Speaker Presentation Timer vs Rostrum
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Discreet time prompts
- Vibrates for critical sections
- Pocket or watch notification
- Manage speech components
- Maintain audience connection
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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.
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.
- Silent visual countdown
- Customizable color stages
- Gesture-based editing
- External display mirroring
- Never dims screen
- Remembers settings
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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
Verdict
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
Both are free to download. Speaker Presentation Timer sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Rostrum asks for nothing beyond the download.
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.
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.
| Parameter | Speaker Presentation Timer | Rostrum |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.0 (2 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Daily — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Essential Hospitality | Scott GREER |
Customer experience
Speaker Presentation Timer
Rostrum
In-app purchases
Speaker Presentation Timer
- Pro Speaker Presentation Timer$19.99
- Pro Access$19.99
Rostrum
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Speaker Presentation Timer free?
Is Rostrum free?
Which has better reviews, Speaker Presentation Timer or Rostrum?
Do Speaker Presentation Timer or Rostrum have ads?
Which is updated more often, Speaker Presentation Timer or Rostrum?
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