Comparison

Year Countdown vs Countdown Star

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Year Countdown

This app provides a real-time countdown to the next year and Christmas. Customize the visual experience with animated snow, selectable snowflakes, and background frames. Easily switch between the countdown and a clock display with a double tap.

Highlights
  • Countdown to New Year
  • Countdown to Christmas
  • Portrait and landscape orientation
  • Snowfall and color animations
  • Customizable snowflakes and backgrounds
  • Switch between countdown and clock
Features
Read full description

Stop doing the maths to know what is the remaining time until 2026, and just enjoy the moment with Year Countdown ! Year Countdown displays you the countdown until 2026, and this in portrait and landscape orientations ! Year Countdown also displays you the countdown until Christmas ! No more headache for your holidays, and place to the fun ! Enjoy the countdown with nice snow fall and color animations; select a snowflake and a background frame according to your mood (or set them off) in the app settings! You can also Double tap the screen to switch between the countdown and the clock ! Check out many great iPhone and iPad apps at www.SEB-APPSTORE.com

About

Countdown Star

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
Read full description

Countdown Star is the best way to countdown to — and count up from — all of your favorite events. Countdown to birthdays, holidays, an upcoming vacation, a wedding, the New Year, parties, sporting events, concerts and more. Count up from anniversaries, the day you were born, and other special events in the past. * How many seconds until your next birthday? * How many months since you were born? * How many days until you graduate from college? * How many hours until your anniversary? * How much time is left until your vacation starts? * How many days until Christmas? * How many minutes until your party begins? * How much time is left until your baby's due date? Countdown Star is the countdown app that lets you choose which events to add, then keeps them in sync across all of your devices. Features: * iCloud Sync — events and wallpapers sync automatically across all your iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch devices * Celebration Animations — choose Confetti, Fireworks, Balloons, Stars, or Lasers when your countdown reaches zero * Repeating Events — annual events automatically advance to the next year so you never have to update them * Home Screen Widgets — Small, Medium, and Large widgets let you glance at your countdowns without opening the app * Apple Watch — view your events right on your wrist * Add Your Own Events — add as many events as you like * Custom Wallpapers — choose from 15+ built-in wallpapers or use your own photos * Time Zone Support — set each event in any time zone with localized city names * Sort and Search — sort by date, title, or your own custom order; events are sectioned into Countdown and Count Up groups * Favorites and Notifications — mark events as favorites to receive a notification when their countdown reaches zero * Interactive Slider — instantly switch between seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, or years to see your countdown exactly how you want it * Customizable Timer — choose timer position (Top, Middle, or Bottom), show or hide weeks, and toggle the leading zero * Multiple App Icons — personalize the app icon on your Home Screen Note: Countdown Star is available as a free version (with ads and an optional Remove Ads purchase) and as a paid ad-free version.

Screenshots

Year Countdown4 screens
Countdown Star4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Countdown Star at Free against Year Countdown's $0.99. Countdown Star also leads on rating (4.8 vs 3.7) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 12 months). Year Countdown's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). On device support 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Countdown Star is free to download; Year Countdown costs $0.99 up front. Countdown Star sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Year Countdown asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Countdown Star holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Countdown Star has 216K ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 33% of Year Countdown's written reviews are positive against 60% of Countdown Star's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Year Countdown ships an update every 12 months, Countdown Star fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 10, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 1 level
Year Countdown versus Countdown Star: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterYear CountdownCountdown Star
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating3.7 (3 ratings)4.8 (216K ratings) — better
Positive reviews33.3% of reviews59.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3216K — better
Update frequencyEvery 12 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidAd-supported — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS12.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB55 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSebastien BUETJoseph Merrill

Customer experience

Year Countdown

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral33.3%
Negative33.3%

Countdown Star

All ratings215,578 ratings
Positive94.9%
Neutral3.1%
Negative2.1%
Written reviews1,302 reviews
Positive59.6%
Neutral11.8%
Negative28.6%

Bugs and requests

Year Countdown

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Countdown Star

Reported bugs

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

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add weeks option
  • Allow multiple countdowns on one screen
  • Provide Apple Watch complications
  • Add ability to export/backup data
  • Improve wallpaper customization
Show 1 more
  • Add option for annual/recurring events

In-app purchases

None

Year Countdown

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Countdown Star

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$1.99

Questions

Is Year Countdown free?
Year Countdown costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Countdown Star free?
Countdown Star is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Year Countdown or Countdown Star?
Countdown Star is rated higher. Year Countdown averages 3.7 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while Countdown Star averages 4.8 from 216K ratings.
Do Year Countdown or Countdown Star have ads?
Countdown Star shows ads; Year Countdown does not.
Which is updated more often, Year Countdown or Countdown Star?
Year Countdown ships an update every 12 months, and Countdown Star fortnightly. Most recently, Year Countdown was updated on September 10, 2026 and Countdown Star on September 29, 2026.

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