Comparison

Countdown Widget & Counter vs CountdownerSMS

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

CountdownerSMS

Create dynamic countdowns for any event and share them directly within iMessage conversations. Choose from a variety of themes and animated effects to make waiting more exciting for everyone involved.

Highlights
  • Live countdown creation for any date
  • Share timers directly via iMessage
  • 51 free and premium themes
  • Animated ambient effects
  • Confetti celebration on completion
  • Built-in Theme Shop
Features
Read full description

CountdownerSMS makes the wait part of the fun. Create a live countdown, make it yours, and share it right inside an iMessage conversation. Count down together to birthdays, trips, holidays, weddings, game days, or your next excuse to celebrate. A style for every season Explore 81 themes across 15 packs, with 9 themes included free. Find your favorite look, unlock individual premium packs, or get all current and future packs with Unlock Everything. Make autumn plans with Falling Leaves, get spooky with Halloween, gather with Thankful, spread Christmas cheer, and ring in New Years. Keep celebrating year-round with collections like Summer Days, Patriotic, Celestial, and Weather. A little motion. A lot of personality. Bring your countdown to life with animated effects on select premium themes, including drifting leaves, snowfall, twinkling stars, glowing fireflies, shimmer, fireworks, and floating embers. When the big moment arrives, celebrate with confetti! Make every moment yours Choose from eight free font styles, add an emoji, and name your event. Your message preview stays visible while you customize, so you can see everything come together. Pick a quick time preset or choose a specific date, find your style, and add your countdown to Messages. What's included • Live countdowns shared through iMessage • 81 themes across 15 packs • 9 free themes and eight free font styles • Animated effects on select premium themes • Always-visible preview while you customize • Quick time presets and custom dates • Confetti when the countdown reaches zero • Individual premium packs or Unlock Everything • All current and future packs with Unlock Everything • Recipients can view your premium theme without purchasing it From “almost there” to “it’s finally time,” keep the moment in sight together.

Screenshots

Countdown Widget & Counter4 screens
CountdownerSMS3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Countdown Widget & Counter at fortnightly against CountdownerSMS's every 4 months. Countdown Widget & Counter also leads on ratings volume (2.4K vs 4) and device support (3 vs 1). CountdownerSMS's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 76%). On price, rating, 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

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 CountdownerSMS sells 7 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 4.5 for CountdownerSMS. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Countdown Widget & Counter has 2.4K ratings behind it against 4, 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 100% of CountdownerSMS's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Countdown Widget & Counter ships an update fortnightly, CountdownerSMS every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Countdown Widget & Counter versus CountdownerSMS: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCountdown Widget & CounterCountdownerSMS
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (2.4K ratings) — better4.5 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews75.9% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.4K — better4
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.6 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size159 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperThe Good App Company, Limited Liability CompanyBraden Aron Mc Corkle

Customer experience

Countdown Widget & Counter

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

CountdownerSMS

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

CountdownerSMS

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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
7 purchases

CountdownerSMS

One-time7
  • Patriotic Theme Pack$0.99
  • Summer Days Theme Pack$0.99
  • Weather Theme Pack$0.99
Show 4 more
  • Celestial Theme Pack$0.99
  • Luxe Theme Pack$0.99
  • Bloom Theme Pack2 variants$0.99
  • All Packs Unlock$3.99

Questions

Is Countdown Widget & Counter free?
Countdown Widget & Counter is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is CountdownerSMS free?
CountdownerSMS is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Countdown Widget & Counter or CountdownerSMS?
Countdown Widget & Counter is rated higher. Countdown Widget & Counter averages 4.6 out of 5 from 2.4K ratings, while CountdownerSMS averages 4.5 from 4 ratings.
Do Countdown Widget & Counter or CountdownerSMS have ads?
Neither Countdown Widget & Counter nor CountdownerSMS shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Countdown Widget & Counter or CountdownerSMS?
Countdown Widget & Counter ships an update fortnightly, and CountdownerSMS every 4 months. Most recently, Countdown Widget & Counter was updated on September 28, 2026 and CountdownerSMS on September 27, 2026.

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