Comparison

Speaker Presentation Timer vs Rostrum

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

Head to head
About

Speaker Presentation Timer

This app helps presenters stay on track during speeches without breaking the audience connection. It provides discreet time prompts, allowing speakers to focus on their delivery and audience engagement.

Highlights
  • Discreet time prompts
  • Vibrates for critical sections
  • Pocket or watch notification
  • Manage speech components
  • Maintain audience connection
Features
Read full description

No longer do you have to pull yourself away from your audience to check the time. You no longer have to ask, "How am I doing for time?" nor, "How much time do I have left?" In theatre, stage actors can never break the 4th wall. The 4th wall is the imaginary wall between the actor and the audience. Professional Speakers have the same limitation. Every time you look at your watch or run to the lectern to check your time, you pull yourself from the audience and their needs. You are essentially going from "I am being of service to you!" to "I am up here doing my job - and oh, yea, I have 5 minutes left!" You can set Speaker Presentation Timer and the Pro Speaker Presentation Timer to prompt individual components of your speech and stealthily vibrate in your pocket (or on your watch) as you reach your critical sections. With Pro Speaker Presentation Timer, only you will know you're on stage with a job to do.

About

Rostrum

This app provides a silent, visual countdown timer for speakers, with customizable color cues to indicate time remaining. It offers intuitive gesture controls for adjustments and can mirror the display to a larger screen.

Highlights
  • Silent visual countdown
  • Customizable color stages
  • Gesture-based editing
  • External display mirroring
  • Never dims screen
  • Remembers settings
Features
Read full description

Rostrum shows a speaker how much time is left, as a clock large enough to read from the back of the room — or from a phone propped on the podium. The background changes color at times you choose. Green while there's plenty left, amber when it's time to move on, red when it isn't. You decide how many stages there are and exactly when each one starts — most timers give you three fixed colors and no say in the matter. SILENT BY DESIGN No chimes. No alerts. No notifications. Not "sounds turned off by default" — Rostrum contains no code that can make a sound. Your audience never knows the timer is there. THE CLOCK IS THE CONTROL No buttons over your countdown. Tap to start or pause. Pause it and the clock becomes the editor: swipe with one finger to adjust seconds, two fingers for minutes, three for hours. A running clock refuses those swipes on purpose — a hand steadying the phone should not be able to rewrite a talk in progress. Pinch in to leave. A one-time overlay teaches the gestures, and a quiet line along the bottom of the clock keeps the key ones in view whenever the clock is stopped. Mid-talk, nothing but the time. BUILT FOR WHOEVER IS RUNNING THE ROOM Changing a talk length takes one tap. Set your common slot lengths once — 5, 15, 30, 45 minutes, whatever your event uses — and switch between speakers instantly. ON A BIG SCREEN WHEN YOU NEED IT Connect a display with AirPlay or USB-C and the clock fills it while your phone becomes the remote: start, pause, and adjust from your hand while the speaker watches the screen. WHEN TIME RUNS OUT The screen turns red and flashes briefly, then counts upward so a speaker can see exactly how far over they are. Impossible to miss, impossible to mistake for anything else. DETAILS THAT MATTER ON STAGE • The screen never dims while the clock is up • A phone call or a lock screen never stops the countdown — the full time is there when you come back • Digits never jitter or shift as the numbers change • Text color adapts automatically so it stays readable on any background • Remembers your setup between launches Also on the Mac App Store — one free app, both platforms. Free, with no purchases, no accounts, and no data collection of any kind. Rostrum has no network code — there is nowhere for your information to go.

Screenshots

Speaker Presentation Timer4 screens
Rostrum4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Rostrum at 100% against Speaker Presentation Timer's 50%. Rostrum also leads on rating (5.0 vs 1.0) and in-app purchases (none vs 2). Speaker Presentation Timer's advantage is iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.0). On price, ratings volume, ads 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

Both are free to download. Speaker Presentation Timer sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Rostrum asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Rostrum holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 1.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of Speaker Presentation Timer's written reviews are positive against 100% of Rostrum's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Speaker Presentation Timer ships an update every 6 weeks, Rostrum daily. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Speaker Presentation Timer versus Rostrum: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSpeaker Presentation TimerRostrum
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS15.6 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEssential HospitalityScott GREER

Customer experience

Speaker Presentation Timer

All ratings2 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Rostrum

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Speaker Presentation Timer

One-time2
  • Pro Speaker Presentation Timer$19.99
  • Pro Access$19.99
None

Rostrum

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Speaker Presentation Timer free?
Speaker Presentation Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Rostrum free?
Rostrum is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Speaker Presentation Timer or Rostrum?
Rostrum is rated higher. Speaker Presentation Timer averages 1.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Rostrum averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Speaker Presentation Timer or Rostrum have ads?
Neither Speaker Presentation Timer nor Rostrum shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Speaker Presentation Timer or Rostrum?
Speaker Presentation Timer ships an update every 6 weeks, and Rostrum daily. Most recently, Speaker Presentation Timer was updated on September 21, 2026 and Rostrum on September 23, 2026.

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