if you want your tasks and timer in one place, and it works offline without an account. Pomofocus needs a publisher check first.
Which Pomodoro timer also blocks distracting websites?
The Pomofocus store listing describes a flexible website blocker that gently prevents you from visiting distracting resources, plus a task manager. We could not show who publishes that listing, so check the publisher name first. Forest takes a different route: the vendor says Deep Focus blocks other apps or sites during a session, and leaving lets the tree die.
If you want blocking without a timer, see our website and distraction blockers, including the open-source LeechBlock NG.
Is there an open-source alternative to Marinara?
Yes. Tomato Clock is open source under GPL-3.0, and Marinara is open source under MIT. For Focus To-Do, Pomofocus and Forest, our pages do not state open-source status. If inspectable code matters most to you, pick Marinara or Tomato Clock.
Is Marinara safe?
We can't promise any extension is safe. Marinara is open source under the MIT license, so its code can be read, but that alone does not show what it does with your data. We found no permissions list or privacy policy we could check. Install it from the official Chrome Web Store listing and read the permissions first.
Good to know
- More features, more to check. Marinara and Tomato Clock are plain timers. Focus To-Do, Pomofocus and Forest do more: task lists, site blocking or a visual nudge. Before you install, check that the permissions on the Chrome Web Store listing match what you want the extension to do.
- Paid plans. Focus To-Do has a premium tier, and Forest lists optional upgrades. We list no prices, so check each vendor's current terms.
Read more
All of these are third-party extensions, not built by Xplorekit. We link to the official Chrome Web Store listings. We don't show ratings or user counts because we can't verify them.