# Christmas Countdown vs GiftPlanner

Christmas Countdown and GiftPlanner both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 88% of Christmas Countdown's written reviews are positive against 52% of GiftPlanner's. GiftPlanner's advantage is iOS requirement (15.5 vs 17.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Christmas Countdown sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $3.99 per year and GiftPlanner sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Christmas Countdown against 4.6 for GiftPlanner. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 868 and 775 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 88% of Christmas Countdown's written reviews are positive against 52% of GiftPlanner's.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and July 5, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Christmas Countdown | GiftPlanner |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (868 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/christmas-countdown/id325476623/reviews) | [4.6 (775 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/giftplanner/id479882306/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **868** | 775 |
| Positive reviews | **88.1% of reviews** | 51.8% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 124 MB | 29 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **15.5** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Nicole Hankinson](https://appshunter.io/developer/502305137) | [Andrew Milham](https://appshunter.io/developer/392508546) |

## What reviewers say

### 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


### GiftPlanner

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/giftplanner/id479882306)

Organize all your gift-giving details in one place. Track gift ideas, stores, prices, order numbers, and even photos. Share wish lists, manage budgets, and get reminders for upcoming events.

**Highlights:** Track gift ideas, stores, prices, and order numbers, Manage budgets for events and people, Scan barcodes and import gifts from the web, Track contacts' wish lists and interests, Export printable gift lists and reports, Secure with passcode, Touch ID, or Face ID

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Small Tip | $0.99 | one-time |
| Medium Tip | $1.99 | one-time |
| Large Tip | $4.99 | one-time |
| GiftPlanner Plus | $6.99 | one-time |
| Huge Tip | $19.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 💻 Comprehensive gift tracking
- 📅 Organizes events and birthdays
- 🤖 Automatic gift idea import
- 📸 Ability to add gift photos
- 💰 Budgeting and spending tracking

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and glitches
- 🔄 Sync issues between devices
- 🔍 Difficult to navigate and find information
- 🕰️ Outdated interface and design
- 🔒 Account registration and login problems

**Reported bugs**

- Gifts disappearing or not saving properly
- Duplicate events and contacts created
- Barcode scanning feature not working
- Uneditable store information
- Incompatibility with newer iOS versions

**Requested features**

- Ability to revert gifts to ideas
- Better budgeting and spending reports
- Family/group sharing capabilities
- Improved search and filtering options
- Print/export gift list functionality


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Christmas Countdown free?

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

### Is GiftPlanner free?

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

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

Christmas Countdown and GiftPlanner are both rated 4.6 out of 5 on the App Store, from 868 and 775 ratings respectively.

### Do Christmas Countdown or GiftPlanner have ads?

Neither Christmas Countdown nor GiftPlanner shows ads.

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

Christmas Countdown ships an update every 3 weeks, and GiftPlanner every 3 weeks. Most recently, Christmas Countdown was updated on October 1, 2026 and GiftPlanner on July 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.*