# Christmas Countdown! vs Countdown Star

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Christmas Countdown! at none against Countdown Star's 1. Christmas Countdown! also leads on review sentiment (90% vs 59%) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). Countdown Star's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (216K vs 71K). On price, rating, ads and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Countdown Star sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Christmas Countdown! asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Christmas Countdown! against 4.8 for Countdown Star. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 71K and 216K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 90% of Christmas Countdown!'s written reviews are positive against 59% of Countdown Star's.

Christmas Countdown! ships an update every 3 months, Countdown Star fortnightly. Both last shipped on October 13, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Christmas Countdown! | Countdown Star |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (71K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/christmas-countdown/id295350675/reviews) | [4.8 (216K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/countdown-star/id576177593/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 71K | **216K** |
| Positive reviews | **89.8% of reviews** | 59.5% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Ad-supported |
| Size | 13 MB | 55 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

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/countdown-star/id576177593)

Track time until or since important life events. Set custom timers for birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, and more. Personalize with your own photos and share progress with friends.

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

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

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Remove Ads | $1.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Great app
- 🚀 Easy to use
- 💡 Customizable backgrounds
- 👍 Helpful for tracking events
- 👍 Useful for long-distance relationships

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Widget not working
- 🐛 Wallpaper feature not working
- 🐛 Countdown inaccuracies
- 🐛 Notifications not working
- 🐛 Crashes and bugs

**Reported bugs**

- Widget not displaying events
- Wallpaper not saving
- Countdown off by one day
- Notifications not working as expected
- Crashes and glitches after updates

**Requested features**

- Add weeks option
- Allow multiple countdowns on one screen
- Provide Apple Watch complications
- Add ability to export/backup data
- Improve wallpaper customization


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Christmas Countdown! free?

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

### Is Countdown Star free?

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

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

Christmas Countdown! and Countdown Star are both rated 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store, from 71K and 216K ratings respectively.

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

Both Christmas Countdown! and Countdown Star show ads.

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

Christmas Countdown! ships an update every 3 months, and Countdown Star fortnightly. Most recently, Christmas Countdown! was updated on October 13, 2026 and Countdown Star on October 13, 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.*