# Meal Planning vs Countdown Buddy

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Meal Planning at none against Countdown Buddy's 1. Meal Planning also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 68%) and rating (5.0 vs 4.6). Countdown Buddy's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs every 15 months) and ratings volume (25K vs 6). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Countdown Buddy sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Meal Planning asks for nothing beyond the download.

Meal Planning holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Countdown Buddy has 25K ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Meal Planning's written reviews are positive against 68% of Countdown Buddy's.

Meal Planning ships an update every 15 months, Countdown Buddy every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Meal Planning | Countdown Buddy |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[5.0 (6 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/meal-planning/id1448126488/reviews)** | [4.6 (25K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/countdown-buddy/id1534850579/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 6 | **25K** |
| Positive reviews | **100.0% of reviews** | 67.8% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 15 months | **Every 9 days** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 3 MB | 149 MB |
| Requires iOS | **11.0** | 18.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, Apple Watch |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Julien Kermarec](https://appshunter.io/developer/955128067) | [Taptics Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1512213514) |

## What reviewers say

### Meal Planning

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/meal-planning/id1448126488)

Track your daily food intake with detailed entries, including photos and reviews. Plan your meals up to four weeks in advance and access a year's worth of your eating history. Export your calendar easily.

**Highlights:** Daily food logging, Add photos to entries, Critical daily review, Meal planning up to 4 weeks, 1-year eating history, Calendar export, Offline functionality

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### Countdown Buddy

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/countdown-buddy/id1534850579)

Create personalized countdown and count-up widgets for your home and lock screens. Visually track important dates like birthdays, vacations, or deadlines with custom designs, colors, and photos. Stay motivated and make waiting more exciting.

**Highlights:** Personalized countdown widgets, Count-up widgets, Home screen and lock screen support, Customizable designs, Background color options, Photo integration, Font selection

**Features:** Family Sharing, Apple Watch app

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Countdown + | $3.59 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Great app overall
- 👍 Customizable widgets and designs
- 🔒 No subscription, one-time purchase
- 📈 Helpful for tracking events and milestones
- 🎨 Visually appealing interface

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔒 Limited free features, need to pay for more
- 🐛 Widgets not updating properly
- 🐛 Bugs and glitches after updates
- 📊 Lack of advanced countdown options (e.g., weeks)

**Reported bugs**

- Widgets disappearing or not working after updates
- Countdown timers not updating correctly
- Inability to add new widgets or countdowns

**Requested features**

- Add ability to display multiple countdowns at once
- Implement automatic countdown reset/repeat functionality
- Allow custom countdown units (e.g., weeks, business days)
- Improve widget handling and update reliability


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Meal Planning free?

Meal Planning is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Countdown Buddy free?

Countdown Buddy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Meal Planning or Countdown Buddy?

Meal Planning is rated higher. Meal Planning averages 5.0 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while Countdown Buddy averages 4.6 from 25K ratings.

### Do Meal Planning or Countdown Buddy have ads?

Neither Meal Planning nor Countdown Buddy shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Meal Planning or Countdown Buddy?

Meal Planning ships an update every 15 months, and Countdown Buddy every 9 days. Most recently, Meal Planning was updated on October 11, 2026 and Countdown Buddy on October 19, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*