Comparison

Hourly vs Merv

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

Head to head
About

Hourly

This app provides customizable hourly chimes and notifications, functioning like a personal wristwatch that alerts you at specific intervals. You can select unique sounds, display custom messages, and choose which times to be notified.

Highlights
  • Customizable hourly chimes
  • Selectable notification sounds
  • Display custom messages
  • Flexible notification scheduling
  • No ads or tracking
Features
Read full description

Hourly helps you keep track of time. It's just like having a wristwatch that beeps on the hour, except it's much more personal! You can choose: * The sound to play (from a simple wristwatch beep, to the legendary Greenwich Pips, to a spoken voice, or the chime of an old clock) * A message to display on the screen * Which hours, half hours, or any other times to notify you about We think it's the best hourly chime app on the App Store, and we're always listening for your feedback if you think we can do better! No ads, no tracking, no In-App Purchases. Ever.

About

Merv

Features
Read full description

Your family’s digital security. Private by design. Merv turns your accounts, apps and online activity into one clear Digital Health Score — so your whole household, teens included, can see their risks and fix them, together. And because Merv runs entirely on your device, your personal data is never collected, shared or sold. Not a promise. An architecture. ONE SCORE THAT MAKES SECURITY MAKE SENSE Cybersecurity is invisible until it isn’t. Merv makes it visible — and fixable. ● Digital Health Score — one number that shows where you stand, and why ● Map your digital life — accounts, apps, devices and networks, analysed securely on your device ● See your public exposure — find your details in known data breaches ● Act, don’t worry — guided action cards walk you through fixing what matters most ● Learn as you go — on-device guidance written for every generation, not just the tech-savvy THE WHOLE HOUSEHOLD, ONE PICTURE Add up to six people. Everyone’s score rolls into a single Family Score — a living picture of how protected your home is. Each person keeps their own private view: you see the family picture, never each other’s details. Support your parents, your kids, your partner — without ever monitoring them. TEENS, PRIVATE BY DESIGN Teens get their own Merv, with age-matched content, safety tools, and the most protective settings on by default. It works from a declared age range — a band, never a birthday, name or ID — and collects no personal data. Teens choose what they share with the family. Protection without surveillance. YOUR DATA NEVER LEAVES YOUR DEVICE Merv is AI-native and runs on your iPhone’s own intelligence. All checks happen locally; only anonymous threat lists come down to your phone. Merv can’t see your data, so it can never lose it, share it or sell it. That’s not a policy — it’s how Merv is built. CLARITY, NOT ALARM No fear, no jargon, no nagging. Merv explains your exposures in plain language, shows you what to fix first, and helps every member of the family stay confident and independent online. WHAT’S INCLUDED ● Free — your Digital Health Score (as a range), education, Merv Chat Q&A, a breach report for one email address, and QR code safety checks ● Premium — your fine-grain score, deeper education, premium Merv Chat, breach reports for up to ten email addresses ● Household — up to six members, with a combined Family Score alongside each person’s own WHY FAMILIES TRUST MERV ● GDPRkids™ Privacy Assured Shield by PRIVO ● COPPA Safe Harbor Certification by PRIVO ● Common Sense Privacy Seal Verified (97% Score) ● Aligned to the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF 2.0) PRIVO is an independent third party dedicated to safeguarding children’s personal information online. Designed for iPhone models with Apple Intelligence (iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 16 or later). Start with your score today. Protect the Human. EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Hourly3 screens
Merv2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Merv at Free against Hourly's $0.99. Merv also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 6 months). Hourly's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.5). On 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

Merv is free to download; Hourly costs $0.99 up front. Merv sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Hourly asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hourly ships an update every 6 months, Merv fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Hourly versus Merv: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHourlyMerv
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating4.0 (127 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews72.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings127 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.5
Further details — not scored
Size94 MB112 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperChris JonesProtective IQ Limited

Bugs and requests

Hourly

Reported bugs

13 issues
  • Notifications don't work when phone is locked or in sleep mode
  • Notifications stop working after phone is silenced
  • App stops working after iOS updates
  • Settings fail to sync between iPhone and multiple Apple Watches
  • Duplicate notifications firing within 2-3 seconds
Show 8 more
  • Day-of-week selection not functioning correctly
  • Apple Watch notifications don't display the time, only logo
  • App doesn't work reliably in background
  • Chimes during phone calls and are audible to other party
  • 11 PM checkbox gets stuck on some devices
  • Notifications appear twice on Apple Watch
  • App stops notifying around midnight and restarts at 9 AM
  • Text display issues on Apple Watch with large text settings

Requested features

16 requests
  • More diverse sound options (cuckoo chime, gong, church bells, grandfather clock)
  • Ability to use system sounds and custom ringtones
  • Female voice option and multiple voice varieties (British, Australian accents)
  • Volume control for individual notifications
  • 24-hour continuous operation option
Show 11 more
  • iCloud sync with Apple Watch
  • Apple Watch standalone functionality without iPhone dependency
  • Ability to set different schedules for weekdays vs weekends
  • Customizable notification messages beyond 'it is X o'clock'
  • Quarter-hour chime intervals
  • Different sounds for hour vs half-hour vs quarter-hour
  • Haptic feedback option
  • Ability to select which device receives notifications
  • Profile/preset saving and restoration
  • Spoken time on Apple Watch notifications
  • Disable notifications without clearing history

Merv

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Hourly

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Merv

Subscriptions3
  • All Access (1 Month)$9.991 Month
  • All Access (1 Year)7 Days trial$99.991 Year
  • All Access Household (1 Year)7 Days trial$149.991 Year

Questions

Is Hourly free?
Hourly costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Merv free?
Merv is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Hourly or Merv have ads?
Neither Hourly nor Merv shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hourly or Merv?
Hourly ships an update every 6 months, and Merv fortnightly. Most recently, Hourly was updated on November 1, 2026 and Merv on November 5, 2026.

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