Comparison

Portal Timer vs InstacastPlus

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

Head to head
About

Portal Timer

This app helps Ingress players manage portal cooldowns with multiple timers, mod calculations, and custom notifications. It offers features like automatic Ingress launching and burn-out timer calculations. Supports widgets and faction-specific time differences.

Highlights
  • Multiple portal cooldown timers
  • Automatic mod rarity calculation
  • Customizable notifications
  • Automatic Ingress launch
  • BurnOut Timer with hack count tracking
  • Widget support
Read full description

PortalTimer is a companion timer for Ingress agents. Put one panel per hacked portal and count three things at once: the time until you can hack again, the hacks you have left, and the four-hour burn-out. Features - One panel per portal: name, faction and four mod slots - Cooldown: 5 minutes on enemy portals / 3 on friendly ones, shortened by the rarity of your Heat Sinks - Hack count: 4 plus your Multi-hacks; the counter turns to the warning colour past 3/4 of the limit - Burn-out: after the cooldown of the hack that reached the limit, the panel becomes a four-hour bar (auto-start is a setting) - Sojourner (23 h 30 min), Virus and Drone (1 h each) timers - Local notifications and haptics when a timer ends - Home Screen (small, medium) and Lock Screen widgets; start and stop timers from the widget - Two looks: eXotic (Ingress Prime style hex badge) and Circle (ring) - Portal panels live in your iCloud and follow you to your other iPhones No account, no ads, no tracking, no analytics. Donations are optional in-app purchases that unlock nothing. PortalTimer is an unofficial app, unrelated to Niantic, and never connects to the game.

About

InstacastPlus

This podcast player offers advanced features like automatic skipping of intros and ads, a smart sleep timer, and CarPlay support. Enjoy personalized playback, offline listening, and easy episode management for a superior podcast experience.

Highlights
  • Auto-skip chapters and ads
  • Smart sleep timer
  • CarPlay support
  • Offline listening and storage control
  • Personalized playback speeds and app icons
  • Episode recovery
Features
Read full description

InstacastPlus – More Than Just Another Podcast Player Tired of the limits of Overcast, Pocket Casts, Castro, or even Apple Podcasts? InstacastPlus takes podcast listening to the next level. Why switch? Auto-Skip Chapters & Ads – Automatically skip intros, ads, or unwanted segments with keyword-based chapter skipping. Smart Sleep Timer – Stops playback when you fall asleep and resets when you interact or move. CarPlay Support – Enjoy your podcasts on the road with an interface built for driving. Offline Listening & Storage Control – Download episodes, sort by size, and auto-delete old ones. Personalization – Custom app icons, colors, and flexible playback speeds for a truly personal experience. Episode Recovery – Deleted something by accident? Restore episodes with one tap. What makes InstacastPlus stand out: Browse curated collections and discover new favorites. Advanced episode filters: Unplayed, In Progress, Favorites, Downloads, and more. Smooth navigation with saved scroll positions and larger, easier controls. Whether you’re coming from Overcast, Pocket Casts, Castro, or Apple Podcasts – this is the upgrade you’ve been waiting for. InstacastPlus – Built for podcast lovers who want total control. Download now for free and experience podcasts like never before.

Screenshots

Portal Timer3 screens
InstacastPlus4 screens

Verdict

The call

Portal Timer and InstacastPlus both sit at 4.0 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of Portal Timer's written reviews are positive against 63% of InstacastPlus's. Portal Timer also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months). InstacastPlus's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (13 vs 17.4). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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. Portal Timer sells 5 one-off in-app purchases and InstacastPlus sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.0 for Portal Timer against 4.0 for InstacastPlus. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 2 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 100% of Portal Timer's written reviews are positive against 63% of InstacastPlus's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Portal Timer ships an update weekly, InstacastPlus every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 5, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Portal Timer versus InstacastPlus: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPortal TimerInstacastPlus
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (2 ratings)4.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better62.5% of reviews
Number of ratings22
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.413 — better
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB18 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHiroshi NomuraIT Economy GmbH

Customer experience

Portal Timer

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

InstacastPlus

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive62.5%
Neutral25.0%
Negative12.5%

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Portal Timer

One-time5
  • Donation(Bronze)$0.99
  • Donation(Silver)$4.99
  • Donation(Gold)$19.99
Show 2 more
  • Donation(Platinum)$59.99
  • Donation(Onyx)$99.99
4 purchases

InstacastPlus

One-time4
  • Donate to Developer$1.00
  • Donate to Developer$5.00
  • Donate to Developer$15.00
Show 1 more
  • Donate to Developer$20.00

Questions

Is Portal Timer free?
Portal Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is InstacastPlus free?
InstacastPlus is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Portal Timer or InstacastPlus?
Portal Timer and InstacastPlus are both rated 4.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2 and 2 ratings respectively.
Do Portal Timer or InstacastPlus have ads?
Neither Portal Timer nor InstacastPlus shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Portal Timer or InstacastPlus?
Portal Timer ships an update weekly, and InstacastPlus every 3 months. Most recently, Portal Timer was updated on October 5, 2026 and InstacastPlus on October 2, 2026.

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