Looking FWD vs Countdown
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Looking FWD
Track upcoming events with a customizable countdown. Add photos, emojis, and checklists to your events. View upcoming events on your home screen with widgets. Syncs securely across devices via iCloud.
- Customizable event countdowns
- Event reminders
- Home screen widgets
- Photo and emoji customization
- Checklists for events
- iCloud sync across devices
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Life’s happy moments. Count down to yours. Looking FWD is a colourful calendar for counting down to the things that make life special. From big birthdays and weddings to holidays, concerts and your next pay day, keep everything you’re excited about in one happy place. Enjoy the anticipation, see what’s coming next and be ready when the day arrives. • Make every countdown yours Bring your events to life with emojis, photos and colours. Create your own categories for the people, plans and occasions that matter to you. • See the good things ahead Explore upcoming events in your calendar and watch the days count down. Choose your countdown style and add progress rings to see each moment getting closer. • Celebrate the milestones Keep birthdays and anniversaries together, with ages and special milestones highlighted so the big ones stand out. • Put happy moments on your Home Screen Add customisable Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets to keep your favourite countdowns in sight without opening the app. • Turn anticipation into preparation Set reminders and add checklists to your events. Keep gift ideas, holiday packing and plans for the big day right beside the countdown. • Add events with less effort Import from Contacts and Calendar, explore suggested events, or type naturally with on-device AI Smart Entry on supported devices. • Keep everything together Sync your events across your Apple devices with iCloud. Enjoy light and dark appearances, and keep private event categories behind authentication. Whether it’s a once-in-a-lifetime celebration or a little treat at the end of the week, give yourself something to look forward to. What are you Looking FWD to? -- Subscription -- Looking FWD requires a subscription to access the features described above. Payment will be charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. Your subscription automatically renews unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours before the end of the current period at the price of your selected plan. You can manage or cancel your subscription in your App Store account settings. Terms of Service: https://www.johnmackay.dev/#terms Privacy Policy: https://www.johnmackay.dev/#privacy -- Support -- Need a hand? Use Email Support in the app’s Help section to get in touch.
Countdown
Easily track important dates and events with a customizable countdown timer. Set reminders, organize events with tags, and view upcoming dates on your home screen or Apple Watch. Syncs across devices and offers various counting options.
- Customizable countdown timer
- Event reminders
- Home screen widgets
- Apple Watch support
- Event sharing
- iCloud sync
- Repeatable countdowns
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Countdown is a free, super easy to use countdown timer and reminder for the important events & dates in your life. Features: • Check your events on the Lock Screen with our widget (Premium feature) • Glance at your events on your Apple Watch • Glance at your events using our widget in StandBy (Premium feature) • Place our Widget anywhere on your Home Screen to view your most important events (Premium feature) • Share your countdowns with friends and family • Auto Import (Premium): Connect your calendars to Countdown and automatically add new events. • Pick any color you'd like for your countdown background • In addition to receiving a notification when it is time for your event, you can receive reminders 1 day before or 1 week before the event. • Choose the format in which you want to see your countdown (Premium feature) • Create as many events as you'd like • Count up from past events (available on each countdown page) • Sync your events across your devices with iCloud • Set your countdowns to repeat yearly, monthly, weekly or daily • Sort your events from the closest to the most distant • Dark Mode • Add notes to your events • Count only working days • Have many events? Organize them with tags Add as many events as you want: Vacation, Birthday, Holiday, Party, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Halloween, Cruise, Valentines, Wedding, Anniversary, Birth, Baby, Graduation, Pregnancy, Trip, New Home, Retirement, Game, Goals, Concert and many more. ——— QUESTIONS OR FEEDBACK? ——— We love hearing from you and we read every single email you send us! Have suggestions? Feel free to contact us at countdown@findappiness.co
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Countdown at 4.8 against Looking FWD's 4.0. Countdown also leads on monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs subscription) and ratings volume (189K vs 32). Looking FWD's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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
Both are free to download. Looking FWD sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $0.29 per 7 days and Countdown sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Countdown holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Countdown has 189K ratings behind it against 32, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 63% of Looking FWD's written reviews are positive against 72% of Countdown's.
Looking FWD ships an update every 10 days, Countdown every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Looking FWD | Countdown |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (32 ratings) | 4.8 (189K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 62.5% of reviews | 71.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 32 | 189K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Subscription | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Best chart rank | — | #47 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 244 MB | 42 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | John Mackay | Find Appiness LLC |
Customer experience
Looking FWD
Countdown
Bugs and requests
Looking FWD
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Countdown
Reported bugs
3 issues- Widget not updating automatically
- Countdown display issues after iOS 14 update
- Inability to delete archived events
Requested features
5 requests- Add ability to count up from past events
- Provide more date/time format options
- Implement calendar view for all events
- Allow custom backgrounds for widgets
- Add support for weekly/monthly repeating events
In-app purchases
Looking FWD
- Unlock Looking FWD3 Days trial$0.297 Days
- Unlock Looking FWD3 Days trial$0.791 Month
- Unlock Looking FWD3 Days trial$7.991 Year
- Unlock Looking FWD$9.99
Countdown
- Start 7-Day Free TrialFree
- Countdown Widget Offer$3.99
- Countdown Widget$6.99
Questions
Is Looking FWD free?
Is Countdown free?
Which has better reviews, Looking FWD or Countdown?
Do Looking FWD or Countdown have ads?
Which is updated more often, Looking FWD or Countdown?
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