Comparison

timer. vs Midnight Dates

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

Head to head
About

timer.

Manage multiple countdown timers simultaneously with this intuitive app. Set custom names, sounds, and even use your own music for alarms. Access timers easily via widgets, Apple Watch, and Live Activities.

Highlights
  • Multiple simultaneous timers
  • Customizable names and alarm sounds
  • Background timer operation
  • Widget and Apple Watch access
  • Live Activities with Play/Pause
  • Siri Shortcuts support
  • Dark Mode and themes
Features
Read full description

timer. is a simple and easy too use countdown timer. You are able to run several timers at the same time. The timers can be paused / resumed by the user and still run in background. Also you are able to define a sound or name. With the timer. widget and Apple Watch app you have quick and easy access to your last created timer. Features: - Several timers at the same time - Save timer - Edit and reorder existing timers - Siri Shortcuts support - Define timer name and alarm sound - Define an unlimited amount of timers - Timers still run in backround - Choose different alarms for notification and In-App - Choose from your favorite music for In-App alarm from your locally stored Apple Music or iTunes Music files - Widget for easy access the last created timer - Filter for running timers - Full access to timers from widget - Apple Watch app to view last created timer - More than 30 different alarm sounds - Choose between 16 modern themes for App and Widget - Dark Mode - Live Activities with Play / Pause - Dynamic Island Support with Play / Pause - Home Screen Widgets with Play / Pause For feedback or feature requests visit us on twitter: https://twitter.com/timer_2018 Please note for devices which run iOS 18 or older: The mute switch should not be active when the app is in background. Finished timers are not notified with an alarm sound. This is a limitation of iOS 18 or older. If the app is running in foreground, the alarm sounds are also played when the mute switch is active.

About

Midnight Dates

Easily track countdowns and count-ups for all your significant life events. Share these milestones with friends and family through various messaging and social platforms. Discover fun date-based facts and impress others with your knowledge of time.

Highlights
  • Track past and future dates
  • Share dates via email, messages, and social media
  • Supports iOS and watchOS with iCloud sync
  • Import and export date URLs
  • Backup dates via email
  • Universal app for iPhone and iPad
Read full description

This app calculates exactly how long it’s been, or how long it will be until, all the important dates in your life. And Midnight Dates also helps you share these with your friends and family. It’s a fountain of really fun date-based information! Impress your friends: • “Honey, we’ve been together 157 weeks… awww.” • “Next Monday is the 400th day since I quit using Windows!” • “It’s 1 year, 7 months, 2 weeks and 5 days until retirement!” • “We have only 218 years until James T. Kirk is born.” • “Tomorrow is the 17,500th day since the Moon landing!” • “Only 50 more days until Christmas!” Simple to use: • Tap the "+" button to create new dates to track. • Tap the date in the list to see it’s details. • Tap the "…" button in to edit and share the date in various methods supported by your devices such as email, messages, Twitter, Facebook, or AirDrop. Features include: • Supports all iOS 10 and later compatible iPhones and iPads with universal layout and split app view • Includes watchOS 3 app and watch face complication to view your dates on the go • Syncs via iCloud automatically with iOS and watchOS versions • Track any Gregorian calendar date from January 1, 1 to December 31, 10,000 • Sort by name, date, and day of the year • Share via: email, messages, Twitter, Facebook and other text based methods • Share directly to another device via AirDrop • Import and export urls from email and web and other iOS apps • Backup all date via email (send to yourself) Tell everyone: If you are enjoying Midnight Dates, please leave us a five-star review. It helps us keep development going. Some features we're considering for future versions are: • Today widget for macOS and iOS • System notifications and reminders • Localizing to lots of languages • Date calculation in other calendar systems • Customizable font and color themes, and dark mode • Date information such as: moons, zodiac, number-names (i.e. sesquicentennial) If you are interested in any of these possible features, or have other ideas or questions, please email us at support@midnightbeep.com. More Tips When sharing via email the date’s full description is included, while sharing via Messages, Twitter or Facebook will only be a short summary. You can use AirDrop in the sharing panel to give the date to another person running Midnight Dates on their device. Backup or share all your dates by sending yourself an email from the Options view. The long url at the end will import them all together. Share dates via the web and email using the Midnight Dates url format: mbd://DateName?2014-12-31 or from multiple dates: mbd://DateName?2014-12-31/DateName?2014-12-31/DateName?2014-12-31

Screenshots

timer.4 screens
Midnight Dates4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: timer. at Free against Midnight Dates's $1.99. timer. also leads on ratings volume (170 vs 4) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 18.6). Midnight Dates's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.3). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases 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

timer. is free to download; Midnight Dates costs $1.99 up front. timer. sells 5 one-off in-app purchases and Midnight Dates sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Midnight Dates holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: timer. has 170 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

timer. ships an update every 3 months, Midnight Dates every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and September 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
timer. versus Midnight Dates: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parametertimer.Midnight Dates
PriceFree — better$1.99
Rating4.3 (170 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews63.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings170 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 3 months — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS12.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size39 MB23 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTobias HaussMidnight Beep Softworks

Customer experience

timer.

All ratings170 ratings
Positive81.2%
Neutral4.7%
Negative14.1%
Written reviews63 reviews
Positive63.5%
Neutral12.7%
Negative23.8%

Midnight Dates

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

timer.

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • Widget opens the app when interacted with
  • Timers disappear or are lost
  • Watch app sync issues
  • Widget buttons overlap or are unreadable
  • App remains on Dynamic Island after closing
Show 5 more
  • Banner in notification center is unreadable
  • Live activity obscures status bar elements
  • App closes immediately upon opening
  • Purchases not restoring or working correctly
  • Custom timers and widgets disappear

Requested features

14 requests
  • Make widgets smaller and show only clicked timer
  • Allow Apple Watch to select and restart specific times
  • Add option to dynamically set timer from Shortcuts
  • Add option for timers to repeatedly loop
  • Option to hide seconds in Dynamic Island
Show 9 more
  • Redesign lock screen widget to remove alarm sound name
  • Show progress bar/circle on timer icon in live activity
  • Allow typing timer values instead of only wheel pickers
  • Add stopwatch function
  • Allow setting custom vibrate patterns
  • Make timer setting area larger for easier use
  • Separate page for created alarms
  • Option to play music from Apple Music library for alarms
  • Slower animation for swipe to show/hide create menu

Midnight Dates

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

5 purchases

timer.

One-time5
  • Themes for timer.$0.99
  • iTunes Music as In-App Alarm$0.99
  • Edit All Widget Details$0.99
Show 2 more
  • Edit & Reorder Existing Timer$1.99
  • PRO (Bundle) - All Features$6.99
4 purchases

Midnight Dates

One-time4
  • Coffee Tip$0.99
  • Taco Tip$1.99
  • Burrito Tip$4.99
Show 1 more
  • Beer Tip$9.99

Questions

Is timer. free?
timer. is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Midnight Dates free?
Midnight Dates costs $1.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, timer. or Midnight Dates?
Midnight Dates is rated higher. timer. averages 4.3 out of 5 from 170 ratings, while Midnight Dates averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do timer. or Midnight Dates have ads?
Neither timer. nor Midnight Dates shows ads.
Which is updated more often, timer. or Midnight Dates?
timer. ships an update every 3 months, and Midnight Dates every 4 months. Most recently, timer. was updated on October 7, 2026 and Midnight Dates on September 28, 2026.

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