Comparison

Countdown ‎ vs Outside

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

Head to head
About

Countdown ‎

Visually track upcoming events with customizable countdowns. Set timers for vacations, concerts, or anniversaries using your own photos, music, and phrases. Share your progress with friends and family.

Highlights
  • iOS 16 Lock Screen Widgets
  • Home Screen Widgets
  • Customizable Background Photos
  • Personalized Music & Fonts
  • Calendar Event Integration
  • Count Up from Past Events
  • Event Reminders
Features
Read full description

Count down to your next event - your next vacation, your favorite band’s concert, the next movie premiere, your child's graduation, your anniversary, and more - in style! Features: • iOS 16 LOCK SCREEN WIDGETS: Add countdown widgets to your lock screen! First, set up your countdown in the Countdown app. Then, pull down your lock screen, long-hold an empty area and tap "Customize." • HOME SCREEN WIDGETS: Count down the days to your event right from your home screen! Just long hold an empty area on your home screen and tap the "+" in the top-left corner to get started. • FLEXIBLE UNITS: Years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, seconds, and even heartbeats! (e.g. "3 months 14 mins" or "56713 heartbeats") • DRAG the Countdown and DISPLAY it wherever you want. • Use YOUR OWN PHOTOS as the background, including INSTAGRAM and FACEBOOK PHOTOS! Or look through a large selection of FREE BACKGROUND PHOTOS. • Flip through your BACKGROUND PHOTOS while counting down. • Set your own MUSIC for each Countdown. • Customizable FONTS, font colors and background colors for the Countdown display. • Your OWN PHRASE - "the concert of the year", "little pumpkin's dance performance", "we board the plane". • Create Countdowns from your CALENDAR EVENTS! • MULTIPLE Countdowns (and rearrange them as you like!) • REMINDERS for your events. • SHARE a live Countdown or a screenshot of your Countdown with FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, TWITTER or EMAIL. • Count down to ANNIVERSARIES that repeat every year. (e.g. “25 days until my 10th anniversary!”) • COUNT UP from past events. (e.g. “21 days since…”) • SMART TOOLBAR is hidden until you tap on the screen; more screen space for your Countdowns. • Works in PORTRAIT and LANDSCAPE mode. === Premium Features === + iOS WIDGETS: Count the days to your event without leaving the home screen! + SLIDESHOW MODE of background photos, with different animation styles and speeds! + NO ADS: No distractions or clutter. Just you and your countdown. Make each second count! In addition to the free features listed above, we also offer Countdown Premium as a subscription. Countdown Premium subscribers will have access to an ad-free experience, home screen widgets, and slideshow mode. Price may vary by location. Subscriptions will be charged to your credit card through your iTunes account. Your subscription will automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage your subscription in Account Settings after purchase. Terms: https://www.sunflowr.com/terms-of-service/ Privacy Policy: https://www.sunflowr.com/privacy/

About

Outside

Plan, share, and remember important moments with loved ones. Ideal for long-distance relationships, trip planning, and creating a visual diary of your year. Features live widgets and offline access.

Highlights
  • Shared countdowns for long-distance couples
  • Trip planning with group coordination
  • Yearly memory archive and profile
  • Live widgets for home and lock screens
  • Calendar sync (Apple & Google)
  • Offline functionality
  • Photo sharing for Lock Screen
Features
Read full description

Waiting is better together. Turn every date you can't wait for—weddings, trips, birthdays, reunions—into a countdown you share, with widgets you'll both smile at every day. Use Outside for trips, birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, reunions, concerts and every date worth looking forward to. CREATE AND SHARE Create a countdown, send an invite and let friends, family or your partner join the same moment. WIDGETS AT A GLANCE Keep your next countdown on your Home Screen, Lock Screen or in StandBy. PLAN TOGETHER Add the date, place and details so everyone knows what is happening. FREE TO START The free plan includes creating, sharing and joining countdowns, plus Home Screen, Lock Screen and StandBy widgets. OUTSIDE PRO Outside Pro is optional and adds custom reminders, calendar sync, recurring events, attachments, camera-roll wallpapers, group chat, custom app icons, photo uploads and search, premium countdown styles, links and checklists. Available plans, prices and introductory trial eligibility are shown before purchase. Terms: https://outside.so/terms Privacy: https://outside.so/privacy Support: https://outside.so/support

Screenshots

Countdown ‎4 screens
Outside1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Outside at 4.7 against Countdown ‎'s 3.8. Outside also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 6 days vs every 2 months). Countdown ‎'s advantage is ratings volume (11K vs 2.8K) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 18.0). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model 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. Countdown ‎ sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 3 months and Outside sells 17 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Outside holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 11K and 2.8K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 34% of Countdown ‎'s written reviews are positive against 54% of Outside's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Countdown ‎ ships an update every 2 months, Outside every 6 days. Both last shipped on September 23, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Countdown ‎ versus Outside: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCountdown ‎Outside
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.8 (11K ratings)4.7 (2.8K ratings) — better
Positive reviews34.0% of reviews53.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings11K — better2.8K
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 6 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size90 MB144 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSevenlogics, Inc.Outside HQ LTD

Customer experience

Countdown ‎

All ratings11,411 ratings
Positive69.0%
Neutral8.4%
Negative22.6%
Written reviews500 reviews
Positive34.0%
Neutral11.0%
Negative55.0%

Outside

All ratings2,754 ratings
Positive91.6%
Neutral2.7%
Negative5.7%
Written reviews200 reviews
Positive53.5%
Neutral8.0%
Negative38.5%

User reviews

Countdown ‎

From 11K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💖 Countdown app with customization
  • 🎨 Ability to use own photos
  • ⏱️ Counts down in various units
  • 🎉 Exciting for upcoming events

Room to improve

  • 🔒 Premium features locked behind paywall
  • 📢 Excessive ads and pop-ups
  • 🐛 Bugs and glitches
  • 🔄 Resets countdown settings
  • 📱 Widget not working as expected

Outside

From 2.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Free home/lock screen countdown widget
  • 👍 Simple and chic design
  • 👍 Highly customizable
  • 👍 Seamless calendar integration
  • 👍 Useful AI assistant

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy, crashes, and glitches
  • 💰 Subscription-based model, expensive pricing
  • 🔒 Limits free features, forces paid subscription
  • 🤔 Confusing and changing pricing structure
  • 🤔 Lack of transparency around free vs paid features

Bugs and requests

Countdown ‎

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes on opening
  • Countdown not displaying correctly
  • Widget not loading properly
  • Purchased premium features not working

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to have multiple countdowns
  • Option to repeat countdown events
  • Countdown widget on home screen
  • Improved sharing capabilities

Outside

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Widget not working after iOS updates
  • Countdown events suddenly blocked by paywall
  • Paid subscription not working as expected

Requested features

4 requests
  • More customization options for widgets
  • Ability to delete or edit events
  • Improved Android support
  • Memories/map feature to track past events

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Countdown ‎

Subscriptions2
  • Countdown Premium - 3 Months$4.993 Months
  • Countdown Premium - Yearly7 Days trial$14.991 Year
One-time3
  • Premium Backgrounds I$0.99
  • Holiday Backgrounds I$0.99
  • Premium$19.99
17 purchases

Outside

Subscriptions10
  • Monthly subscription$2.991 Month
  • Outside Pro Monthly3 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Monthly Plan$4.491 Month
Show 7 more
  • Monthly subscription3 Days trial$6.991 Month
  • Yearly Pro Deal3 Days trial$12.491 Year
  • Annual Pro3 Days trial$12.491 Year
  • Outside Pro Annual$19.991 Year
  • Annual Plan3 Days trial$29.491 Year
  • Outside Pro Annual3 Days trial$31.491 Year
  • Annual plan3 Days trial$44.491 Year
One-time7
  • Unlock Countdown styles$0.99
  • Ad supported tier$4.99
  • All Time Deal$5.49
Show 4 more
  • All Time Deal$7.49
  • All Time Pro$9.99
  • Lifetime Access$29.99
  • Lifetime access$44.49

Questions

Is Countdown ‎ free?
Countdown ‎ is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Outside free?
Outside is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Countdown ‎ or Outside?
Outside is rated higher. Countdown ‎ averages 3.8 out of 5 from 11K ratings, while Outside averages 4.7 from 2.8K ratings.
Do Countdown ‎ or Outside have ads?
Countdown ‎ shows ads; Outside does not.
Which is updated more often, Countdown ‎ or Outside?
Countdown ‎ ships an update every 2 months, and Outside every 6 days. Most recently, Countdown ‎ was updated on September 23, 2026 and Outside on September 23, 2026.

Other comparisons