Comparison

Sand Timer vs (Not Boring) Timer

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

Head to head
About

Sand Timer

This app provides a visually engaging and intuitive way to track time with realistic sand flow animations. It's perfect for various activities like studying, workouts, or cooking, offering customizable themes and sound alerts to keep you on track.

Highlights
  • Realistic sand flow animation
  • Adjustable timer settings
  • Multiple timers management
  • Customizable themes
  • Sound alerts
Features
Read full description

Looking for a simple, reliable timer for your activities? Whether you’re timing a study session, a workout, or simply need a quick way to track time, Sand Timer has you covered! With its realistic sand flow animation, you’ll experience the soothing and intuitive feel of a traditional hourglass, right on your phone. Sand Timer offers a simple, visually engaging way to keep track of time, whether you’re managing your productivity, setting a cooking timer, or just need a quick countdown. It’s easy to set, fun to use, and helps you stay on track for all your timing needs. Top Features You’ll Love: Sand Animation – Watch the sand flow smoothly through the timer, providing a calming and visually pleasing experience while you track your time. Adjustable Timer Settings – Set the timer for any duration you need, from seconds to hours, with the ability to quickly adjust for all types of activities. Multiple Timers – Create and manage multiple timers at once to keep track of various tasks simultaneously. Customizable Themes – Choose from a variety of themes to match your style, whether you prefer a minimalist design or a more vibrant look. Sound Alerts – Get notified when your time is up with a sound alert, making sure you never miss an important moment. Who Can Use Sand Timer? Sand Timer is perfect for anyone who needs a simple, elegant timer. Whether you’re a student needing a Pomodoro timer, a cook timing recipes, or someone just needing a visual countdown, Sand Timer is easy to use and designed to fit your needs. Download Sand Timer today and add a little more calm and focus to your day! EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

(Not Boring) Timer

This app offers a visually engaging and intuitive timer experience, inspired by simple egg timers. It features a unique overshoot function, a game-like interface with 3D animations, and customizable skins. Widgets provide quick access to timers for daily routines.

Highlights
  • Overshoot and stopwatch modes
  • Game-like 3D interface
  • Large, readable display
  • Customizable skins
  • Home screen widgets
  • Screen always on option
Features
Read full description

"Just astonishingly fun." — John Gruber A BETTER EVERYDAY TIMER I dreamt of a timer I could use every day that would simplify time and make the most of every moment it counted. Inspired by the simple egg timer, Timer more honestly represents time as a single dimension. No hours or seconds—just minutes. There's nowhere to get lost. Scroll to set. Tap to start. Get back to life. STOPWATCH & OVERSHOOT When time expires, it doesn't stop at 0. Timer flips and begins to count up. This turns out to be pretty useful if you missed the alarm and don't know how much time has elapsed or if you cook and just need another minute without the hassle of setting another timer. Or scroll down to 0, tap, and it becomes a stopwatch ready to measure any length of time. PLAYS LIKE A GAME, WORKS LIKE AN APP Next generation user interface designed and built in 3D with animation and sounds inspired by video games. BIG & READABLE Time you can read from across the room. Optional setting to keep your screen on during countdowns. SKINS Skins change the whole look and feel of the app. New skins and collaborations every season so you can keep it fresh. WIDGETS Drop a custom timer on your home screen for fast, one tap access to daily timers for coffee brewing, workouts, and other daily routines. SUPER!BORING Become a Super!Boring member and get all 5 Not Boring apps + skins + extras. We are 100% member-supported. No ads, no data gathering, no tracking. Just beautiful apps that make everyday life a little less boring. Plans: https://andy.works/plans Support: https://andy.works/support

Screenshots

Sand Timer4 screens
(Not Boring) Timer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: (Not Boring) Timer at 67% against Sand Timer's 6%. (Not Boring) Timer also leads on rating (4.8 vs 3.8) and ads (none vs shown). Sand Timer's advantage is iOS requirement (16.6 vs 26.0). On price, in-app purchases, 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. Sand Timer sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days and (Not Boring) Timer sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

(Not Boring) Timer holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: (Not Boring) Timer has 2.6K ratings behind it against 150, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 6% of Sand Timer's written reviews are positive against 67% of (Not Boring) Timer's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Sand Timer ships an update every 8 months, (Not Boring) Timer monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Sand Timer versus (Not Boring) Timer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSand Timer(Not Boring) Timer
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.8 (150 ratings)4.8 (2.6K ratings) — better
Positive reviews6.5% of reviews67.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1502.6K — better
Update frequencyEvery 8 monthsMonthly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.6 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size18 MB217 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVicki PartridgeNot Boring Software LLC

Customer experience

Sand Timer

All ratings150 ratings
Positive64.7%
Neutral8.7%
Negative26.7%
Written reviews62 reviews
Positive6.5%
Neutral4.8%
Negative88.7%

(Not Boring) Timer

All ratings2,648 ratings
Positive94.7%
Neutral2.4%
Negative2.9%
Written reviews159 reviews
Positive67.3%
Neutral11.3%
Negative21.4%

Bugs and requests

Sand Timer

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

(Not Boring) Timer

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Widget doesn't always start the timer correctly
  • Sound doesn't work when phone is on silent mode

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for longer timers (over 90 minutes)
  • Implement seconds option for more precise timing
  • Integrate with Dynamic Island on newer iPhones
  • Add alarm functionality
  • Allow users to set custom timer intervals

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Sand Timer

Subscriptions3
  • Weekly Subscription7 Days trial$0.997 Days
  • Monthly Subscription7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Yearly Subscription7 Days trial$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • Remove Ads$1.99
9 purchases

(Not Boring) Timer

Subscriptions2
  • Super !Boring Monthly$7.991 Month
  • Super !Boring Yearly2 variants$29.991 Year
One-time7
  • Andy Skin$4.99
  • Chroma Skin$4.99
  • Monsters Skin$4.99
Show 4 more
  • Opal Skin$9.99
  • Karat Skin$9.99
  • Cedar Skin$9.99
  • !Timer Plus Lifetime$14.99

Questions

Is Sand Timer free?
Sand Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is (Not Boring) Timer free?
(Not Boring) Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Sand Timer or (Not Boring) Timer?
(Not Boring) Timer is rated higher. Sand Timer averages 3.8 out of 5 from 150 ratings, while (Not Boring) Timer averages 4.8 from 2.6K ratings.
Do Sand Timer or (Not Boring) Timer have ads?
Sand Timer shows ads; (Not Boring) Timer does not.
Which is updated more often, Sand Timer or (Not Boring) Timer?
Sand Timer ships an update every 8 months, and (Not Boring) Timer monthly. Most recently, Sand Timer was updated on September 22, 2026 and (Not Boring) Timer on September 24, 2026.

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