Comparison

Hourglass vs Timer Holic

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Hourglass

A minimalistic countdown clock app designed for iPhone. It offers a clean interface with a visual progress indicator and supports multiple time units. Easily share countdowns and receive notifications when events conclude.

Highlights
  • Minimalistic design
  • Multiple time units
  • Visual progress indicator
  • Unlimited countdowns
  • Sharable content
  • Push notifications
  • Notification Center widget
  • Apple Watch compatibility
Features
Read full description

When time doesn't fly, countdown in style with Hourglass. Hourglass is a minimalistic countdown clock for iPhone. It's simplistic, easy to use, and has a beautiful design. Features: - Beautiful, Minimal Design: The flagship feature of Hourglass is its incredible design. The sleek, black background blends seamlessly with the device bezel. No complicated features or in-app purchases, just a clear design with easily readable text. - Multiple Time Units: Simply tap the time remaining to switch between seconds, minutes, hours, and days. - Visual Progress Indicator: The beautiful blue ring surrounding the time indicates the progress of the time remaining to an event. - Unlimited Countdowns: Countdown to as many events as your heart desires. Simply swipe left or right to switch countdowns, and get an overview of all your countdowns by going back to the Countdowns list - Sharable Content: Easily E-mail, Text, or Tweet the time left to an event by tapping the Share icon. - Push Notifications: Get notified when a countdown finally finishes. - Notification Center Widget: Instead of having to open Hourglass, just swipe down to view your Countdowns in the Notification Centre. - Compatible with Apple Watch: Now, you can easily view your countdowns quickly and easily, right on your wrist!

About

Timer Holic

This utility app allows for quick and easy timer setup, focusing on speed and simplicity over extensive features. It supports multiple simultaneous timers and precise second-by-second time setting.

Highlights
  • Quick timer setup
  • Customizable alert messages
  • Up to 10 simultaneous timers
  • Set time by the second
  • Stopwatch functionality
Features
Read full description

"I do not need anything else but I want to set the time fast ..." Timer Holic is aiming for a different goal than many of the timer apps out there. We focused on things that were quick and easy to set up, rather than rich features. No matter what time you set, it can take a few seconds. Other features - Customizable alert message - Use up to 10 timers at the same time - Set time by second - Stopwatch (set time to 1 second) "Leave the small timing to Timer Holic and you pay attention to more important things."

Screenshots

Hourglass4 screens
Timer Holic3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Timer Holic at 4.9 against Hourglass's 4.0. Timer Holic also leads on review sentiment (93% vs 80%) and ratings volume (14 vs 4). Hourglass's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). On price, ads, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Timer Holic sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Hourglass asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Timer Holic holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 14 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 80% of Hourglass's written reviews are positive against 93% of Timer Holic's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hourglass ships an update fortnightly, Timer Holic every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on June 10, 2026 and July 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Hourglass versus Timer Holic: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHourglassTimer Holic
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (4 ratings)4.9 (14 ratings) — better
Positive reviews80.0% of reviews92.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings414 — better
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS8.2 — better12.0
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMat CartmillJeong-min Yi

Customer experience

Hourglass

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative0.0%

Timer Holic

All ratings14 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive92.9%
Neutral0.0%
Negative7.1%

In-app purchases

None

Hourglass

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Timer Holic

One-time1
  • Upgrade To Full Version$0.99

Questions

Is Hourglass free?
Hourglass is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Timer Holic free?
Timer Holic is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Hourglass or Timer Holic?
Timer Holic is rated higher. Hourglass averages 4.0 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while Timer Holic averages 4.9 from 14 ratings.
Do Hourglass or Timer Holic have ads?
Neither Hourglass nor Timer Holic shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hourglass or Timer Holic?
Hourglass ships an update fortnightly, and Timer Holic every 2 months. Most recently, Hourglass was updated on June 10, 2026 and Timer Holic on July 7, 2026.

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