# Altern vs Refocus Altern records 20,753 monthly visits with -13.7% month-over-month growth and Free pricing. Refocus records 922 monthly visits with -69.5% growth and Paid pricing. | Metric | [Altern](https://openaitools.app/tool/altern) | [Refocus](https://openaitools.app/tool/refocus) | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Website URL | https://altern.ai | https://refocus.me | | Categories | Other | Other | | Pricing Model | Free | Paid | | Monthly Visits | 20,753 | 922 | | MoM Growth Rate | -13.7% | -69.5% | | Primary Market | United States | United States | | Direct Visits | 8,395 | 296 | | Review Score | 4 | 3.2 | | Saved Count | 5 | 2 | | Supported Platforms | Website | Website | ## Altern Altern positions itself as one place to explore the fast-moving AI landscape. Its core is a searchable index of AI products, each assigned to one or more categories, so a visitor hunting for, say, a background remover, a meeting assistant, or a vector database can browse by use case instead of relying on scattered social posts. The site reports more than 2,600 indexed tools and organizes them into an extensive taxonomy spanning marketing, development, health, legal, robotics, and hundreds of smaller niches. Beyond plain listings, Altern adds editorial and community layers. Curated lists bundle tools by scenario; a leaderboard ranks widely used products; and a "Buildboard" runs a weekly competition where new tools gather votes and the top entries are highlighted. A newsletter rounds out the offering, giving subscribers a periodic digest of new and noteworthy AI products. Altern is an independent third-party directory and is not affiliated with any of the vendors it lists. Listings are curated and can be submitted by makers, so pricing and feature details should always be confirmed on the vendor's own site before purchase. **Pricing & Plans:** Free to browse and use. The directory itself is free; submissions and newsletters involve no listed charge. Third-party tools listed on the site have their own pricing. - **Searchable AI tool index:** Thousands of AI tools and agents organized into a broad, browsable category taxonomy covering hundreds of use cases. - **Curated lists:** Hand-picked collections that group tools by scenario, such as beginner-friendly tools, free options, or data and productivity stacks. - **Community leaderboard and Buildboard:** A ranking of widely adopted AI products plus a weekly voting board where new launches compete for visibility. - **Weekly newsletter:** A periodic digest of new and trending AI tools delivered to subscribers. - **Category browsing:** Explore by vertical, from image and video generation to legal assistants, robotics, geospatial, and more. **Strengths:** Very broad category coverage, so niche verticals are represented rather than just headline products; Mixes a plain directory with editorial lists, rankings, and a newsletter for more guided discovery; Free to browse with no signup required for basic exploration **Limitations:** Listing quality varies because entries can be submitted by tool makers; Pricing and feature details live on vendor sites and are not always current in the directory; The sheer number of categories can be overwhelming for newcomers [Profile (Markdown)](https://openaitools.app/tool/altern.md) ## Refocus Refocus, also known as Refocus Digital Academy, is an online learning provider whose mission is to make people in Southeast Asia proficient in new digital skills from scratch and help them land their first job in IT. Its curriculum covers core technology and digital skills, delivered through an online learning platform and supplemented with mentorship, career preparation, and student support. The company operates as Refocus E-Learning Philippines Corp., based in Makati. The academy has been candid about its operating history: it publicly paused many of its services after facing significant financial challenges, then announced a revival plan. Student support and its pool of experienced mentors returned, and course materials remained accessible to enrolled students through the Thinkific platform. Courses are structured to take roughly eight months to complete, with access retained for about a year from purchase so learners can work at their own pace. Live sessions were always a small share of the content, and key career material was re-released as pre-recorded video. Certificates are issued to students who complete the course in full. Because parts of the service are being rebuilt, prospective learners should confirm current availability of mentorship, homework review, and certification directly with the academy before enrolling. The core value proposition remains the same: practical, mentor-supported digital skills training oriented toward employability, at a price point accessible to students in the region. **Pricing & Plans:** Refocus is a paid training program; course fees are tied to the specific program and enrollment term, and pricing is confirmed at sign-up rather than published as a public rate card. - **Learn from scratch:** Courses assume no prior technical background and build IT and digital skills step by step. - **Mentor guidance:** Access to a pool of experienced mentors for guidance and advice across the learner journey. - **Career-focused modules:** Dedicated career content, including a pre-recorded career course covering job-search preparation. - **Flexible self-paced delivery:** Content is delivered online via Thinkific, with roughly a year of access so students can complete at their own pace. - **Certificate of completion:** Students who finish the full course can request an individual certificate of accomplishment via support. **Strengths:** Designed specifically for learners in Southeast Asia who want to start an IT career; Mentor guidance and career modules alongside technical coursework; Self-paced online delivery with extended access to course material; Certificates issued to students who complete the full program **Limitations:** Some services were paused during financial difficulties and are still being restored; Mentor availability, homework review, and live support may be limited or timing dependent; Course pricing is not published publicly [Profile (Markdown)](https://openaitools.app/tool/refocus.md) ## Frequently Asked Questions ### How do Altern and Refocus compare in monthly traffic? Altern has 20,753 monthly visits, while Refocus has 922. Traffic estimates describe audience size, not product quality. ### How do their growth rates compare? Altern has a month-over-month growth rate of -13.7%; Refocus has -69.5%. ### How does pricing compare? Altern: Free. Free to browse and use. The directory itself is free; submissions and newsletters involve no listed charge. Third-party tools listed on the site have their own pricing. Refocus: Paid. Refocus is a paid training program; course fees are tied to the specific program and enrollment term, and pricing is confirmed at sign-up rather than published as a public rate card. ## Alternatives | # | Tool Name | Monthly Visits | MoM Growth Rate | Pricing Model | Summary | Profile (Markdown) | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | 1 | [OpenAI Academy](https://openaitools.app/tool/openai-academy) | 937,379 | -6.3% | Free | Free courses, live events and community for building real AI skills | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/openai-academy.md) | | 2 | [Dang.ai](https://openaitools.app/tool/dang-ai) | 552,907 | +17.5% | Free | A curated AI tools directory with 5,000+ listings | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/dang-ai.md) | | 3 | [Futurepedia](https://openaitools.app/tool/futurepedia-find-the-best-ai-tools-software) | 527,719 | +22.5% | Free | Find, compare, and learn to use the best AI tools | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/futurepedia-find-the-best-ai-tools-software.md) | | 4 | [Easy With AI](https://openaitools.app/tool/easywithai-com) | 119,734 | -2.7% | Freemium, Free Trial, Free | A hand-curated directory for discovering AI tools and resources | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/easywithai-com.md) | | 5 | [ToolCenter](https://openaitools.app/tool/toolcenter) | 66,647 | +3.2% | Free | A curated directory of thousands of AI tools, updated daily. | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/toolcenter.md) | | 6 | [InfraBase.ai](https://openaitools.app/tool/infrabase-ai) | 39,072 | -13.6% | Free | Hand-verified directory of AI infrastructure tools | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/infrabase-ai.md) | | 7 | [ToolDirectory.AI](https://openaitools.app/tool/tooldirectory-ai) | 30,123 | +64.9% | Freemium | An editor-reviewed directory of 2,888+ AI tools, dated and marked live or retired | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/tooldirectory-ai.md) | | 8 | [AIJourney](https://openaitools.app/tool/aijourney) | 28,109 | +53% | Free | Discover, learn and master the best AI tools in one curated directory | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/aijourney.md) | | 9 | [Nextool](https://openaitools.app/tool/nextool) | 26,866 | -28.8% | Free | Find the best AI tools without the endless searching | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/nextool.md) | | 10 | [20-63mm Medium Duty Rigid LSZH Conduit](https://openaitools.app/tool/20-63mm-medium-duty-rigid-lszh-conduit) | 24,860 | +11.3% | Contact for Pricing | Low-smoke, halogen-free rigid PVC conduit for safer electrical containment | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/20-63mm-medium-duty-rigid-lszh-conduit.md) | --- Source: https://openaitools.app/compare/altern-vs-refocus More Markdown: [Categories](https://openaitools.app/categories.md) · [Traffic rankings](https://openaitools.app/rankings.md) · [llms.txt](https://openaitools.app/llms.txt)