# Christmas Countdown! vs Countdown Star (Ad

The clearest difference is price: Christmas Countdown! at Free against Countdown Star (Ad's $1.99. Christmas Countdown! also leads on review sentiment (90% vs 56%) and ratings volume (71K vs 3.7K). Countdown Star (Ad's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 3 months). On rating, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Christmas Countdown! is free to download; Countdown Star (Ad costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Christmas Countdown! against 4.7 for Countdown Star (Ad. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Christmas Countdown! has 71K ratings behind it against 3.7K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 90% of Christmas Countdown!'s written reviews are positive against 56% of Countdown Star (Ad's.

Christmas Countdown! ships an update every 3 months, Countdown Star (Ad fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Christmas Countdown! | Countdown Star (Ad |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $1.99 |
| Rating | **[4.8 (71K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/christmas-countdown/id295350675/reviews)** | [4.7 (3.7K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/countdown-star-ad-free/id569371565/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **71K** | 3.7K |
| Positive reviews | **89.9% of reviews** | 56.3% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | **Ad-supported** | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | **#31** |
| Size | 13 MB | 53 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.6** | 17.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Jack McLean](https://appshunter.io/developer/295350678) | [Joseph Merrill](https://appshunter.io/developer/1099488988) |

## 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


### Countdown Star (Ad

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/countdown-star-ad-free/id569371565)

**Currently charting:** #31 Top Paid · Entertainment (US App Store)

Track time until or since important events with customizable timers. Set up countdowns for birthdays, holidays, and vacations, or count up from anniversaries and special dates. Share your event timers with friends and family.

**Highlights:** Add custom events, Customize event visuals, Apple Watch display, Today Widget integration, Set exact event times, Adjust time units, Share event timers

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

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 💡 Customizable backgrounds
- 🚀 Simple and functional
- 🎨 Nice visual design

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Unreliable widget functionality
- 🔍 Limited event management options
- 💰 Paid version doesn't import free version data
- 🔧 Lack of customization options

**Reported bugs**

- Custom wallpapers not saving
- Countdown not updating correctly
- Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
- Notification system not working as expected

**Requested features**

- Recurring event support
- Ability to exclude weekends/holidays from countdown
- Multiple event display on main screen
- Improved widget functionality
- Sync across devices


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Christmas Countdown! free?

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

### Is Countdown Star (Ad free?

Countdown Star (Ad costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Christmas Countdown! or Countdown Star (Ad?

Christmas Countdown! is rated higher. Christmas Countdown! averages 4.8 out of 5 from 71K ratings, while Countdown Star (Ad averages 4.7 from 3.7K ratings.

### Do Christmas Countdown! or Countdown Star (Ad have ads?

Christmas Countdown! shows ads; Countdown Star (Ad does not.

### Which is updated more often, Christmas Countdown! or Countdown Star (Ad?

Christmas Countdown! ships an update every 3 months, and Countdown Star (Ad fortnightly. Most recently, Christmas Countdown! was updated on September 25, 2026 and Countdown Star (Ad on September 26, 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.*