# Phantom Countdown vs Sandypad

The clearest difference is update cadence: Phantom Countdown at every 2 months against Sandypad's every 5 months. Phantom Countdown also leads on ratings volume (278 vs 24). Sandypad's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Phantom Countdown sells 5 one-off in-app purchases and Sandypad sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Phantom Countdown against 4.6 for Sandypad. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Phantom Countdown has 278 ratings behind it against 24, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 83% of Phantom Countdown's written reviews are positive against 88% of Sandypad's.

Phantom Countdown ships an update every 2 months, Sandypad every 5 months. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Phantom Countdown | Sandypad |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (278 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/phantom-countdown/id1549294840/reviews) | **[4.6 (24 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sandypad/id1601639127/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **278** | 24 |
| Positive reviews | 82.8% of reviews | **87.5% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 2 months** | Every 5 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 55 MB | 16 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Matthew Sinex](https://appshunter.io/developer/1549294842) | [Vivien BERNARD](https://appshunter.io/developer/1016895185) |

## What reviewers say

### Phantom Countdown

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/phantom-countdown/id1549294840)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Level 1 Tip | $0.99 | one-time |
| Level 5 Tip | $2.99 | one-time |
| Level 25 Tip | $9.99 | one-time |
| Level 50 Tip | $24.99 | one-time |
| Level 99 Tip | $49.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

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

**Reported bugs**

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

**Requested features**

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


### Sandypad

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sandypad/id1601639127)

This app is a specialized timer designed for speedrunning. It allows users to set up multiple games and categories, customize timer precision, and display key run statistics. Sync times across devices and analyze past runs with an intuitive interface.

**Highlights:** Multiple game and category setup, Adjustable timer precision, Countdown start option, Display run statistics (sum of best, best possible), Segment time tracking, iCloud synchronization, Home screen widgets, Past run analysis

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Gift Lootbox™ | $1.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Phantom Countdown free?

Phantom Countdown is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Sandypad free?

Sandypad is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Phantom Countdown or Sandypad?

Sandypad is rated higher. Phantom Countdown averages 4.6 out of 5 from 278 ratings, while Sandypad averages 4.6 from 24 ratings.

### Do Phantom Countdown or Sandypad have ads?

Neither Phantom Countdown nor Sandypad shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Phantom Countdown or Sandypad?

Phantom Countdown ships an update every 2 months, and Sandypad every 5 months. Most recently, Phantom Countdown was updated on November 3, 2026 and Sandypad on November 3, 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.*