Comparison

Interval Timer vs Pulse

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

Head to head
About

Interval Timer

Create custom interval timers for workouts, focus sessions, or meditation. Get audio, visual, and haptic cues to stay on track without watching the clock. Track performance and share timers with others.

Highlights
  • Customizable interval timers
  • Multiple intervals, rounds, warm-up, rest
  • Audio, visual, and haptic alerts
  • 14 ready-made presets
  • Performance tracking and lap recording
  • Timer sharing
  • Apple Watch sync
Features
Read full description

Build custom HIIT, Tabata, boxing, and circuit timers with multiple intervals, rounds, warm-up, and rest periods — then let audio beeps, visual cues, and haptic feedback keep you on track so you never have to watch the clock. APPLE HEALTH INTEGRATION Completed timers can save as workouts in Apple Health and contribute to your Activity Rings. Opt in once, tag the timers you want to track (HIIT, Boxing, Yoga, and more), and BeepWatch credits the rings — even when you start the timer on iPhone. Heart rate and active energy from your Apple Watch attach automatically. GET STARTED IN SECONDS Choose from 15 ready-made presets including HIIT, Tabata, Boxing Rounds, Pomodoro Focus, Meditation, and more. Or build your own timer in under a minute. CUSTOM INTERVAL TIMERS * Add as many intervals as you need, each with its own duration, name, sound, and warning * Set total rounds or run infinitely * Add warm-up time before your first interval * Add rest time between rounds * Count up or count down — six display modes to choose from AUDIO, VISUAL & HAPTIC ALERTS * Choose from beeps, buzzes, clicks, gongs, whistles, and more * Set warning alerts before an interval ends * Flash the screen on interval changes * Haptic vibration feedback * Independent volume control for interval and control sounds * Background tick audio to confirm your timer is running TRACK YOUR PERFORMANCE * Automatic and manual lap recording * View split times and deltas * Share lap data with your coach or training partner BEAUTIFUL THEMES & PROGRESS BARS * 20+ color themes including Neon, Aurora, and Sunset * Circle, rows, chronograph, and box progress indicators * Precision timing up to 3 decimal places APPLE WATCH * Full timer sync between iPhone and Apple Watch * Run timers independently on your wrist, or remote-control the timers on your iPhone * Workouts save to Apple Health from either device, with cross-device dedup so you never get double entries * Optimized Watch interface NOT JUST FOR WORKOUTS BeepWatch works for anything you time: Pomodoro focus blocks, study sprints, meditation, sport drills, public-speaking practice, recipe steps, and getting kids through morning routines. SHARE TIMERS * Share any timer via link or file * Recipients preview and import with one tap * Perfect for coaches, trainers, and workout groups NOW IN 12 LANGUAGES BeepWatch speaks Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Italian, Hindi, Indonesian, English, and Simplified Chinese. BeepWatch is the timer app you've been looking for! - - - - - Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Pulse

This customizable interval timer offers a vibrant and personalized experience for various timed activities. With extensive color options and quick setup templates, it's designed to be glanceable and non-intrusive. Enjoy features like Live Activity and an Apple Watch app for seamless tracking.

Highlights
  • Full color customization with 136 palettes
  • Quick start templates (Tabata, Pomodoro, Boxing)
  • Live Activity and Dynamic Island support
  • Apple Watch app for wrist-based control
  • Beeps and haptics for interval cues
  • Save and name custom timer sequences
Features
Read full description

A fast, colorful timer for the things you do in chunks — and the things you do until you're done. Intervals, Pomodoro, and open-ended flow sessions. 168 palettes. WHY PULSE Every interval timer looks the same — red background, green active state, none of it yours. And they all only count down, so when the work doesn't fit a fixed box you fight the timer. Pulse counts both directions, brightly, and gets out of your way. Big numbers. Live Activity. Apple Watch. $3.99 once unlocks it all. FLOW MODE (NEW) A flow session counts UP. Focus until you decide to stop; the break you earn is proportional to the focus you put in. • Tap START and go — no countdown, no cap • Tap BREAK for focus ÷ 5 (or ÷ 4, or ÷ 3). 50 minutes of focus earns a 10-minute break • Optional target: a chime when you reach it, then it keeps counting — it never stops you • Optional reminders every 5, 10, 15, 20 or 30 minutes: a soft tick and a haptic • Works locked: the count-up rides your Lock Screen and Dynamic Island, cues still fire 168 PALETTES, SEARCHABLE • Coral — bright red + lime + black (the classic) …and 167 more. Search by color ("orange"), vibe ("neon", "calm"), or era ("70s"). Eight ship free; the one-time unlock opens all 168 and repaints the whole app instantly. TWO TAPS TO START Pick Interval or Flow, set three simple controls, tap Start. Or open the Library for a template: • Flow Session, Flowmodoro 25, Deep Work 90 — the new flow templates • Tabata — 8 × 20s work / 10s rest • Pomodoro — 25/5 focus cycle • Boxing Rounds — 3 min / 1 min corner Save any setup as a named timer — one tap next time. WHAT'S INSIDE • Big-number timer inside one countdown ring — glanceable across the room, color-coded: focus, work, rest, done • Liquid Glass — rebuilt for iOS 26 • Live Activity — Lock Screen + Dynamic Island keep ticking in other apps: down in intervals, up in flow • Beeps + haptics — 3-2-1 countdown and interval cues that fire with the screen locked • Your timers — save, name, edit, reuse (three free; Pro unlimited) HISTORY & LABELS • Label a timer Work, Study, Gym, Boxing — or anything you type • Every session logged: timer, label, duration, rounds, outcome, grouped by day. Tap any row • Streak — days in a row with a finished session. No shame, no confetti • This week's focus time, six stat cards, an activity grid, time by label • Export CSV (Pro) — your whole history in one file Free keeps the last 7 days. Pro keeps everything. SHORTCUTS & CONTROL CENTER • Ask Siri: "Start a flow in Pulse" — or "Start my Boxing Rounds in Pulse" • Add "Start Flow" to Control Center or your Lock Screen • Both actions work in the Shortcuts app for your automations ON YOUR WRIST • Apple Watch app — start any saved interval timer, or Quick Start, from the watch • Palette-matched work/rest states, haptic taps at every transition • The watch runs its own timer — it can't drift or freeze • Flow sessions are iPhone-only for now WHO IT'S FOR • Writing, coding and studying — flow sessions, deep work • HIIT and Tabata circuits, boxing rounds, EMOM • Pomodoro sprints and focus blocks • Meditation, breathwork, yoga, cooking, music practice WHO IT'S NOT FOR • People who want a workout video library (this is a timer, not a fitness app) • People who want an app that blocks other apps — Pulse gets out of the way instead • Anyone looking for a subscription — Pulse is one payment, forever PRICING • Pulse Pro — $3.99 one-time: all 168 palettes, unlimited timers, unlimited history + CSV export • Supporter unlock — $9.99 one-time: same features, bigger thank-you Flow, labels, reminders, Shortcuts and Control Center are free. No subscription. No auto-renew. No ads. Ever. PRIVACY Pulse runs entirely on-device. No account, no analytics, no tracking, no ad SDKs. Your timers and history stay on your phone. Privacy Policy: https://trypulsetimer.com/privacy. SUPPORT support@trypulsetimer.com · https://trypulsetimer.com/support Time things in chunks. Or go until you're done. $3.99.

Screenshots

Interval Timer4 screens
Pulse4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Interval Timer at every 3 days against Pulse's every 3 weeks. Interval Timer also leads on ratings volume (164 vs 1) and iOS requirement (18.6 vs 26.0). Pulse's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.8). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases 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. Interval Timer sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month and Pulse sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pulse holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Interval Timer has 164 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 92% of Interval Timer's written reviews are positive against 100% of Pulse's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Interval Timer ships an update every 3 days, Pulse every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Interval Timer versus Pulse: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterInterval TimerPulse
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (164 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews92.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings164 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS18.6 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size21 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperScott DeSapioLance Merrill

Customer experience

Interval Timer

All ratings164 ratings
Positive95.1%
Neutral1.2%
Negative3.7%
Written reviews201 reviews
Positive92.0%
Neutral3.0%
Negative5.0%

Pulse

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Interval Timer

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Unlock Pro feature not working for some users
  • Timers getting deleted unexpectedly

Requested features

3 requests
  • Ability to save/load custom timer settings
  • Option to set countdown before timer starts
  • Integration with wearable devices

Pulse

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Interval Timer

Subscriptions2
  • BeepWatch PRO Monthly$2.991 Month
  • BeepWatch PRO Annual$6.991 Year
One-time2
  • BeepWatch 2 PRO$0.99
  • BeepWatch PRO Lifetime$9.99
2 purchases

Pulse

One-time2
  • Pulse — Standard$3.99
  • Pulse — Supporter$9.99

Questions

Is Interval Timer free?
Interval Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pulse free?
Pulse is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Interval Timer or Pulse?
Pulse is rated higher. Interval Timer averages 4.8 out of 5 from 164 ratings, while Pulse averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Interval Timer or Pulse have ads?
Neither Interval Timer nor Pulse shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Interval Timer or Pulse?
Interval Timer ships an update every 3 days, and Pulse every 3 weeks. Most recently, Interval Timer was updated on October 7, 2026 and Pulse on October 6, 2026.

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