Comparison

Time Ago vs Countdown

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

Head to head
About

Time Ago

Easily track past and future events with customizable time units and visual differentiation. Syncs across devices and offers optional notifications and dark mode for a personalized experience.

Highlights
  • Track past and future events
  • Switch time units (years, months, days, hours, minutes, seconds)
  • Edit and rearrange events
  • Differentiate events with up to 20 colors
  • iCloud sync across devices
  • Set event notifications
  • Dark mode option
Features
Read full description

Time Ago was created to make tracking time fun and easy. Whether you want to track an event that has yet to happen or an event that was a long time ago, you can do that with Time Ago. Features: -Track events in the past and in the future. -Switch time units whenever. (years, months, days, hours, minutes, seconds) -Edit your events on the fly and rearrange them too. -Differentiate your events with up to 20 colors. -Your events sync to all your devices using iCloud. -You can set up notifications for your events if you so choose. -Switch to dark mode if you are into that. -Beautiful minimalistic visuals.

About

Countdown

Easily track upcoming events with a free countdown and reminder app. Customize each event with emojis and colors, and stay organized with tags and widgets. Syncs across devices and offers optional premium features for enhanced functionality.

Highlights
  • Unlimited event creation
  • Customizable event colors and emojis
  • Lock Screen and Home Screen widgets
  • Customizable reminders and alarms
  • iCloud sync across devices
  • Import events from calendars and contacts
  • Event grouping with tags
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Countdown is a free, easy-to-use countdown and reminder app for all of life's big events. Your next vacation, birthday, wedding, concert, graduation or retirement is always one glance away. Create unlimited events and make each one your own. Downloaded over 20 million times. It's been a joy to shape Countdown with your feedback for more than eight years. We're looking forward to many more. ——— WIDGETS & APPLE WATCH ——— • See your next event with free circular and inline Lock Screen widgets • Show one event or a list of upcoming events in Home Screen widgets, and filter lists by tag or pinned events (Premium) • Show your event's emoji, title and time left in the rectangular Lock Screen widget, and keep countdowns visible in StandBy (Premium) • Check your countdowns on Apple Watch and add them to your watch face ——— REMINDERS & ALARMS ——— • Get a reminder on the big day and the day before, at a time you set • Add custom reminders minutes, hours, days, weeks or months in advance (Premium) • Set alarms that ring even when your iPhone is on silent (Premium; requires iOS 26.1 or later) ——— MAKE IT YOURS ——— • Pick an emoji and a color for every countdown, and add notes • Make events repeat every day, week, month or year, or on your own schedule, like every two weeks or the last Friday of the month • See the age someone turns on their birthday and the years celebrated on an anniversary • Add holidays and big events in one tap from suggestions for your country • Count only weekdays, or see the time since a past event • Choose how you see the time left, with units from years to seconds (Premium) ——— STAY ORGANIZED ——— • Group events with tags and pin your favorites to the top • Archive events once they pass, so your list shows what's next • Archive or delete past events automatically (Premium) • Sort by date or drag events into your own order • Search for events, duplicate them and edit several at once ——— SYNC, IMPORT & SHARE ——— • Your events stay up to date on your iPhone, iPad and Mac with iCloud • Bring in events from your calendars and birthdays from your contacts • Automatically turn new calendar events into countdowns with Auto Import (Premium) • Add your countdowns to your calendar • Send a link so friends and family can count down with you • Check countdowns with Siri and create them with Shortcuts ——— YOUR PRIVACY ——— Your plans are personal. We never use your countdowns for advertising, and our analytics never see the titles, dates or notes you enter. ——— PREMIUM ——— One purchase. No subscriptions. Unlock all widgets, custom reminders, alarms, Auto Import, every countdown format and more. Premium also removes ads. ——— QUESTIONS OR FEEDBACK? ——— We love hearing from you and read every email. Get in touch at countdown@findappiness.co

Screenshots

Time Ago4 screens
Countdown4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Time Ago at none against Countdown's shown. Time Ago also leads on iOS requirement (10.0 vs 17.0). Countdown's advantage is ratings volume (191K vs 240) and rating (4.8 vs 4.6). On price, review sentiment, update cadence 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. Time Ago sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Countdown sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Countdown holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Countdown has 191K ratings behind it against 240, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 77% of Time Ago's written reviews are positive against 72% of Countdown's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Time Ago ships an update every 4 days, Countdown every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Time Ago versus Countdown: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTime AgoCountdown
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (240 ratings)4.8 (191K ratings) — better
Positive reviews77.3% of reviews — better71.9% of reviews
Number of ratings240191K — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 daysEvery 2 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#43 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS10.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB42 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCentrip StudiosFind Appiness LLC

Customer experience

Time Ago

All ratings230 ratings
Positive89.6%
Neutral5.7%
Negative4.8%
Written reviews22 reviews
Positive77.3%
Neutral9.1%
Negative13.6%

Countdown

All ratings190,150 ratings
Positive96.0%
Neutral2.1%
Negative1.9%
Written reviews2,557 reviews
Positive71.9%
Neutral5.7%
Negative22.4%

User reviews

Time Ago

From 240 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Simple and useful
  • 👍 Great for tracking dates
  • 👍 Good at counting days
  • 👍 Stores records on multiple devices
  • 👍 Easy to use

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Cannot delete events
  • 🐛 Freezing issues
  • 🐛 Difficulty opening/editing events
  • 🐛 HUD too large
  • 🐛 Zoom not adjusted for newer phones

Countdown

From 191K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Simple and intuitive interface
  • 🎨 Customizable colors and emojis
  • ⏰ Accurate countdown tracking
  • 🔔 Helpful reminders and notifications
  • 💰 One-time payment for premium features

Room to improve

  • 💸 Paid widget feature
  • 🔍 Lack of instructions/guidance
  • 🔀 Inconsistent countdown display on widget
  • 📅 Limited repeat options for events
  • 🖼️ No option to use custom photos

Bugs and requests

Time Ago

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Cannot delete events
  • App keeps losing dates
  • App is constantly freezing
  • HUD is slightly too large
  • Zoom needs adjustment for newer phone displays

Requested features

6 requests
  • Widget for Lock Screen
  • Categories/folders for organization
  • Longer text for event description
  • Facility to insert location of event
  • More space for entries
Show 1 more
  • Ability to see dates in Y-M-D format

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

3 purchases

Time Ago

One-time3
  • Advanced Package Upgrade$0.99
  • Basic Package Upgrade$1.99
  • Advanced Package Upgrade$2.99
2 purchases

Countdown

One-time2
  • Countdown Widget Offer$2.29
  • Countdown Widget$3.99

Questions

Is Time Ago free?
Time Ago is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Countdown free?
Countdown is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Time Ago or Countdown?
Countdown is rated higher. Time Ago averages 4.6 out of 5 from 240 ratings, while Countdown averages 4.8 from 191K ratings.
Do Time Ago or Countdown have ads?
Countdown shows ads; Time Ago does not.
Which is updated more often, Time Ago or Countdown?
Time Ago ships an update every 4 days, and Countdown every 2 days. Most recently, Time Ago was updated on November 2, 2026 and Countdown on November 6, 2026.

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