# Counter Timer vs Tailscale

The clearest difference is price: Tailscale at Free against Counter Timer's $0.99. Tailscale also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 38 months) and chart position (#90 vs unranked). Counter Timer's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Tailscale is free to download; Counter Timer costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Counter Timer ships an update every 38 months, Tailscale fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Counter Timer | Tailscale |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $0.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | — | **[4.4 (741 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tailscale/id1470499037/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | — | **741** |
| Positive reviews | — | 60.9% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 38 months | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | — | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | — | **#90** |
| Size | 3 MB | 28 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.0** | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Manfred Breede](https://appshunter.io/developer/414696754) | [Tailscale Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1470499035) |

## What reviewers say

### Counter Timer

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/counter-timer/id1043662049)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### Tailscale

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tailscale/id1470499037)

**Currently charting:** #90 Top Free · Utilities (US App Store)

Securely connect devices, users, and workloads with a mesh VPN built on WireGuard. It brings identity to network access, enabling Zero Trust principles across diverse environments. Modernize your network for homelabs, businesses, and cloud infrastructure.

**Highlights:** Secure mesh networking, Identity-based access control, Zero Trust security, WireGuard-based VPN, Homelab and business VPN, Cloud and workload connectivity, Hardware-agnostic overlay network

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Easy to set up and use
- 🔒 Secure remote access
- 👍 Convenient for accessing home network
- 👍 Seamless connectivity between devices
- 🚀 Powerful networking features

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔋 Significant battery drain
- 🐛 Connectivity issues and bugs
- 🐛 Unreliable performance
- 🐛 Broken functionality after updates

**Reported bugs**

- Inability to connect or authenticate
- Exit node feature not working as expected
- Inconsistent behavior when switching networks
- App getting stuck in a loading state

**Requested features**

- On-demand VPN connection
- Ability to switch between multiple accounts
- More granular control over exit nodes
- Integration with other networking tools
- Dark mode option


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Counter Timer free?

Counter Timer costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Tailscale free?

Tailscale is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Counter Timer or Tailscale have ads?

Neither Counter Timer nor Tailscale shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Counter Timer or Tailscale?

Counter Timer ships an update every 38 months, and Tailscale fortnightly. Most recently, Counter Timer was updated on September 29, 2026 and Tailscale on October 1, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*