# Christmas Countdown! vs Smartlights countdown

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Christmas Countdown! at 90% against Smartlights countdown's 25%. Christmas Countdown! also leads on rating (4.8 vs 2.5) and ratings volume (71K vs 20). Smartlights countdown's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Christmas Countdown! holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 2.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Christmas Countdown! has 71K ratings behind it against 20, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 90% of Christmas Countdown!'s written reviews are positive against 25% of Smartlights countdown's.

Christmas Countdown! ships an update every 3 months, Smartlights countdown every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and June 5, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Christmas Countdown! | Smartlights countdown |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (71K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/christmas-countdown/id295350675/reviews)** | [2.5 (20 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smartlights-countdown/id1248150372/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **71K** | 20 |
| Positive reviews | **89.9% of reviews** | 25.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Every 2 months** |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | **Free** |
| Size | 13 MB | 2 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | **8.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Jack McLean](https://appshunter.io/developer/295350678) | [Gemmy Industries Corporation](https://appshunter.io/developer/889851671) |

## What reviewers say

### Christmas Countdown!

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/christmas-countdown/id295350675)

Track the exact time remaining until Christmas 2025, down to the second or even heartbeats. Choose from fun characters to accompany your countdown and share your excitement with friends and family. Enjoy festive music while you wait for the holiday.

**Highlights:** Precise countdown (days, hours, minutes, seconds, heartbeats), Multiple time modes (weeks, nights, seconds, heartbeats), Six festive companion characters, Social media sharing, Christmas music playback

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

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- ⭐️ Excellent Christmas countdown app
- 🎄 Helps get excited for Christmas
- 🕰 Provides multiple countdown metrics (days, hours, minutes, seconds, weeks, sleeps, heartbeats, breaths)
- 🎅 Cute Christmas-themed characters and backgrounds
- 🎶 Festive Christmas music

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔔 Annoying notifications/reminders
- 💰 Premium features like music selection should be free
- 🤖 Heartbeat and breath counters are not personalized
- 🙄 Occasional countdown inaccuracies reported

**Reported bugs**

- Countdown sometimes off by a day
- Occasional app crashes or freezes

**Requested features**

- Add more Christmas song options
- Include countdown for other holidays
- Allow users to customize their own countdown metrics


### Smartlights countdown

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smartlights-countdown/id1248150372)

Control Christmas projectors with Bluetooth, set custom countdown dates and titles, and read time. Get technical support directly from the developer.

**Highlights:** Bluetooth connectivity, Projector password function, Read time in phone, Calculate Christmas distance, Set custom countdown dates, Type custom titles for countdowns

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Christmas Countdown! free?

Christmas Countdown! is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Smartlights countdown free?

Smartlights countdown is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Christmas Countdown! or Smartlights countdown?

Christmas Countdown! is rated higher. Christmas Countdown! averages 4.8 out of 5 from 71K ratings, while Smartlights countdown averages 2.5 from 20 ratings.

### Do Christmas Countdown! or Smartlights countdown have ads?

Christmas Countdown! shows ads; Smartlights countdown does not.

### Which is updated more often, Christmas Countdown! or Smartlights countdown?

Christmas Countdown! ships an update every 3 months, and Smartlights countdown every 2 months. Most recently, Christmas Countdown! was updated on September 28, 2026 and Smartlights countdown on June 5, 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.*