# Countdown vs Outside

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Countdown at none against Outside's 17. Countdown also leads on iOS requirement (10.0 vs 18.0). Outside's advantage is update cadence (every 6 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Outside sells 17 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Countdown asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Countdown against 4.7 for Outside. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4K and 2.8K respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 53% and 54% positive.

Countdown ships an update every 3 weeks, Outside every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Countdown | Outside |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (4K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/countdown-count-down-to-date/id1460767569/reviews) | **[4.7 (2.8K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/outside-countdown-for-couples/id1611434405/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **4K** | 2.8K |
| Positive reviews | 52.6% of reviews | **53.5% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | **Every 6 days** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Freemium |
| Size | 83 MB | 144 MB |
| Requires iOS | **10.0** | 18.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Appostrophe AB](https://appshunter.io/developer/1131060116) | [Outside HQ LTD](https://appshunter.io/developer/1611434707) |

## What reviewers say

### Countdown

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/countdown-count-down-to-date/id1460767569)

Easily track important dates with customizable countdowns and count-ups. Set reminders, personalize themes and backgrounds, and share your progress with friends. Never miss a special occasion again.

**Highlights:** Unlimited countdowns and count-ups, Customizable themes and backgrounds, Event reminders and notifications, Drag-and-drop timer placement, Save and share countdowns

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Simple and intuitive
- 💡 Customizable backgrounds
- 🔒 No ads or in-app purchases

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Countdown not always accurate
- 🔍 Limited functionality
- 🔢 Maximum 999 days countdown
- 🔄 Need to manually refresh to update countdown

**Reported bugs**

- Countdown shows wrong number of days
- App crashes on some devices
- Countdown not syncing across devices

**Requested features**

- Add widget support
- Provide countdown in years, months, days format
- Allow countdown over 999 days
- Add automatic countdown updates


### Outside

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/outside-countdown-for-couples/id1611434405)

Plan, share, and remember important moments with loved ones. Ideal for long-distance relationships, trip planning, and creating a visual diary of your year. Features live widgets and offline access.

**Highlights:** Shared countdowns for long-distance couples, Trip planning with group coordination, Yearly memory archive and profile, Live widgets for home and lock screens, Calendar sync (Apple & Google), Offline functionality, Photo sharing for Lock Screen

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (17)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly subscription | $2.99 | per month |
| Outside Pro Monthly | $2.99 | per month |
| Monthly Plan | $4.49 | per month |
| Monthly subscription | $6.99 | per month |
| Yearly Pro Deal | $12.49 | per year |
| Annual Pro | $12.49 | per year |
| Outside Pro Annual | $19.99 | per year |
| Annual Plan | $29.49 | per year |
| Outside Pro Annual | $31.49 | per year |
| Annual plan | $44.49 | per year |
| Unlock Countdown styles | $0.99 | one-time |
| Ad supported tier | $4.99 | one-time |
| All Time Deal | $5.49 | one-time |
| All Time Deal | $7.49 | one-time |
| All Time Pro | $9.99 | one-time |
| Lifetime Access | $29.99 | one-time |
| Lifetime access | $44.49 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Free home/lock screen countdown widget
- 👍 Simple and chic design
- 👍 Highly customizable
- 👍 Seamless calendar integration
- 👍 Useful AI assistant

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Buggy, crashes, and glitches
- 💰 Subscription-based model, expensive pricing
- 🔒 Limits free features, forces paid subscription
- 🤔 Confusing and changing pricing structure
- 🤔 Lack of transparency around free vs paid features

**Reported bugs**

- Widget not working after iOS updates
- Countdown events suddenly blocked by paywall
- Paid subscription not working as expected

**Requested features**

- More customization options for widgets
- Ability to delete or edit events
- Improved Android support
- Memories/map feature to track past events


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Countdown free?

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

### Is Outside free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Countdown or Outside?

Outside is rated higher. Countdown averages 4.6 out of 5 from 4K ratings, while Outside averages 4.7 from 2.8K ratings.

### Do Countdown or Outside have ads?

Neither Countdown nor Outside shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Countdown or Outside?

Countdown ships an update every 3 weeks, and Outside every 6 days. Most recently, Countdown was updated on September 24, 2026 and Outside on September 23, 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.*