Comparison

Hourly Chime in Background vs TalkingTime

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

Head to head
About

Hourly Chime in Background

This utility app provides gentle hourly reminders to help you stay on track throughout the day. Customize your schedule, choose alert sounds, and let it run quietly in the background to improve focus and build routines.

Highlights
  • Customizable hourly schedule
  • Multiple alert sound options
  • Speaking Clock feature
  • Reliable background operation
  • Simple and clean interface
  • Respects device volume and silent mode
Features
Read full description

Hourly Chime – Stay on Track with Gentle Hourly Reminders Hourly Chime is a simple and reliable utility that helps you stay aware of time throughout the day. Whether you're building better routines, improving focus, or simply want a friendly reminder every hour, Hourly Chime makes it effortless. Choose the hours you want, pick your preferred sound, and let the app run quietly in the background. Perfect for work, study, productivity, and daily rhythm. Features - Customizable Schedule: Select the exact hours you want the chime to play. - Multiple Alert Sounds: Choose from a variety of chimes, bells, clocks, and more—including a “Speaking Clock” option that announces the time aloud. - Runs Reliably in the Background: Alerts are delivered every hour, even when the app isn’t open. - Clean & Simple Interface: Designed to get you set up in seconds with minimal effort. - Respectful of Your Settings: Alerts follow your device’s volume and silent mode preferences. How It Works 1. Open Hourly Chime. 2. Turn on the Chime switch at the top. 3. Select the hours you want chimes to play. 4. Pick your preferred alert tone. 5. Let the app run in the background—alerts will automatically trigger every hour. Hourly Chime is the perfect companion for anyone who wants to stay mindful of time without constantly checking their phone. If you have suggestions or feedback, feel free to reach out!

About

TalkingTime

This app announces the current time audibly at user-defined intervals, such as hourly, half-hourly, or quarter-hourly. It operates efficiently in the background after initial setup, conserving battery life. The app adheres to your phone's 12-hour or 24-hour time format.

Highlights
  • Audible time announcements
  • Hourly, half-hourly, quarter-hourly alerts
  • Set and forget operation
  • Battery efficient
  • Respects phone's time format
Features
Read full description

Hear the time without stopping to look at your screen. TalkingTime gives you spoken time announcements, chimes and personal voice reminders on iPhone and iPad. Use a regular time cue to notice the passing hours while you work, study or move through your day. START WITH EASY • Use the included Easy schedule. • Choose spoken time or chimes, a voice, and 12- or 24-hour speech. • Add your own text to an enabled Easy announcement time. PRO SUBSCRIPTION • Edit Easy announcement times. • Use the separate Custom schedule at any minute, on specific dates or on selected weekdays. LEGACY PRO Your original lifetime access continues to include Easy editing and messages. The separate Custom schedule requires a Pro subscription. SET UP ANNOUNCEMENTS Keep Master Enable on and allow Notifications and Sounds for TalkingTime. Then return to the Home Screen with a normal swipe up or Home button, giving the app time to prepare your schedule. Prepared announcements use iOS local notifications and can sound when the screen is locked. Keep the device powered on. Silent mode, ringer volume, Focus and audio routing can affect what you hear. GET HELP Open It’s not working and tap Get support. Diagnostic information is sent automatically. You can also contact support@fortuisoft.com. The app and Apple purchase sheet show the current Pro price, billing period and any eligible trial. Pro is an automatically renewing subscription unless cancelled. Manage or cancel subscriptions through your Apple account. Privacy: https://www.fortuisoft.com/talkingtime/Privacy.html Terms: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Hourly Chime in Background2 screens
TalkingTime3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: TalkingTime at 93% against Hourly Chime in Background's 51%. TalkingTime also leads on update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 25 months) and ratings volume (309 vs 5). Hourly Chime in Background's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and rating (4.8 vs 4.6). On price, ads and 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

Both are free to download. TalkingTime sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $1.99 per month. Hourly Chime in Background asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Hourly Chime in Background holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: TalkingTime has 309 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 51% of Hourly Chime in Background's written reviews are positive against 93% of TalkingTime's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hourly Chime in Background ships an update every 25 months, TalkingTime every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Hourly Chime in Background versus TalkingTime: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHourly Chime in BackgroundTalkingTime
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (5 ratings) — better4.6 (309 ratings)
Positive reviews51.3% of reviews92.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5309 — better
Update frequencyEvery 25 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size23 MB25 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMoon Hyuk KangFortuisoft LLC

Customer experience

Hourly Chime in Background

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews117 reviews
Positive51.3%
Neutral14.5%
Negative34.2%

TalkingTime

All ratings309 ratings
Positive90.6%
Neutral2.9%
Negative6.5%
Written reviews207 reviews
Positive92.8%
Neutral1.9%
Negative5.3%

Bugs and requests

Hourly Chime in Background

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

TalkingTime

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Announcements not working after iOS updates
  • Inconsistent behavior with music/audio playback

Requested features

4 requests
  • More frequent time announcements (e.g., every 10 minutes)
  • Custom voice recording option
  • Integration with calendar/scheduling apps
  • Separate volume control for announcements

In-app purchases

None

Hourly Chime in Background

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

TalkingTime

Subscriptions1
  • Pro upgrade7 Days trial$1.991 Month

Questions

Is Hourly Chime in Background free?
Hourly Chime in Background is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is TalkingTime free?
TalkingTime is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Hourly Chime in Background or TalkingTime?
Hourly Chime in Background is rated higher. Hourly Chime in Background averages 4.8 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while TalkingTime averages 4.6 from 309 ratings.
Do Hourly Chime in Background or TalkingTime have ads?
Neither Hourly Chime in Background nor TalkingTime shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hourly Chime in Background or TalkingTime?
Hourly Chime in Background ships an update every 25 months, and TalkingTime every 6 weeks. Most recently, Hourly Chime in Background was updated on October 22, 2026 and TalkingTime on October 24, 2026.

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