# Ticking vs talkmaker

The clearest difference is ads: Ticking at none against talkmaker's shown. Ticking also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 weeks) and review sentiment (80% vs 64%). talkmaker's advantage is ratings volume (518 vs 7) and rating (4.8 vs 4.6). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Ticking sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and talkmaker sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

talkmaker holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: talkmaker has 518 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 80% of Ticking's written reviews are positive against 64% of talkmaker's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Ticking ships an update every 5 days, talkmaker every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on October 25, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Ticking | talkmaker |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (7 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ticking/id1645553151/reviews) | **[4.8 (518 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/talkmaker-texting-story/id6473696648/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 7 | **518** |
| Positive reviews | **80.0% of reviews** | 63.9% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 5 days** | Every 2 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 129 MB | 53 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 15.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 9+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [九九云科技](https://appshunter.io/developer/1256270447) | [Happyverse Tech Co., Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/6773175228) |

## What reviewers say

### Ticking

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ticking/id1645553151)

This app helps you manage your time and boost productivity with features like task tracking, focus timers, and study rooms. It offers detailed time statistics and personalized settings to optimize your workflow. Ideal for students and professionals seeking better time management.

**Highlights:** Study room feature for collaborative learning, Detailed time statistics and charts, Swipe to complete/cancel to-do items, Flexible task management with drag-and-drop, Multiple focus timer modes (e.g., Pomodoro), Personalized settings for timers and tasks, Weekly overview of tasks

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 单月订阅 | $0.99 | per month |
| 季度会员 | $1.99 | per 3 months |
| 半年会员 | $2.99 | per 6 months |
| 年度订阅 | $3.99 | per year |


### talkmaker

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/talkmaker-texting-story/id6473696648)

Engage in realistic AI chat stories and connect with AI companions. Create your own characters and explore interactive narratives. Offers a subscription for full feature access.

**Highlights:** Realistic AI chat stories, AI companionship, Customizable AI characters (OCs), Interactive narrative creation, AI social media simulation

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (11)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 月度会员 | $2.99 | per month |
| 季度会员 | $7.99 | per 3 months |
| 年度会员 | $24.99 | per year |
| 金币礼包 | $0.99 | one-time |
| AI增强包 | $1.99 | one-time |
| 金币礼包 | $2.99 | one-time |
| AI增强包 | $4.99 | one-time |
| 金币礼包 | $4.99 | one-time |
| 金币礼包 | $12.99 | one-time |
| AI增强包 | $14.99 | one-time |
| 活动礼包 | $19.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Good for chatting
- 🚀 Very fun to use
- 💕 Suitable for dream girls
- 🤖 AI characters are interesting
- 🍽️ Cooking feature is great

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Need to pay for unlimited chatting
- 🔒 Difficult to disable adult mode for overseas users
- 🔄 Keeps logging out users for no reason
- 🐛 Account issues - data loss, unable to log in
- 🚫 Free users have very limited chat options

**Reported bugs**

- Unable to create new characters
- Ads not working - just spinning circle
- Sudden topic change restrictions
- Account disappears after re-login
- Frequent network connection issues

**Requested features**

- Allow changing chat theme/wallpaper
- Increase character creation text limit
- Add group chat with more participants
- Provide paid option to remove ads
- Restore old version's plot card feature


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Ticking free?

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

### Is talkmaker free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Ticking or talkmaker?

talkmaker is rated higher. Ticking averages 4.6 out of 5 from 7 ratings, while talkmaker averages 4.8 from 518 ratings.

### Do Ticking or talkmaker have ads?

talkmaker shows ads; Ticking does not.

### Which is updated more often, Ticking or talkmaker?

Ticking ships an update every 5 days, and talkmaker every 2 weeks. Most recently, Ticking was updated on October 25, 2026 and talkmaker on October 25, 2026.

---

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