# Christmas List vs Christmas Countdown

Christmas List and Christmas Countdown both sit at 4.5 stars, but that hides the real split: 88% of Christmas Countdown's written reviews are positive against 54% of Christmas List's. Christmas Countdown also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 5 months). Christmas List's advantage is iOS requirement (8.0 vs 17.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Christmas List sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Christmas Countdown sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $3.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Christmas List against 4.6 for Christmas Countdown. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.9K and 886 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 54% of Christmas List's written reviews are positive against 88% of Christmas Countdown's.

Christmas List ships an update every 5 months, Christmas Countdown every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Christmas List | Christmas Countdown |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.5 (1.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/christmas-list/id294450118/reviews) | **[4.6 (886 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/christmas-countdown/id325476623/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **1.9K** | 886 |
| Positive reviews | 53.9% of reviews | **88.5% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Size | 9 MB | 124 MB |
| Requires iOS | **8.0** | 17.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Better Day Wireless, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/287963852) | [Nicole Hankinson](https://appshunter.io/developer/502305137) |

## What reviewers say

### Christmas List

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/christmas-list/id294450118)

Organize and simplify holiday shopping with this intuitive app. Track recipients, gifts, budgets, and purchase status. Comparison shop for the best prices and even buy online directly from the app.

**Highlights:** Organize people and presents, Track gift purchase and wrapping status, Set and monitor gift budgets, Comparison shop and buy online, Import contacts, Password protection

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

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Christmas List Upgrade | $2.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Simple and straightforward to use
- 🚀 Helps keep gifts organized
- 💡 Useful features like bought/wrapped/given checkboxes
- 👍 Easy to navigate
- 👍 Convenient to have on phone

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔁 Constantly asks to review the app
- 💰 Requires payment to add more than 4 people
- 🐛 Deletes or loses data
- 🐛 Glitchy and not very user-friendly
- 🔒 Not transferable between devices

**Reported bugs**

- Loses data/lists when reopened
- Prompts for payment even after upgrading
- Crashes or freezes frequently

**Requested features**

- Allow more than 4 people on free version
- Ability to delete/rename lists
- Sync lists across devices
- More customization options
- Photo attachment for gifts


### Christmas Countdown

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/christmas-countdown/id325476623)

This app provides a real-time countdown to Christmas, displaying hours, minutes, and seconds. Enjoy festive music, customizable backgrounds, and interactive snowflake effects. Stay updated with daily badge notifications and access the countdown from your watch or home screen.

**Highlights:** Real-time countdown (hours, minutes, seconds), Customizable backgrounds (including own photos), Festive background music selection, Interactive snowflake effects, Daily badge updates, Watch app and home screen widgets

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

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Christmas Countdown Premium | $3.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Great app for Christmas countdown
- 🎄 Customizable features (music, snowflakes, background)
- ⏱️ Detailed countdown (days, hours, minutes, seconds)
- 🕰️ Accurate and reliable countdown
- 🎅 Fun and festive design

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔒 Premium features locked behind paywall (e.g., widgets)
- 🐛 Bugs with badge/notification functionality
- 🔧 Lack of updates to keep up with OS changes
- 📱 Compatibility issues with newer devices

**Reported bugs**

- Countdown not updating correctly with time changes
- Inability to use custom photos as background
- Music playback issues after app updates

**Requested features**

- Allow custom font and text customization
- Add support for other holidays/events
- Improve social sharing capabilities
- Introduce more background/theme options


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Christmas List free?

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

### Is Christmas Countdown free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Christmas List or Christmas Countdown?

Christmas Countdown is rated higher. Christmas List averages 4.5 out of 5 from 1.9K ratings, while Christmas Countdown averages 4.6 from 886 ratings.

### Do Christmas List or Christmas Countdown have ads?

Neither Christmas List nor Christmas Countdown shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Christmas List or Christmas Countdown?

Christmas List ships an update every 5 months, and Christmas Countdown every 3 weeks. Most recently, Christmas List was updated on November 6, 2026 and Christmas Countdown on November 8, 2026.

---

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