The Fireplace App vs Christmas Countdown & Widget
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
The Fireplace App
Create a cozy holiday atmosphere with a virtual fireplace and festive music. Perfect for family gatherings and enjoying the Christmas spirit indoors.
- Virtual roaring fireplace
- Stream holiday music
- Cozy atmosphere creation
- Family-friendly entertainment
- Indoor holiday spirit
Read full descriptionHide full description
The Holiday Fireplace is your app to get all cozy and warm with family and friends around the Christmas holidays. Stream holiday music while watching the roaring flames in the comfort of your own home!
Christmas Countdown & Widget
Track the exact days, hours, and sleeps until Christmas Eve with a live home screen widget. Customize with festive themes and enjoy snowfall animations to bring the holiday spirit to life.
- Live home screen widget
- Real-time countdown (days, hours, sleeps)
- Customizable themes (red, green, blue)
- Snowfall animations
- Compact size (under 1MB)
Read full descriptionHide full description
How many sleeps until Christmas? Christmas Countdown puts the countdown right on your home screen and lock screen, so the whole family can see how close Christmas is, every time they pick up the iPhone. Rated 4.8 stars by more than 2,400 people. Free, no ads, no account. HOME SCREEN WIDGETS Add the widget once and the days (or sleeps) left are always in sight. No need to open the app: the widget updates by itself every day, all season long. LOCK SCREEN WIDGETS See the countdown without even unlocking your phone. Pick the round widget with its progress ring, which fills up as Christmas gets closer, or the one-line widget above the clock. SLEEPS, NOT JUST DAYS Kids don't count days, they count sleeps. Switch to sleeps mode and the app answers the question you hear every evening in December: "How many more nights until Santa comes?" LIVE COUNTDOWN IN THE APP Open the app for the full countdown: days, hours, minutes and seconds ticking down in real time, under gently falling snow. Prefer a calm screen? Turn the snow off in one tap. DEC 24 OR DEC 25 Celebrate on Christmas Eve or on Christmas Day? Choose the date you count down to, and every widget follows. In Sweden, the app counts to December 24 by default. FESTIVE THEMES Classic red, pine green or ice blue. Your colour applies to the app and to the widgets, so your home screen matches your mood. ALL YEAR LONG Christmas is over? The countdown starts again for next year, and we say Merry Christmas on the way. IN YOUR LANGUAGE Available in 16 languages, from French and German to Japanese and Korean. PREMIUM: SNOWY SCENE WIDGETS A one-time purchase unlocks exclusive widgets: a snowy landscape with a cabin, a snowman and fir trees, in small and medium sizes, painted in your theme colour. Premium also removes the FREE badge from the classic widget and supports an independent developer. No subscription, ever. Already bought it? Restore your purchase in one tap from Settings. HOW TO ADD THE WIDGET 1. Download Christmas Countdown, it's free 2. Long-press an empty area of your home screen and tap Edit 3. Tap Add Widget and search for Christmas Countdown 4. Choose a size and tap Add Widget For the lock screen, long-press the lock screen, tap Customize, then add the widget under the clock. MADE BY ONE PERSON Christmas Countdown is built by an independent developer who loves Christmas as much as you do. Ideas, bugs or just a hello? Write from the Settings screen: every message gets read. Christmas only comes once a year. Start counting.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Christmas Countdown & Widget at 93% against The Fireplace App's 50%. Christmas Countdown & Widget also leads on rating (4.8 vs 3.0) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 11 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. The Fireplace App sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month and Christmas Countdown & Widget sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Christmas Countdown & Widget holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Christmas Countdown & Widget has 2.5K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of The Fireplace App's written reviews are positive against 93% of Christmas Countdown & Widget's.
The Fireplace App ships an update every 11 months, Christmas Countdown & Widget every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.
| Parameter | The Fireplace App | Christmas Countdown & Widget |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.0 (1 ratings) | 4.8 (2.5K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | 93.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 2.5K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 11 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 195 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | NWIC Inc. | Benoit Deguine |
Customer experience
The Fireplace App
Christmas Countdown & Widget
Bugs and requests
The Fireplace App
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Christmas Countdown & Widget
Reported bugs
3 issues- Countdown not always accurate
- Widget not working on some devices
- App freezing or crashing
Requested features
5 requests- Add Apple Watch support
- Include more countdown details in widget
- Implement Christmas mini-games
- Provide notification options
- Add more customization options
In-app purchases
The Fireplace App
- Monthly Subscription$7.991 Month
- 1 Month$7.991 Month
- Annual Subscription$89.991 Year
Christmas Countdown & Widget
- 1 Gift$1.99
- Premium$2.99
- 3 Gifts (or 1 big!)$4.99
Questions
Is The Fireplace App free?
Is Christmas Countdown & Widget free?
Which has better reviews, The Fireplace App or Christmas Countdown & Widget?
Do The Fireplace App or Christmas Countdown & Widget have ads?
Which is updated more often, The Fireplace App or Christmas Countdown & Widget?
Other comparisons















