Comparison

Upcoming vs Countdown widget

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

Design personalized countdown and count-up widgets for any event. Customize with themes, styles, and app icons. Track birthdays, holidays, vacations, and more with aesthetic looks and iCloud sync. Supports various widget sizes and modes.

Highlights
  • Custom countdown and count-up widgets
  • Multiple widget styles and themes
  • iOS Lock Screen and Standby widgets
  • Customizable app icons and fonts
  • Add personal photos
  • iCloud sync
  • Count up from past events
Features
Read full description

Create Custom Countdown or Count up widget with lots of themes, styles and App Icons. Count down to your next event: Birthday, Vacation, Holiday, Thanksgiving, Party, Halloween, Christmas, and lots more in Aesthetic looks. Create Multiple widget Features Include. • iOS 26 Standby Widget. • iOS 26 LockScreen Widget & Transparent Widget. • Multiple App Icons. • Transparent Widget. • Variety of Widget Style & Theme • Watch App & iCloud sync • Count up from past events • Stylish Fonts. • Beautiful colour , gradient Presets. • Add your Own Photos. • Light & Dark modes. • Supports all size of widgets. No Ads. Add your Custom widget with ease and edit later in no time. Upcoming version will include Apple watch supports and more themes. Download Now New Countdown Widget and Enjoy!!! Offers auto-renewing unlimited-access subscription options. $9.99/Year as Annually Subscription. These prices are for United States customers. Pricing in other countries may vary and actual charges may be converted to your local currency depending on the country of residence. If you choose to purchase a subscription, payment will be charged to your iTune account, and your account will be charged within 24-hour to the end of the current period .Auto-renewal may be turned off at any time by going to your iTunes store after purchase.Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication. Terms of use: https://motivateapps.com/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://motivateapps.com/privacyClean.html

Screenshots

Upcoming4 screens
Countdown widget4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Countdown widget at 4.5 against Upcoming's 3.8. Countdown widget also leads on review sentiment (88% vs 50%) and ratings volume (1.3K vs 10). Upcoming's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4). On price and ads 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 sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per year. Upcoming asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Countdown widget holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Countdown widget has 1.3K 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 88% of Countdown widget's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Upcoming ships an update every 2 weeks, Countdown widget weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Upcoming versus Countdown widget: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterUpcomingCountdown widget
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.8 (10 ratings)4.5 (1.3K ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews88.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings101.3K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS18.016 — better
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB36 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBenjamin PustAmit Verma

Customer experience

Upcoming

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

Countdown widget

All ratings1,256 ratings
Positive87.9%
Neutral4.6%
Negative7.5%
Written reviews323 reviews
Positive88.2%
Neutral3.4%
Negative8.4%

Bugs and requests

Upcoming

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Countdown widget

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Login screen freezes
  • Incompatible with older devices
  • Countdown widget not working on lock screen
  • Countdown based on EST instead of user's timezone

Requested features

4 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Advanced analytics dashboard
  • Sync with calendars
  • Show hours, minutes, and seconds in countdown

In-app purchases

None

Upcoming

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Countdown widget

Subscriptions1
  • Countdown Pro.$9.991 Year
One-time3
  • Countdown Pro.$8.99
  • Countdown Pro.$12.99
  • Countdown Pro.$19.99

Questions

Is Upcoming free?
Upcoming is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Countdown widget free?
Countdown widget is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Upcoming or Countdown widget?
Countdown widget is rated higher. Upcoming averages 3.8 out of 5 from 10 ratings, while Countdown widget averages 4.5 from 1.3K ratings.
Do Upcoming or Countdown widget have ads?
Neither Upcoming nor Countdown widget shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Upcoming or Countdown widget?
Upcoming ships an update every 2 weeks, and Countdown widget weekly. Most recently, Upcoming was updated on September 23, 2026 and Countdown widget on September 22, 2026.

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