Comparison

Countdown vs Widget Countdown

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

Head to head
About

Countdown

Easily track important dates and events with a customizable countdown timer. Set reminders, organize events with tags, and view upcoming dates on your home screen or Apple Watch. Syncs across devices and offers various counting options.

Highlights
  • Customizable countdown timer
  • Event reminders
  • Home screen widgets
  • Apple Watch support
  • Event sharing
  • iCloud sync
  • Repeatable countdowns
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Countdown is a free, super easy to use countdown timer and reminder for the important events & dates in your life. Features: • Check your events on the Lock Screen with our widget (Premium feature) • Glance at your events on your Apple Watch • Glance at your events using our widget in StandBy (Premium feature) • Place our Widget anywhere on your Home Screen to view your most important events (Premium feature) • Share your countdowns with friends and family • Auto Import (Premium): Connect your calendars to Countdown and automatically add new events. • Pick any color you'd like for your countdown background • In addition to receiving a notification when it is time for your event, you can receive reminders 1 day before or 1 week before the event. • Choose the format in which you want to see your countdown (Premium feature) • Create as many events as you'd like • Count up from past events (available on each countdown page) • Sync your events across your devices with iCloud • Set your countdowns to repeat yearly, monthly, weekly or daily • Sort your events from the closest to the most distant • Dark Mode • Add notes to your events • Count only working days • Have many events? Organize them with tags Add as many events as you want: Vacation, Birthday, Holiday, Party, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Halloween, Cruise, Valentines, Wedding, Anniversary, Birth, Baby, Graduation, Pregnancy, Trip, New Home, Retirement, Game, Goals, Concert and many more. ——— QUESTIONS OR FEEDBACK? ——— We love hearing from you and we read every single email you send us! Have suggestions? Feel free to contact us at countdown@findappiness.co

About

Widget Countdown

Create custom countdowns for any event and display them directly on your home and lock screens. Personalize your countdowns with gradients, background images, and fonts. All features are free to use.

Highlights
  • Customizable events
  • Home screen widgets
  • Lock screen widgets
  • Colourful gradients
  • Custom background images
  • Custom font choice
Features
Read full description

A truly free countdown app. Where you can create fully customisable events and add them to your Home Screen. No need for a silly subscription to add widgets or images; all the features in this app are free and always will be. Main Features: - Colourful Gradients - Custom Background Images (from library or AI-generated) - Custom Font Choice - Home screen & Lock Screen Widgets Useful for: - Friends’ Birthdays - Upcoming events - When that important deadline is coming up - Concerts / Festivals - School and Exams - Holidays - Reminders - Appointments This app allows you to keep everyday events close to heart...

Screenshots

Countdown4 screens
Widget Countdown4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Countdown at 4.8 against Widget Countdown's 4.1. Countdown also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs monthly) and ratings volume (186K vs 51). 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. Countdown sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Widget Countdown 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 holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Countdown has 186K ratings behind it against 51, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 72% and 73% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Countdown ships an update every 4 days, Widget Countdown monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Countdown versus Widget Countdown: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCountdownWidget Countdown
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (186K ratings) — better4.1 (51 ratings)
Positive reviews71.9% of reviews72.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings186K — better51
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterMonthly
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#32 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size40 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFind Appiness LLCBradley Cable

Customer experience

Countdown

All ratings186,316 ratings
Positive96.0%
Neutral2.1%
Negative1.9%
Written reviews2,474 reviews
Positive71.9%
Neutral5.7%
Negative22.3%

Widget Countdown

All ratings50 ratings
Positive72.0%
Neutral6.0%
Negative22.0%
Written reviews77 reviews
Positive72.7%
Neutral10.4%
Negative16.9%

User reviews

Countdown

From 186K 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

Widget Countdown

From 51 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💰 Completely free with no subscription required
  • 🎨 Customizable widgets with background image support
  • 📱 Works seamlessly as home screen widgets
  • 🎯 Simple and intuitive user interface
  • 🖼️ Ability to use personal photos as backgrounds

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Widget functionality inconsistent across devices
  • 🌍 Limited language support
  • ⚙️ Limited customization options for time format
  • ❌ No countdown repeat feature (weekly, monthly, yearly)
  • 🔧 Confusing setup process for new users

Bugs and requests

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

Widget Countdown

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • Widgets disappear after app update
  • Widget shows blank space or doesn't display
  • Cannot save new events or edits
  • Photo selection window closes unexpectedly
  • Primary and secondary color options don't work
Show 5 more
  • Widget stuck in 'continue editing' mode
  • App crashes regularly requiring reinstall
  • Widget functionality broken on some iOS versions
  • App stops working after update
  • Cannot add events to widget

Requested features

15 requests
  • Multi-language support
  • Customizable time format (days, hours, minutes combinations)
  • Count-up feature in addition to countdown
  • Recurring events (weekly, monthly, yearly)
  • Ability to rearrange events manually or by date
Show 10 more
  • Countdown with time of day (not just midnight)
  • Font preview before selection
  • Ticking clock animation with hours, minutes, seconds
  • Medium widget size option
  • Automatic removal of past events from widget
  • Format with years, months, and days display
  • Date format customization (MM/DD/YYYY for US users)
  • Wide-format widget option
  • Ability to label countdowns separately from display text
  • Adjustable text position and styling on widgets

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Countdown

One-time3
  • Start 7-Day Free TrialFree
  • Countdown Widget Offer$3.99
  • Countdown Widget$6.99
1 purchases

Widget Countdown

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$1.99

Questions

Is Countdown free?
Countdown is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Widget Countdown free?
Widget Countdown is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Countdown or Widget Countdown?
Countdown is rated higher. Countdown averages 4.8 out of 5 from 186K ratings, while Widget Countdown averages 4.1 from 51 ratings.
Do Countdown or Widget Countdown have ads?
Both Countdown and Widget Countdown show ads.
Which is updated more often, Countdown or Widget Countdown?
Countdown ships an update every 4 days, and Widget Countdown monthly. Most recently, Countdown was updated on September 24, 2026 and Widget Countdown on September 1, 2026.

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