Comparison

CusTimer vs StartWatch

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

Head to head
About

CusTimer

This highly customizable timer app offers speech reminders, second-by-second beeps, and custom "time's up" messages. It features a large display, elegant fonts, cool animations, and supports timer, stopwatch, and clock modes in four languages.

Highlights
  • Customizable timer settings
  • Speech reminders and messages
  • Second-by-second beep sounds
  • Countdown in last few seconds
  • Large, full-screen time display
  • Timer, Stopwatch, and Clock modes
  • Multi-language speech support
Features
Read full description

Want a timer that reminds you, with speech, how much time is left? Or a timer that produces little "beep" sounds every second? Maybe one that can do a countdown in the last few seconds? Or a timer that, instead of playing a sound effect when it finishes, verbalize a custom "time is up" message? Then this is the app for YOU! CusTimer, as the name suggests, is a highly customizable timer app. You can customize your own timer settings in numerous ways: - Whether or not to start a countdown during the last few seconds of the timer - Whether or not to produce beep sounds every second - When time is up, verbalize a message or play a sound - Custom "time is up" messages - Set (regular or not) reminders that reminds you how much time is left - Custom reminder messages Other than the customizations mentioned above, CusTimer has various other features too: - The remaining time is written in a super large font that fills the screen of your device - Highly customisable - 3 modes: Timer, Stopwatch, and Clock - Supports speech in four languages: English, Mandarin, Cantonese, and Japanese - Elegant fonts! - Cool animations

About

StartWatch

This app allows you to start a stopwatch instantly and then convert it into a timer. You can run multiple timers and stopwatches simultaneously, with options to customize display and track past events. It offers advanced features like markers and live activities for efficient time management.

Highlights
  • Instant stopwatch start
  • Convert stopwatch to timer
  • Run multiple timers/stopwatches
  • Customize display units
  • History and undo functionality
  • Markers for elapsed time
  • Live Activities with Dynamic Island
Features
Read full description

Start the stopwatch instantly, then turn it into a timer. Most timers are inaccurate because it takes 5 to 30 seconds to set the timer while time slips away. With StartWatch, you start the timer like a stopwatch, then you can take as much time as you need to set the alarm. Features Include: Run multiple stopwatches and timers. Convert a stopwatch to a timer and back to a stopwatch. Stopwatch continues to count after the timer is finished. Set a timer based on the time the stopwatch began, or the current time. Change a timer without losing the start time. Customize how the StartWatch is displayed. For example you can choose to show in weeks, days, or years. History - Undo an accidentally stopped StartWatch or change the start time of any event. Markers - Mark a moment in time on a running StartWatch. View how much time has elapsed from the previous Marker. Icon Badges - View how many StartWatches are running at a glance. Live Activities with support for Dynamic Island on iPhone 14 Pro Watch Features: Complications for timers and stopwatches. Run timers and stopwatches in the background.

Screenshots

CusTimer4 screens
StartWatch4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: StartWatch at 4.7 against CusTimer's 4.0. StartWatch also leads on ratings volume (49 vs 1) and update cadence (every 6 days vs every 2 weeks). CusTimer's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 86%) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

StartWatch holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: StartWatch has 49 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 100% of CusTimer's written reviews are positive against 86% of StartWatch's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

CusTimer ships an update every 2 weeks, StartWatch every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 5, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
CusTimer versus StartWatch: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCusTimerStartWatch
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (1 ratings)4.7 (49 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better85.7% of reviews
Number of ratings149 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS13.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size18 MB19 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperXiu ChengApostol & Hall

Customer experience

CusTimer

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

StartWatch

All ratings49 ratings
Positive91.8%
Neutral2.0%
Negative6.1%
Written reviews28 reviews
Positive85.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative14.3%

In-app purchases

None

CusTimer

No in-app purchases

None

StartWatch

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is CusTimer free?
CusTimer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is StartWatch free?
StartWatch is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, CusTimer or StartWatch?
StartWatch is rated higher. CusTimer averages 4.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while StartWatch averages 4.7 from 49 ratings.
Do CusTimer or StartWatch have ads?
Neither CusTimer nor StartWatch shows ads.
Which is updated more often, CusTimer or StartWatch?
CusTimer ships an update every 2 weeks, and StartWatch every 6 days. Most recently, CusTimer was updated on October 5, 2026 and StartWatch on October 20, 2026.

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