Comparison

Countdown Widget & Counter vs Phantom Countdown

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

Head to head
About

Countdown Widget & Counter

Create customizable widgets to track upcoming events directly on your home screen. Visualize your countdowns with beautiful designs, icons, and color gradients. Receive real-time notifications for important dates.

Highlights
  • Live countdown widgets
  • Customizable widget templates
  • Event editor with live preview
  • Color gradients
  • Over 50 icons
  • Real-time push notifications
Features
Read full description

Keep an eye on your upcoming events - directly on your Home Screen! Create minimalistic widgets that countdown to the big day.   The widgets in Widget Studio are highly customizable and clean-designed, so that nothing distracts your focus from the concert, your best friend‘s birthday or whatever you‘re currently looking forward to! It‘s quick, easy, and looks awesome. Welcome to Widget Studio. So, what do we have here? - Powerful event editor with live preview - Multiple customizable widget templates for iPhone & iPad - Beautiful color gradients for your Home Screen - Over 50 different icons to choose from - Real time push notifications for your events - Full support for Voice Over and Dynamic Type - Live countdown widgets Info: Most of the app's content is free. Some selected features require the purchase of a full version in the app (recurring annual subscription). We rely on your support to make development possible. Thank you for your understanding! :) Terms of Use (EULA) & Privacy Policy: https://cranberry.app/legal We have put a lot of love into the development of Widget Studio and hope you enjoy it. However, if you have something to complain about, or an exciting idea for future updates or additional apps of Widget Studio, please feel free to contact us at any time via support@cranberry.app. We are looking forward to your message. Take care!

About

Phantom Countdown

This free utility app helps fans of a popular JRPG series track upcoming events. Create and customize multiple countdowns, display them on your home screen with widgets, and choose from built-in or custom themes. Countdowns update daily, offering flexible tracking by date, number of days, or unknown dates.

Highlights
  • Multiple countdown creation
  • Home screen widgets
  • Customizable themes
  • Automatic daily updates
  • Flexible date tracking
Features
Read full description

Wake up, get up, get out there! For all the Phantom Thieves, Investigation Team members, and SEES fighters, prepare for your next event with Phantom Countdown! Phantom Countdown is a free app themed after everyone's favorite JRPG series, Persona. Features include: - Create and manage multiple Countdowns! - Display the Countdowns on your Home Screen with Widgets! - Style your Countdowns using baked in themes or your own themes! - Countdowns automatically update in the list and on your Widgets every new Calendar day! - Track Countdowns using a specific Date, a number of days until the event occurs, or an unknown date! Download today and begin counting down with style! Persona and all associated trademarks are properties of ATLUS and not of my own creation.

Screenshots

Countdown Widget & Counter4 screens
Phantom Countdown4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Countdown Widget & Counter at fortnightly against Phantom Countdown's every 2 months. Countdown Widget & Counter also leads on ratings volume (2.4K vs 276). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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. Countdown Widget & Counter sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Phantom Countdown sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Countdown Widget & Counter against 4.6 for Phantom Countdown. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Countdown Widget & Counter has 2.4K ratings behind it against 276, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 76% of Countdown Widget & Counter's written reviews are positive against 83% of Phantom Countdown's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Countdown Widget & Counter ships an update fortnightly, Phantom Countdown every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Countdown Widget & Counter versus Phantom Countdown: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCountdown Widget & CounterPhantom Countdown
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (2.4K ratings)4.6 (276 ratings)
Positive reviews75.9% of reviews82.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.4K — better276
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.617.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size159 MB55 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperThe Good App Company, Limited Liability CompanyMatthew Sinex

Customer experience

Countdown Widget & Counter

All ratings2,369 ratings
Positive91.0%
Neutral3.1%
Negative5.9%
Written reviews912 reviews
Positive75.9%
Neutral8.9%
Negative15.2%

Phantom Countdown

All ratings276 ratings
Positive89.1%
Neutral5.4%
Negative5.4%
Written reviews174 reviews
Positive82.8%
Neutral7.5%
Negative9.8%

User reviews

Countdown Widget & Counter

From 2.4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Simple and easy to use
  • 👍 Fantastic for glancing at events
  • 👍 Cool app
  • 👍 Nice widgets
  • 👍 Good countdown app

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Extremely buggy
  • 🔕 NOT IMPRESSED (no sound)
  • 💰 Expensive price
  • 💰 Money
  • 💰 Only 2 for free

Phantom Countdown

From 276 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Persona-themed countdown
  • 👍 Customizable themes and colors
  • 🎨 Stylish and visually appealing
  • 📆 Helpful for tracking deadlines and events
  • 🎮 Captures the Persona aesthetic

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Bugs with widget functionality
  • 🔧 Issues with changing themes and colors
  • 🔒 Lack of transparency in background
  • 📊 Limited customization options

Bugs and requests

Countdown Widget & Counter

Reported bugs

7 issues
  • Time calculation isn't correct
  • Widget and in-app display show different days remaining
  • Widget goes blank after phone restart
  • Countdowns freeze or count up unexpectedly
  • Paid version still shows ads
Show 2 more
  • Widgets disappear after iOS updates
  • App loses all user data after updates

Requested features

11 requests
  • Better integration with calendar and reminder API
  • Ability to rearrange events in the countdown list
  • Option to default 'What's Next' to user's choice
  • Larger photo frame in widget
  • Ability to group events into categories
Show 6 more
  • Option to change font
  • Ability to select an emoji for icons
  • Notification times for events
  • Ability to select the countdown unit (weeks/months)
  • Dark mode option
  • Advanced analytics dashboard

Phantom Countdown

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Countdowns disappearing or not saving
  • Widgets not displaying properly
  • App freezing when changing notification settings
  • Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add countdown to lock screen
  • Integrate with calendar app
  • Ability to set custom countdown sounds
  • Automatic countdown rotation
  • More detailed Persona-themed design

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Countdown Widget & Counter

Subscriptions8
  • Widget Studio PRO$1.991 Month
  • Monthly Subscription$3.991 Month
  • Widget Studio PRO$4.991 Year
Show 5 more
  • Widget Studio PRO$5.991 Year
  • Widget Studio PRO2 variants$7.991 Year
  • Widget Studio PRO$8.991 Year
  • Annual Subscription3 Days trial$12.991 Year
  • Widget Studio PRO$12.991 Year
One-time2
  • Widget Studio Pro Lifetime$9.99
  • Widget Studio Pro Lifetime$14.99
5 purchases

Phantom Countdown

One-time5
  • Level 1 Tip$0.99
  • Level 5 Tip$2.99
  • Level 25 Tip$9.99
Show 2 more
  • Level 50 Tip$24.99
  • Level 99 Tip$49.99

Questions

Is Countdown Widget & Counter free?
Countdown Widget & Counter is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Phantom Countdown free?
Phantom Countdown is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Countdown Widget & Counter or Phantom Countdown?
Countdown Widget & Counter and Phantom Countdown are both rated 4.6 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2.4K and 276 ratings respectively.
Do Countdown Widget & Counter or Phantom Countdown have ads?
Neither Countdown Widget & Counter nor Phantom Countdown shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Countdown Widget & Counter or Phantom Countdown?
Countdown Widget & Counter ships an update fortnightly, and Phantom Countdown every 2 months. Most recently, Countdown Widget & Counter was updated on September 24, 2026 and Phantom Countdown on September 18, 2026.

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