Sandglass3 vs Best Sand Timer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Sandglass3
This app simulates a realistic hourglass with customizable timer durations. Users can flip the hourglass by swiping or rotating their device. It offers optional sound alerts and automatic rotation upon completion.
- Realistic hourglass simulation
- 1, 3, and 6-minute timers
- Swipe to flip hourglass
- Rotate device to flip
- Chime alert on completion
- Automatic rotation option
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It's a very simple, yet realistic hourglass. - Choose from a 1-minute, 3-minute, or 6-minute timer (check the remaining time at the bottom of the screen to determine the correct time). - Swipe the screen horizontally or turn your iPhone sideways and then back to portrait to flip the hourglass over. - You can display the remaining time and play a chime when the timer finishes. - You can set it to rotate automatically once all the sand has fallen. Staring at it is soothing...maybe.
Best Sand Timer
A digital hourglass timer that visually represents the passage of time. It's designed to be kid-friendly, offers customizable alarm sounds, and allows users to personalize the timer's color. This universal app provides a stylish way to manage tasks and stay notified.
- Digital hourglass visualization
- Kid-friendly time perception
- Customizable alarm sounds (16 options)
- Notification even when inactive
- Color themes for timer customization
- Universal app for iPhone and iPad
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Digital sand timer with artistic design. Time flows and does it stylishly. This digitized hourglass can be used to time anything for up to 60 minutes. It's like having a nice looking visual indicator of how much time is left on your task. * KIDS FRIENDLY Timer visualizes time to kids and lets them feel the time. Without reading or even knowing the numbers one can look at the visualized time flow, feel it and understand how long to wait or whether to hurry up. * STAY NOTIFIED It lets you set the alarm sound that will play when the timer is finished. You can choose from 16 unique alarm sounds, melodies and loops. You’ll be notified when your time is up even if you’re using another app or your device is locked. It can also repeat the sound alarm (up to 3 times) at the given interval if it was missed/snoozed. * COLOR YOUR TIME You can easily change the timer color to fit your personal lifestyle. There are 5 color themes: turquoise, red, green, amber and pink. Just pick the one you like in the application settings. * UNIVERSAL APP Timer works both on your iPhone/iPod and iPad, contains HD graphics for retina and iPad displays and supports all screen orientations for all devices. [+Retina graphics for iPad 3rd generation] * SEE ALSO: Best Timer Beautifully designed sand timer, stylish kitchen timer, countdown/up and powerful stopwatch All in one creatively combined Best Timer application to suit all your timing needs. Search "Best Timer" on iTunes (http://itunes.apple.com/app/best-timer/id415656570) * There are plenty of things we really need to time, just do them the way you like! ***Important for iOS5+ devices: if there is no alarm played when the application is inactive please go to system Settings / Notifications, select the application name and configure the timer's alarms, whether they perform sound and if they're to appear on lock screen. VISIT US: smartphoneware.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Best Sand Timer at 4.2 against Sandglass3's 2.7. Best Sand Timer also leads on ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Best Sand Timer holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 2.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 11 and 19 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 44% of Sandglass3's written reviews are positive against 46% of Best Sand Timer's.
Sandglass3 ships an update every 8 months, Best Sand Timer every 14 months. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Sandglass3 | Best Sand Timer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.7 (11 ratings) | 4.2 (19 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 43.8% of reviews | 45.6% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 11 | 19 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 8 months — better | Every 14 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 | 8.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 43 MB | 38 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Keietsu Yasuhara | Serhii Simkovskyi |
Customer experience
Sandglass3
Best Sand Timer
Bugs and requests
Sandglass3
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Best Sand Timer
Reported bugs
8 issues- No sound when timer reaches zero
- Sand not aligned with hourglass
- Graphics not aligned properly
- Buttons partially off screen
- App not configured for certain iPhone screens (e.g., XR)
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- App freezes when trying to change timer
- Alarm fails to go off if other notifications occur
- Force closes when timer ends
Requested features
10 requests- Display current time on screen
- Keypad for setting timer
- Option to hide digital timer
- Longer timer duration (beyond 1 hour)
- Vibrate function
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- More sound options
- Sound control on screen
- Option to view timer when phone is locked
- Sound while sand is pouring
- Start timer by turning the iPad
In-app purchases
Sandglass3
No in-app purchases
Best Sand Timer
No in-app purchases
