Comparison

Looking FWD vs Countdown Timer.

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Customizable event countdowns
  • Event reminders
  • Home screen widgets
  • Photo and emoji customization
  • Checklists for events
  • iCloud sync across devices
Features
Read full description

What are you looking forward to? Looking FWD helps you count down to important events in your life, such as: • Birthdays • Anniversaries • Holidays • Sporting events • Anything else you can think of ... pay day, perhaps! You can create your own event types and you can customise all of your events with photos and emoji. You can also create secret events which will only be displayed when you authenticate. Events can be configured to repeat and to send you reminders. You can also quickly import birthdays from your contacts and events from your calendar. Talking of birthdays, you can add checklists to your events - perfect for keeping track of gifts. Never forget an event again! There's also a beautiful set of widgets so that you can view your upcoming events at a glance right on your home screen. All of your events will be kept in sync, securely and privately, across all of your devices via iCloud. -- Subscription -- Looking FWD requires a subscription, which will allow you to: • Countdown to an unlimited number of events • Automatically import birthdays from your Contacts • Automatically import events from your Calendar • Create your own custom event types • Create your own checklists within each of your events • iCloud Sync will keep your events in sync across all of your devices • Create your own secret event types which can only be viewed when you authenticate • Countdown to your events right on your Home Screen with our widgets • Personalise the look and feel of the app and widget with emojis, photos, and your favourite colour scheme • Significant events such as a 50th birthday will be automatically highlighted Payment will be charged to your App Store Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, at the cost of your selected plan. Subscriptions may be managed, and auto-renewal may be turned off, by going to App Store Settings after purchase. For more information on how we handle your information, please review our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Terms of Service: https://www.johnmackay.dev/#terms Privacy Policy: https://www.johnmackay.dev/#privacy -- Support -- If you have any difficulties using Looking FWD and would like support, please use the Email Support feature within the Help section of the app.

About

Countdown Timer.

A user-friendly countdown application with a beautiful interface and extensive customization options. It offers Apple Watch and iCloud support, smart notifications, and widgets to keep you informed about upcoming events. The app is compatible with older iOS versions.

Highlights
  • Customizable countdowns with user pictures
  • Apple Watch and iCloud synchronization
  • Smart notifications for upcoming events
  • Widget support for quick access
  • Compatibility with iOS 10 and above
  • Localization in multiple languages
Features
Read full description

Simple, convenient, functional, beautiful countdown with widget, Apple Watch and iCloud support. In addition, this application supports older versions of devices. Smart notifications will help you keep track of upcoming events! Features: * Beautiful detail view (with custom user's pictures); * Support for Apple Watch; * Support iOS10 and above; * iCloud sync; * Notifications; * Widgets; * Many functions during creation (such as "Repeat", "Keep count when end", "Select notification time", etc.); * Customization of countdowns; * Localization for English, French, German, Spanish, Chinese, Russian languages.

Screenshots

Looking FWD4 screens
Countdown Timer.4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Countdown Timer. at 4.8 against Looking FWD's 4.0. Countdown Timer. also leads on monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs subscription) and device support (4 vs 2). Looking FWD's advantage is update cadence (every 11 days vs every 6 months). 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. Looking FWD sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $0.29 per 7 days and Countdown Timer. sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Countdown Timer. holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 32 and 113 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 63% of Looking FWD's written reviews are positive against 64% of Countdown Timer.'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Looking FWD ships an update every 11 days, Countdown Timer. every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Looking FWD versus Countdown Timer.: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLooking FWDCountdown Timer.
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (32 ratings)4.8 (113 ratings) — better
Positive reviews62.5% of reviews64.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings32113 — better
Update frequencyEvery 11 days — betterEvery 6 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS18.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size243 MB43 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJohn MackayDanylo Andriushchenko

Customer experience

Looking FWD

All ratings32 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral3.1%
Negative21.9%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive62.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative37.5%

Countdown Timer.

All ratings113 ratings
Positive92.9%
Neutral3.5%
Negative3.5%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive64.3%
Neutral7.1%
Negative28.6%

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Looking FWD

Subscriptions3
  • Unlock Looking FWD3 Days trial$0.297 Days
  • Unlock Looking FWD3 Days trial$0.791 Month
  • Unlock Looking FWD3 Days trial$7.991 Year
One-time1
  • Unlock Looking FWD$9.99
1 purchases

Countdown Timer.

One-time1
  • Remove ads.$1.99

Questions

Is Looking FWD free?
Looking FWD is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Countdown Timer. free?
Countdown Timer. is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Looking FWD or Countdown Timer.?
Countdown Timer. is rated higher. Looking FWD averages 4.0 out of 5 from 32 ratings, while Countdown Timer. averages 4.8 from 113 ratings.
Do Looking FWD or Countdown Timer. have ads?
Neither Looking FWD nor Countdown Timer. shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Looking FWD or Countdown Timer.?
Looking FWD ships an update every 11 days, and Countdown Timer. every 6 months. Most recently, Looking FWD was updated on October 1, 2026 and Countdown Timer. on September 18, 2026.

Other comparisons