Countdown vs Special Dates
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Countdown
Easily track and get excited about all your upcoming events. Personalize your countdowns with custom backgrounds and styles. Perfect for holidays, birthdays, vacations, exams, and any special occasion.
- Track upcoming events
- Count remaining days
- Customize background
- Personalize countdown style
- Organize by occasion
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Discover a convenient way to stay organized and excited about upcoming events with Event Countdown Timer. Whether you're eagerly anticipating a concert, preparing for a visit from your loved ones, or counting down to a special occasion, this app has you covered. Key Features: * Effortlessly track all your upcoming events in one place * Stay informed about the remaining days until each event * Personalize your experience by customizing the background and countdown style Event Countdown Timer is your go-to app for various occasions, including: 1) Holiday Countdown: Embrace the holiday spirit and eagerly await your favorite celebrations. 2) Birthday Countdown: Make each birthday feel extra special by counting down the days leading up to it. 3) Vacation Countdown: Get excited about your upcoming vacations and ensure you're fully prepared. 4) Upcoming Events Countdown: Never miss an important event again and always be ready to make memories. 5) Exam Countdown: Stay motivated and organized as you prepare for important exams. 6) Event Countdown: Whether it's a concert, a conference, or any other significant event, keep track of the days remaining. Download Event Countdown Timer now and start anticipating your future with excitement! Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Special Dates
Easily save and track important dates with a minimalist countdown widget. This app helps you remember upcoming events like birthdays or bills, syncing them across your devices.
- Save important dates
- Track days remaining
- Periodic event saving
- Birthday reminders
- Bill tracking
- iOS 14 widget support
- Cross-device syncing
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Save your important dates and track the days that have left. Simplest app to save dates and see a countdown of each one. Allows to save periodically events like birthday or bills. Supports all the widget sizes that have iOS 26 and the dates will be synced between your devices
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Countdown at 4.8 against Special Dates's 4.0. Countdown also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs every 4 months) and ratings volume (118 vs 5). Special Dates's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases 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. Countdown sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and Special Dates sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Countdown holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Countdown has 118 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 58% of Countdown's written reviews are positive against 63% of Special Dates's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Countdown ships an update every 10 days, Special Dates every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Countdown | Special Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (118 ratings) — better | 4.0 (5 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 57.9% of reviews | 63.2% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 118 — better | 5 |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 29 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Days Until LTD | Ernesto Fernández Calles |
Customer experience
Countdown
Special Dates
In-app purchases
Countdown
- Days until plus monthly3 Days trial$3.991 Month
- Days until plus monthly$4.991 Month
- Days until plus yearly7 Days trial$9.991 Year
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- Days until plus yearly7 Days trial$11.991 Year
- Days Until Plus7 Days trial$19.991 Year
Special Dates
- Coffee$0.99
- Cake$2.99
- Party$4.99
