Comparison

Cuckoo Timer vs Coves

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

Head to head
About

Cuckoo Timer

This app helps you manage tasks and cultivate skills by tracking time spent on each activity. It links tasks to specific skills, allowing you to visualize your progress towards mastery and achieve your 10,000-hour goals.

Highlights
  • Classical time tracking for tasks
  • Task management with skill attribution
  • Skill cultivation progress visualization
  • Daily beautiful background pictures
  • Full-screen focus mode
  • Task priority setting
  • iCloud sync
Features
Read full description

Task management combined with 10,000 hours rule. It takes 10,000 hours to become an expert in a field. We work not just for work, we complete our tasks not just for tasks themselves. In fact, what we want are SKILLS! Every task completed should end up with a better SKILL. ***What Cuckoo Can Do For You*** 1. Classical Time Tracking: Track time spent for every task you created. 2. Task Management: Shake your device to quickly add new Tasks, attribute your Task to a certain Skill that you want to cultivate. 3. Skill Cultivation: Tasks are for improving your skills. You can link multiple Tasks to one Skill, and time spent on those tasks will be summed as the total time of the Skill. So that you can see clearly how your skills grow towards 10,000 hours. ***More Features*** 1. A new beautiful background picture everyday; 2. Full-screen focus mode to focus on your work; 3. Advanced features such as task priority setting, iCloud sync. Privacy Policy & Use of Terms Link:https://cuckoo2017.wordpress.com/2017/06/23/布谷布谷隐私政策/

About

Coves

This study app integrates task prioritization, focus timing using the Pomodoro Technique, and spaced repetition for memory retention. It helps users plan their study sessions, block distractions, and track progress with detailed analytics.

Highlights
  • Eisenhower Matrix for task prioritization
  • Pomodoro, Countdown, and Stopwatch focus timers
  • Spaced repetition for memory review
  • Daily/weekly focus goal setting
  • Detailed focus analytics and reports
  • Ambient sounds for distraction blocking
Features
Read full description

coves — Space-Themed Study Timer The problem was never that you don't work hard enough. Three Pomodoro apps, five task lists, a neatly filled calendar. And still, at night, you cannot say what you studied, where it went wrong, or what to change tomorrow. Single-purpose tools each handle one thing: the list writes it down, the calendar fills time, the timer counts minutes. But studying is a loop — break down, plan, focus, review — and if one link breaks, all of it is wasted. coves does one thing: connects that loop and keeps it turning. START WITH 3 FULL DAYS Your first 3 days unlock everything: member privileges, review, statistics, growth. No payment first, decide later. WHY THESE FOUR STEPS BELONG TOGETHER You plan, so you execute. You execute, so you review. You review, so you fix tomorrow's plan. Only when all four mesh does the loop close. Most tools stop at step three: the timer hits zero, the data sinks into a stats screen, and nobody looks again. Step four is where coves puts in the most work. STEP FOUR: REVIEW — WHERE IT ALL COMES TOGETHER At day's end coves lays plan and reality side by side: planned hours next to actual voyage hours, and how much went to all-day versus time-block courses; route completion rate, and exactly which courses never departed; you meant to launch at 9 and left at 9:30, so execution accuracy is measured as a percentage; every session rating you gave, rolled up into an average and a high-rating share; and then a conclusion, such as "Over-voyaged, plan a more efficient course", "Never departed, start with a 15-minute goal", "Shorten planned time, or set time slots", "Too many courses, trim the unnecessary ones". None of this is for show. Follow them and tomorrow's course is more accurate. Review, adjust, set off again. THE FIRST THREE STEPS ARE SOLID TOO Break down: daily or weekly goals per task, categories and tags. Plan: time blocks, four-quadrant priority, memory-curve reviews at 1, 2, 4, 7 and 15 days, recurring courses. Focus: Pomodoro, countdown and stopwatch; custom templates; white noise mixing, Focus Cruise, custom alert sounds; Live Activity. WATCH YOURSELF GROW Rank up by voyaging: Ground Trainee, Cadet Astronaut, Orbital Pilot, Lunar Walker, Mars Explorer, Star Navigator, Galaxy Commander, Cosmic Legend. Your Star Chart lights up across 13 stations from Earth to the Sun, plus Hall of Honor badges and your own spaceship. EVEN MORE HANDY Widget, Apple Watch, Siri, iCloud backup and sync, daily voyage briefing. No ads, no account required. MEMBERSHIP PRIVILEGES 1. Unlimited tasks 2. Live Activity on Dynamic Island 3. Custom Pomodoro timer 4. Immersive white noise library 5. Exclusive ringtones 6. Members-only widgets 7. iCloud backup and sync 8. Full Apple Watch data 9. Full statistics module 10. Deep analysis insights 11. Themes and color skins 12. Recurring plans and plan calendar 13. Exclusive spaceship 14. More privileges coming Timed plans, Focus Cruise, background themes and growth are also members-only. NO PAYMENT REQUIRED TO START Create up to 10 tasks, and use category and tag management, all three timer modes and all-day plans without paying. When the trial ends you simply move to that version; nothing recorded is lost. SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS coves Membership offers a monthly subscription ($2.99/month), a yearly subscription ($19.99/year), and a lifetime purchase ($29.99). Subscriptions auto-renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Any unused portion of a free trial period (if offered) will be forfeited when you purchase a subscription. Manage or cancel your subscription anytime in Settings > Apple ID > Subscriptions. Renewal charges occur within 24 hours before the end of the current period. Privacy Policy: https://www.softwindlab.com/privacy.html Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.softwindlab.com/terms.html

Screenshots

Cuckoo Timer4 screens
Coves4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Cuckoo Timer at 4.7 against Coves's 4.2. Cuckoo Timer also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 3 weeks) and ratings volume (319 vs 11). 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. Cuckoo Timer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Coves sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Cuckoo Timer holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Cuckoo Timer has 319 ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of Cuckoo Timer's written reviews are positive against 67% of Coves's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cuckoo Timer ships an update every 4 days, Coves every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Cuckoo Timer versus Coves: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCuckoo TimerCoves
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (319 ratings) — better4.2 (11 ratings)
Positive reviews71.1% of reviews — better66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings319 — better11
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS13.4 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size54 MB105 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGuangzhou Xiaorichang Technology Co., Ltd.朋 潘

Customer experience

Cuckoo Timer

All ratings319 ratings
Positive92.5%
Neutral3.8%
Negative3.8%
Written reviews135 reviews
Positive71.1%
Neutral10.4%
Negative18.5%

Coves

All ratings11 ratings
Positive81.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative18.2%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

Bugs and requests

Cuckoo Timer

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • Skill recording time sync issue with manually uploaded tasks
  • Timer freezes and requires manual time entry
  • Language setting reverts to Japanese unexpectedly
  • Data loss after app update
  • Skills option disappeared after update
Show 4 more
  • Notification sound doesn't work when muted
  • Manually entered tasks don't appear in daily reports
  • iPad text cutoff and layout issues
  • Music interruption during timer countdown

Requested features

12 requests
  • Complete English translation for all UI elements
  • Customizable number of tasks per Pomodoro session
  • Widget support for home screen
  • Focus mode that discards time if app is switched
  • Task deadline reminder notifications
Show 7 more
  • Daily recurring task functionality
  • Time-block calendar view showing task allocation
  • Ability to toggle/mute notification sounds
  • Mac version of the app
  • Undo/delete functionality for completed tasks
  • iCloud sync across devices
  • Badge notifications for pending tasks

Coves

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Cuckoo Timer

One-time1
  • Pro Account$1.99
5 purchases

Coves

One-time5
  • Colors$1.99
  • Ringtones$1.99
  • White noise$1.99
Show 2 more
  • Member$4.99
  • Value Bundle$4.99

Questions

Is Cuckoo Timer free?
Cuckoo Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Coves free?
Coves is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Cuckoo Timer or Coves?
Cuckoo Timer is rated higher. Cuckoo Timer averages 4.7 out of 5 from 319 ratings, while Coves averages 4.2 from 11 ratings.
Do Cuckoo Timer or Coves have ads?
Neither Cuckoo Timer nor Coves shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Cuckoo Timer or Coves?
Cuckoo Timer ships an update every 4 days, and Coves every 3 weeks. Most recently, Cuckoo Timer was updated on November 1, 2026 and Coves on October 29, 2026.

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