Big Ben vs Deep Radio
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Big Ben
Experience the iconic Big Ben on your iPhone or iPod Touch. Customize your display with digital clock options, a seconds hand, and authentic tick-tock sounds. Enjoy hourly chimes and quarter-hour alerts, even when the app is closed, for a decorative and timely experience.
- Digital clock display
- Seconds hand option
- Tick-tock sound
- Quarter-hour chimes
- Hourly tolling
- Background notifications
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During 2009, the UK Parliament celebrated the 150th anniversary of its world famous Clock Tower, Great Clock and Great Bell. The name Big Ben is often used to describe the tower, the clock and the bell but the name was first given to the Great Bell. 1859 was the beginning for all three elements when the Clock Tower was completed, the Great Clock started on 31 May and the Great Bell’s chimes were heard for the first time on 11 July. Have your iPhone, iPad and Apple TV display the time of day in style. Options include: adding a digital clock display showing a seconds hand having it make a tick-tock sound having it chime every quarter of an hour and toll on the hour (the chiming and tolling sounds will play even when the app is not open, so long as your device is not muted and you allow notifications in the General Settings for Big Ben) having it chime only on the hour instead of every quarter of an hour having a "Quiet Hours" period during which no chimes will play Pointless? Maybe. Decorative? Certainly. NB If you wear an Apple Watch, make sure you turn off Mirror iPhone Alerts From: BigBen or you will not hear the chimes. Thanks to all who left comments and suggestions for improvement.
Deep Radio
Stream live, high-quality dance music 24/7 from a legendary Dutch radio station. Discover what's playing now, browse recent tracks, and check the full weekly program schedule. Enjoy a wide range of electronic genres and curated shows.
- Live high-quality streaming
- View currently playing tracks
- Browse recently played songs
- Full weekly program schedule
- AirPlay support
- Background playback
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We Are Dance! We are Deep, the legendary online dance radio station from the Netherlands. For almost 20 years, we have lived and breathed dance music. Our heart beats 24 hours a day to a massive beat. Just try sitting still to that. With the official Deep Radio app, you always have the entire station right at your fingertips. Stream live in high quality, instantly see what is playing now, browse the tracks that just aired, and check when your favorite show is scheduled. WHAT YOU HEAR From smooth deep house to hard hitting techno beats, from 90s classics to the latest releases, Deep plays it all. With shows and mixes from DJs and labels that matter: Morning Chill & Sunday Chill: relaxed vibes with DJ Stefano Two Thousand Zero Zero, I Like The 90s, Flashback: The 10s: nonstop nostalgia Turn Up The Volume: because great music should be played loud Protocol Radio: Nicky Romero live from his studio Toolroom Radio: Mark Knight with 120 minutes of house music Anjunadeep: a weekly mix from the leading British label Protechnive, Dirty Disco, #MVDMIX, On Fire, Welsh Weekly, RAW, and much more DEEPDISC Every week, we pick one gem from all the new music that deserves extra attention: the DeepDisc. You can hear it on air and in our Spotify playlist. WHAT THE APP CAN DO Live stream in high quality, even in the background Instantly see what is playing now, including cover art Recently played: browse back through the latest tracks Full program schedule for the entire week AirPlay support for your speakers, TV, and car radio Works smoothly with other audio and phone calls ABOUT DEEP RADIO Deep Radio is available everywhere: in this app, through deep.radio in your browser, on TuneIn, and on your smart speaker. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook (@DeepRadioNL) for the latest news, lineups, and behind the scenes. Questions, promos, or demos? Send us a message through deep.radio! Deep Radio. We Are Dance.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Deep Radio at Free against Big Ben's $2.99. Deep Radio also leads on update cadence (every 13 months vs every 41 months). Big Ben's advantage is ratings volume (41 vs 3) and device support (4 vs 2). On rating, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Deep Radio is free to download; Big Ben costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Deep Radio holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Big Ben has 41 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 57% of Big Ben's written reviews are positive against 50% of Deep Radio's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Big Ben ships an update every 41 months, Deep Radio every 13 months. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Big Ben | Deep Radio |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 3.8 (41 ratings) | 4.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 57.0% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 41 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 41 months | Every 13 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 130 MB | 14 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ettore Software Ltd. | Vincent Bruijnes |
Customer experience
Big Ben
Deep Radio
Bugs and requests
Big Ben
Reported bugs
11 issues- App crashes immediately upon opening
- Not compatible with iOS 15, iOS 17, iOS 12
- Doesn't chime when phone is locked or in background
- No sound output despite notifications enabled
- App won't launch on iPhone 15.3.1
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- Crashes on iPhone 12 mini
- VoiceOver notifications interfering with chimes
- Hourly chime not functioning on iOS 11.2.6
- Chimes stop working after app update
- Tick-tock sounds out of sync with second hand
- Paid version requires repurchase and doesn't work
Requested features
20 requests- Night mode/silent hours scheduling (9pm-5am)
- Adjustable volume control within app
- Smooth minute hand animation
- Hourly-only chime option (disable quarter chimes)
- Background chimes while phone is locked
Show 15 moreShow fewer
- Chimes on half-hour intervals
- Dynamic backgrounds based on time of day/weather
- Updated Big Ben chimes post-renovation
- Customizable lock screen display
- iPad/universal app version
- Weather integration
- Multiple background images/locations
- Chimes on watch/wearables
- Alarm functionality
- Tick-tock sounds in sync with second hand
- Floodlit Big Ben for nighttime display
- GPS-based daylight/sunset lighting
- Screen saver functionality
- Quieter/softer tick-tock option
- Delay between quarter and hour chimes
Deep Radio
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Big Ben
No in-app purchases
Deep Radio
No in-app purchases









