# Refocus vs StackRef Refocus records 922 monthly visits with -69.5% month-over-month growth and Paid pricing. StackRef records 765 monthly visits with +184.4% growth and Contact for Pricing pricing. | Metric | [Refocus](https://openaitools.app/tool/refocus) | [StackRef](https://openaitools.app/tool/stackref) | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Website URL | https://refocus.me | https://stackref.com | | Categories | Other | Other | | Pricing Model | Paid | Contact for Pricing | | Monthly Visits | 922 | 765 | | MoM Growth Rate | -69.5% | +184.4% | | Primary Market | United States | Indonesia | | Direct Visits | 296 | 305 | | Review Score | 3.2 | 4 | | Saved Count | 2 | 0 | | Supported Platforms | Website | Website | ## 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) ## StackRef StackRef is an independent consulting practice run by Keith McDuffee, a CISSP-certified cloud architect with more than 20 years across infrastructure, DevOps, and security, currently also a Senior Director of DevOps and Application Security. The consulting side provides hands-on help designing, securing, and optimizing cloud environments on AWS, GCP, and Azure, with an emphasis on being precise and clear about requirements rather than over-charging or over-complicating. Alongside consulting, StackRef offers its own designed, self-hosted, end-to-end internal hackathon manager. This product supports the hackathon lifecycle with features such as sandbox environments, AI-assisted scoring, and team collaboration, making it useful for organizations that want to run internal innovation events on their own infrastructure rather than a third-party SaaS. Client reviews highlight fast response, deep end-to-end infrastructure knowledge, and a willingness to dig into problems and propose multiple solutions. Being based near Boston and working remotely with clients worldwide, StackRef fits teams that want a senior, accountable expert plus a purpose-built internal hackathon tool. Pricing is arranged through a free intro call or direct email. **Pricing & Plans:** StackRef does not publish fixed prices. Its model is contact for pricing: you book a free 30-minute intro call or email directly to discuss consulting scope or the self-hosted hackathon platform and receive a quote. - **Cloud architecture consulting:** Hands-on architecture, security, and cost optimization across AWS, GCP, and Azure, led by a CISSP-certified architect with 20+ years of experience. - **Security and compliance:** Focused engagements on hardening cloud environments and supporting compliance, with an emphasis on robust, well-governed infrastructure. - **Cost optimization:** Practical work to reduce cloud spend and right-size infrastructure without sacrificing reliability. - **Internal hackathon platform:** A self-designed, self-hosted, end-to-end internal hackathon manager covering sandbox environments and AI scoring to run innovation events. - **Direct expert access:** Booking a free 30-minute call and working directly with the principal architect instead of going through a queue. **Strengths:** Direct access to a CISSP-certified architect with 20+ years of experience; Cross-cloud expertise spanning AWS, GCP, and Azure; Consulting paired with a self-hosted hackathon platform; Free 30-minute intro call before committing **Limitations:** Consulting capacity is tied to one principal architect, which can limit parallel engagements; Hackathon software and consulting are distinct offerings that may suit different buyers; No published fixed pricing, so budgeting requires a conversation; The platform is niche, focused on cloud architecture and internal hackathons rather than broad team tooling [Profile (Markdown)](https://openaitools.app/tool/stackref.md) ## Frequently Asked Questions ### How do Refocus and StackRef compare in monthly traffic? Refocus has 922 monthly visits, while StackRef has 765. Traffic estimates describe audience size, not product quality. ### How do their growth rates compare? Refocus has a month-over-month growth rate of -69.5%; StackRef has +184.4%. ### How does pricing compare? 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. StackRef: Contact for Pricing. StackRef does not publish fixed prices. Its model is contact for pricing: you book a free 30-minute intro call or email directly to discuss consulting scope or the self-hosted hackathon platform and receive a quote. ## 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 | [Angular](https://openaitools.app/tool/angular-dev) | 735,108 | -7.5% | Free | Google's batteries-included framework for scalable web apps | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/angular-dev.md) | | 3 | [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) | | 4 | [Altern](https://openaitools.app/tool/altern) | 20,753 | -13.7% | Free | A curated directory, leaderboard, and newsletter for discovering AI tools | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/altern.md) | | 5 | [PlusGO](https://openaitools.app/tool/plusgo) | 8,857 | -24.5% | Paid | ChatGPT Plus, Pro and Go top-ups with Alipay or WeChat | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/plusgo.md) | | 6 | [Findjobit](https://openaitools.app/tool/findjobit) | 8,564 | -12.6% | Free | Free Latin American job board dedicated to IT and technology roles | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/findjobit.md) | | 7 | [Proptradingvibes](https://openaitools.app/tool/proptradingvibes) | 6,982 | +72.3% | Free | Independent, first-hand prop firm reviews with rules, payouts and real prices | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/proptradingvibes.md) | | 8 | [Promoted.com](https://openaitools.app/tool/promoted-com) | 5,061 | -9.4% | Contact for Pricing | A performance marketing agency that builds paid media engines for scaling companies | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/promoted-com.md) | | 9 | [Pixelvise](https://openaitools.app/tool/pixelvise-com) | 4,757 | +288% | Contact for Pricing | Senior-led IT consultancy for software, web and app development | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/pixelvise-com.md) | | 10 | [Tenhaw](https://openaitools.app/tool/tenhaw-com) | 4,209 | +101.6% | Contact for Pricing | London AI consultancy that builds with your team, from prototype to adoption | [.md](https://openaitools.app/tool/tenhaw-com.md) | --- Source: https://openaitools.app/compare/refocus-vs-stackref More Markdown: [Categories](https://openaitools.app/categories.md) · [Traffic rankings](https://openaitools.app/rankings.md) · [llms.txt](https://openaitools.app/llms.txt)