Comparison

Obsidian vs DressUp Alarm & Timer

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

Head to head
About

Obsidian

Organize your thoughts and ideas with a powerful knowledge base that stores your notes as plain text Markdown files. Access your personal second brain on any device, with extensive customization options and community-driven plugins.

Highlights
  • Local Markdown file storage
  • Customizable toolbar
  • Graph view
  • Community plugins
  • Themes
  • Sidebar pinning
  • iCloud vaults
Features
Read full description

Obsidian is a powerful knowledge base that works on top of a local folder of plain text Markdown files. It is a second brain, for you, forever. Now available on the go for iOS! Features include: - Customizable toolbar - Pull down quick actions - Graph view - Community plugins - Themes - Sidebar pinning for tablet - iCloud vaults

About

DressUp Alarm & Timer

Features
Read full description

DressUp Alarm & Timer is an alarm and timer you can dress up any way you like, from the way it looks to the way it sounds. Wake up to your favorite characters, or to a cat that wakes up a little more with every snooze. Stay on track with a Pomodoro timer that shows photos from your favorite trips. With a little creativity, you can make a clock that's truly yours. DRESS UP YOUR ALARMS • Use any picture or color as the background of the ringing screen • Pick the font, weight, size, and color of the time • 6 time formats, including 6:30, 06:30, and 6:30 AM. Show or hide the alarm name and the date • A live preview stays at the top of the editor, so you can check portrait and landscape at a glance A NEW PICTURE AND SOUND EVERY TIME • Add several backgrounds and switch to the next one each time the alarm rings, even after a snooze • Add several sounds and switch them the same way • Switch in order or at random • The sample alarm "Animals" plays a horse, a chicken, or a cat at random A SNOOZE BUTTON YOUR WAY • Style the snooze button: font, weight, size, text color, button color, and opacity • Snooze for 1 to 30 minutes • While snoozing, see when it will ring again in the alarm list, on the Lock Screen, and in the Dynamic Island • Open the app from the Lock Screen or the Dynamic Island to see that alarm's screen ALARMS THAT RING • Alarms are set as system alarms, so they ring even when the app is closed • Like the built-in Clock app, they sound until you stop them, even in Silent Mode or during a Focus • Choose the days to repeat. One-time alarms turn off after they ring DRESS UP YOUR TIMERS • Use any image from your photo library as the background, zoomed and positioned separately for portrait and landscape • Dim the image so the countdown stays easy to read • Backgrounds change as time passes: add as many images or colors as you like, in order or shuffled • Choose from 6 transitions, including Switch at Intervals, Fade, and Top to Bottom, or let the background gradually fade into a color • 7 countdown formats, including 1:23:45, 1h 23m 45s, and percent remaining • Show or hide the timer name and the progress bar MADE FOR POMODORO • Repeat work and break intervals • Set the break length, the number of rounds, and long breaks. The next phase starts automatically • Give your breaks their own background and text style YOUR OWN SOUNDS • Record a sound right in the app, or import audio from a video in Photos or from a file • Trim it on the waveform to play just the part you want • Saved sounds can be used by all your alarms and timers • Vibration settings, too YOUR OWN FONTS • Import your favorite font files (.ttf / .otf) and use them for alarms and timers EASY TO USE • Save as many alarms and timers as you like, and start any timer with a single tap • Switch between alarms and timers with the tabs at the bottom, just like the Clock app • The screen stays on while a timer is running • See the time left on a timer on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island • Get a notification when a timer is up, even when the app is closed Comes with the sample alarm "Animals" and two sample timers, Pomodoro and Instant Noodles. Notes: • The app is free and supported by ads. Ads are never shown while a timer is running or an alarm is on screen. • Alarms and timer notifications use only the first 30 seconds of an imported sound. • Alarms need your permission to ring. The app asks the first time you turn on an alarm.

Screenshots

Obsidian4 screens
DressUp Alarm & Timer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Obsidian at none against DressUp Alarm & Timer's shown. Obsidian also leads on chart position (#132 vs unranked) and device support (3 vs 1). DressUp Alarm & Timer's advantage is update cadence (every 11 days vs every 3 weeks). On price 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Obsidian ships an update every 3 weeks, DressUp Alarm & Timer every 11 days. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Obsidian versus DressUp Alarm & Timer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterObsidianDressUp Alarm & Timer
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (2.8K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews62.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings2.8K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 11 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
Best chart rank#132 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.6 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size39 MB12 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDynalist Inc.Kotaro Ogawa

Bugs and requests

Obsidian

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Sync issues leading to data loss
  • Freezing and crashing on mobile devices
  • Editing bugs and text input issues

Requested features

5 requests
  • Improved sorting and organization options
  • WYSIWYG editing on mobile
  • Better integration with other cloud storage services
  • More intuitive onboarding process for new users
  • Native mobile widgets and share sheet integration

DressUp Alarm & Timer

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Obsidian

No in-app purchases

None

DressUp Alarm & Timer

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Obsidian free?
Obsidian is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is DressUp Alarm & Timer free?
DressUp Alarm & Timer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Obsidian or DressUp Alarm & Timer have ads?
DressUp Alarm & Timer shows ads; Obsidian does not.
Which is updated more often, Obsidian or DressUp Alarm & Timer?
Obsidian ships an update every 3 weeks, and DressUp Alarm & Timer every 11 days. Most recently, Obsidian was updated on November 6, 2026 and DressUp Alarm & Timer on October 24, 2026.

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