Comparison

Upcoming vs Countdown Widget with Emoji

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

Head to head
About

Upcoming

Easily track and share important dates with customizable countdowns. Set reminders, import events from your calendar, and share visually appealing countdowns with anyone via universal links.

Highlights
  • Universal link sharing
  • Customizable countdown display
  • Smart calendar integration
  • Powerful sharing options
  • Recurring events management
  • Smart reminders and notifications
  • Birthday import from contacts
Features
Read full description

Upcoming turns the things you are looking forward to into a number you can see. Pick a date — a birthday, a trip, a due date, the last day of term — and Upcoming counts the sleeps until it lands. Put the number on your Home Screen, drop it into someone else's chat, or wait for it together. On iPhone and iPad. WHAT IT DOES - Count down to anything, in whole days, with a name, a colour and a photo - Home Screen widgets in three sizes, and Lock Screen widgets - Stickers for Messages — drop the number straight into a chat - Nudges: a reminder a week out, the night before, the morning of - Three voices for those reminders — Chill, Playful, or Unhinged - Pull in birthdays from Contacts and events from your calendar - Keepsakes: when a countdown lands, keep it on the shelf with the photo, the date, and the number of sleeps you waited WAIT TOGETHER Invite someone into a countdown and you both watch the same number. Photos and reactions go in one thread as the day gets closer. Starting a shared countdown and joining one are both free. FREE FOR EVERYONE All features are included, with no subscription. - Unlimited countdowns for every birthday, trip, and day worth waiting for - Invite anyone to share a countdown, with photos, messages, and reactions in one thread - iCloud sync across your devices - Every widget, Messages sticker, and keepsake Terms of Use: https://claycircuitstudios.com/upcoming/terms EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://claycircuitstudios.com/upcoming/privacy

About

Countdown Widget with Emoji

Track upcoming events with a personalized countdown. Choose a date, assign a representative emoji, and see how much time remains until your special occasion. Features include customizable widgets and calendar integration.

Highlights
  • Event countdowns
  • Emoji representation
  • Customizable widgets
  • Calendar import
  • Dark Mode support
  • Apple Watch app
  • iCloud sync
Features
Read full description

SjdkfsjdklfCount down to the moments that matter, with the emoji that captures them perfectly. Pick a date. Set an emoji. Watch your countdown on your Home Screen, Lock Screen, StandBy display, and Apple Watch. No other countdown app lets you express every event with emoji. From birthdays to vacations to weddings, every countdown looks like the moment it represents. A COUNTDOWN FOR EVERY OCCASION Events & Birthdays Track days until birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, baby showers, and the personal milestones that matter most. Set a birthday once and it reschedules automatically every year. Holidays & Seasons Count down to Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Easter, New Year’s, and every seasonal moment in between. Holiday countdowns roll over automatically year after year. Weddings & Anniversaries From save the date to the big day, watch your wedding countdown tick down day by day. Couples use Emoji Countdown to share progress, plan ahead, and savor the anticipation. Vacations & Trips Counting days until your next holiday, whether it’s a beach trip, a summer break, or a long weekend? Pair the trip with an emoji and feel the excitement build every time you glance at your phone. Retirement & Life Milestones Counting down to retirement, your last day of work, a house move, or a new chapter? Big life changes deserve their own widget. Pin them to your Home Screen and reclaim a little anticipation. Daily Reminders Use Emoji Countdown as a visual reminder for deadlines, fitness goals, exam dates, and weekly recurring events. Your countdown list works like a calendar, only easier to glance at and harder to forget. FEATURES • Free Home Screen, Lock Screen, and StandBy widgets so you can see every countdown at a glance, no subscription required • Apple Watch app for checking countdowns from your wrist • Calendar import: one tap pulls birthdays, holidays, and deadlines straight from your iOS Calendar • Any emoji, any color, so every countdown matches the moment it represents • Widget customization with colors, gradients, blur effects, borders, and themes so every widget looks exactly the way you want • Repeating events: set a birthday or holiday once and it rolls over automatically each year • Dark Mode support • iCloud sync across iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch • No ads, no clutter, just your countdowns FAQ Is Emoji Countdown free? Yes. Free to download, and the Home Screen, Lock Screen, and StandBy widgets are included. Can I make a wedding, birthday, or holiday countdown? Yes. Emoji Countdown works for weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, Christmas, Halloween, vacations, retirement, and anything else worth waiting for. Does it work on Apple Watch? Yes. The native Apple Watch app lets you check every countdown from your wrist. Can I add countdowns to my Home Screen and Lock Screen? Yes. Add a widget to your Home Screen, Lock Screen, or StandBy display and your countdown stays visible at a glance. Can I import events from my calendar? Yes. One tap pulls birthdays, holidays, and deadlines straight from your iOS Calendar. Will my countdowns sync across my devices? Yes. iCloud keeps everything in sync across iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. Can I customize how the widget looks? Yes. Pick any emoji and any color, then choose from gradients, blur effects, borders, and themes to make every widget look exactly the way you want. Do birthdays and holidays repeat every year? Yes. Set a recurring event once and Emoji Countdown rolls it over automatically each year. Privacy policy: https://www.iubenda.com/privacy-policy/42970297

Screenshots

Upcoming4 screens
Countdown Widget with Emoji4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Countdown Widget with Emoji at 4.6 against Upcoming's 3.8. Countdown Widget with Emoji also leads on ratings volume (336 vs 10) and review sentiment (59% vs 50%). Upcoming's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 6 weeks). On price, ads 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. Countdown Widget with Emoji sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Upcoming asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Countdown Widget with Emoji holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Countdown Widget with Emoji has 336 ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of Upcoming's written reviews are positive against 59% of Countdown Widget with Emoji's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Upcoming ships an update every 2 weeks, Countdown Widget with Emoji every 6 weeks. Both last shipped on September 23, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Upcoming versus Countdown Widget with Emoji: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterUpcomingCountdown Widget with Emoji
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.8 (10 ratings)4.6 (336 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews59.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings10336 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS18.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB20 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBenjamin PustLasmit TLB Ltd

Customer experience

Upcoming

All ratings10 ratings
Positive70.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative30.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Countdown Widget with Emoji

All ratings336 ratings
Positive87.8%
Neutral6.0%
Negative6.3%
Written reviews79 reviews
Positive59.5%
Neutral11.4%
Negative29.1%

Bugs and requests

Upcoming

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Countdown Widget with Emoji

Reported bugs

25 issues
  • Glitchy emoji selection
  • Contact form not sending
  • Doesn't work on Apple Watch SE 2
  • Icon selection not appearing until re-opened
  • Widgets not supported (claimed)
Show 20 more
  • All dates disappeared
  • Error messages with calendar sync
  • Bug fix for iOS 17 calendar permission API changes
  • Adding dates is difficult, keeps popping back
  • Crashes when adding new entry
  • Emojis not being transferred
  • Widget data incorrect
  • Cannot open on Apple Watch
  • New dates not showing on Apple Watch app
  • Cannot add new reminder
  • Cannot add event from calendar
  • Widget doesn't always update with system settings
  • Widget stopped showing anything after countdown ended
  • Widget is a blank box
  • App not working anymore since update
  • Edger not complying with dark/light mode switch
  • Cannot remove added dates once they have passed
  • Title not showing on widget
  • Cannot set time for events
  • App persists in flipping to September when trying to select January

Requested features

13 requests
  • Ability to hide menu bar
  • Menu bar visually aligns with events
  • Insert own photos instead of Apple icons
  • Section for past events
  • Make more features free
Show 8 more
  • Add Russian language support
  • Ability to add recurring dates
  • Notifications when countdown is completed
  • Allow choosing past dates to show days since
  • Type emoji directly to choose
  • Option to add a title to events
  • Ability to pay for pro once instead of subscription
  • Create a small widget for a specific countdown

In-app purchases

None

Upcoming

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Countdown Widget with Emoji

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Club - Monthly$0.991 Month
  • Pro Club - Annual7 Days trial$4.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime - No subscription$14.99

Questions

Is Upcoming free?
Upcoming is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Countdown Widget with Emoji free?
Countdown Widget with Emoji is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Upcoming or Countdown Widget with Emoji?
Countdown Widget with Emoji is rated higher. Upcoming averages 3.8 out of 5 from 10 ratings, while Countdown Widget with Emoji averages 4.6 from 336 ratings.
Do Upcoming or Countdown Widget with Emoji have ads?
Neither Upcoming nor Countdown Widget with Emoji shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Upcoming or Countdown Widget with Emoji?
Upcoming ships an update every 2 weeks, and Countdown Widget with Emoji every 6 weeks. Most recently, Upcoming was updated on September 23, 2026 and Countdown Widget with Emoji on September 23, 2026.

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