# Christmas Countdown & Widget vs Live Santa Tracker

The clearest difference is update cadence: Live Santa Tracker at every 4 days against Christmas Countdown & Widget's every 3 weeks. Christmas Countdown & Widget's advantage is review sentiment (93% vs 75%). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Christmas Countdown & Widget sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Live Santa Tracker sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Christmas Countdown & Widget against 4.7 for Live Santa Tracker. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2.5K and 874 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 93% of Christmas Countdown & Widget's written reviews are positive against 75% of Live Santa Tracker's.

Christmas Countdown & Widget ships an update every 3 weeks, Live Santa Tracker every 4 days. Both last shipped on October 27, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Christmas Countdown & Widget | Live Santa Tracker |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (2.5K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/christmas-countdown-and-widget/id1541858661/reviews)** | [4.7 (874 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/live-santa-tracker/id6473787738/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **2.5K** | 874 |
| Positive reviews | **93.3% of reviews** | 75.2% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | **Every 4 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 2 MB | 115 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Benoit Deguine](https://appshunter.io/developer/982019700) | [Matthew Pidden](https://appshunter.io/developer/1584824127) |

## What reviewers say

### Christmas Countdown & Widget

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/christmas-countdown-and-widget/id1541858661)

Track the exact days, hours, and sleeps until Christmas Eve with a live home screen widget. Customize with festive themes and enjoy snowfall animations to bring the holiday spirit to life.

**Highlights:** Live home screen widget, Real-time countdown (days, hours, sleeps), Customizable themes (red, green, blue), Snowfall animations, Compact size (under 1MB)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 Gift | $1.99 | one-time |
| Premium | $2.99 | one-time |
| 3 Gifts (or 1 big!) | $4.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🎄 Great Christmas countdown app
- 🕰️ Accurate countdown
- 💻 Useful widget
- 🎨 Customizable themes
- 🎅 Captures Christmas spirit

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional countdown issues
- 🔍 Widget doesn't show full countdown details
- 🔧 Some features not fully functional

**Reported bugs**

- Countdown not always accurate
- Widget not working on some devices
- App freezing or crashing

**Requested features**

- Add Apple Watch support
- Include more countdown details in widget
- Implement Christmas mini-games
- Provide notification options
- Add more customization options


### Live Santa Tracker

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/live-santa-tracker/id6473787738)

Experience the magic of Christmas with a live tracker for Santa's journey around the world. Engage in real-time chats with Santa, test your holiday spirit with a quiz, and enjoy festive countdowns and mini-games. Get updates on gift delivery and daily blogs from the North Pole.

**Highlights:** Live Santa tracking on interactive map, 1-on-1 chat with Santa Claus, Naughty or Nice quiz with certificate, Gift delivery and Santa arrival estimates, Festive Christmas countdown, Daily blogs from the North Pole, Santa's stats (speed, altitude, cookies eaten)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Remove Ads | $0.99 | one-time |
| Santas Stats | $1.99 | one-time |
| Naughty or Nice List | $2.99 | one-time |
| Gift Tracking | $3.99 | one-time |
| Message Santa | $4.99 | one-time |
| Bundle Unlock | $9.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🎅 Fun Santa tracking feature for children
- 📊 Detailed countdown timers and Christmas statistics
- 📱 User-friendly and easy-to-navigate interface
- 📖 Engaging blogs from Santa, reindeer, and elves
- 🎮 Mini-games and interactive activities

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Excessive in-app purchases and paywalls
- 📺 Frequent ads required for basic features
- 🗺️ Inaccurate location tracking and positioning
- 🌐 Wi-Fi connectivity and stability issues
- 🔄 Chaotic tracker with confusing visual lines

**Reported bugs**

- Tracker shows Santa at North Pole even on Christmas Eve
- Location tracking inaccurate and doesn't update properly
- In-app purchase payment button redirects to home screen
- Wi-Fi connectivity errors preventing Santa messaging
- App text rendering issues on login screen

**Requested features**

- Make messaging Santa free or ad-free
- Add live CCTV camera feed instead of cartoon
- Call Santa feature
- Make more games free to play
- Expand app availability to more platforms


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Christmas Countdown & Widget free?

Christmas Countdown & Widget is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Live Santa Tracker free?

Live Santa Tracker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Christmas Countdown & Widget or Live Santa Tracker?

Christmas Countdown & Widget is rated higher. Christmas Countdown & Widget averages 4.8 out of 5 from 2.5K ratings, while Live Santa Tracker averages 4.7 from 874 ratings.

### Do Christmas Countdown & Widget or Live Santa Tracker have ads?

Neither Christmas Countdown & Widget nor Live Santa Tracker shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Christmas Countdown & Widget or Live Santa Tracker?

Christmas Countdown & Widget ships an update every 3 weeks, and Live Santa Tracker every 4 days. Most recently, Christmas Countdown & Widget was updated on October 27, 2026 and Live Santa Tracker on October 27, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*