Comparison

TalkingTime vs Chimes

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

Head to head
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/

About

Chimes

This app provides a variety of clock sounds, including cuckoo, church bells, and Big Ben chimes. It offers hourly time reports with customizable sounds and multi-language voice options. Users can also record their own voice for custom reminders and manage notifications easily.

Highlights
  • Cuckoo Clock sounds
  • Clock Chime
  • Church Bell sounds
  • Big Ben sounds
  • Hourly time report
  • Customizable sound tips
  • Record custom voice tips
Features
Read full description

Chimes features: - Cuckoo Clock - Clock Chime - Church Bell - Big Ben sounds - Hourly time report for you - Custom time to make a sound tips - multi-language time report voices - Silent mode and quick on/off make it easy to manage - Record your voice to make a voice tips notification mode to choose: 1 Notification Text + Sound 2 Only Notification Text 3 Only Sound

Screenshots

TalkingTime3 screens
Chimes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: TalkingTime at 4.6 against Chimes's 4.2. TalkingTime also leads on review sentiment (93% vs 66%). Chimes's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 6 weeks) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 17.6). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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 and Chimes sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

TalkingTime holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 309 and 290 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 93% of TalkingTime's written reviews are positive against 66% of Chimes's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

TalkingTime ships an update every 6 weeks, Chimes fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
TalkingTime versus Chimes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTalkingTimeChimes
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (309 ratings) — better4.2 (290 ratings)
Positive reviews92.7% of reviews — better66.3% of reviews
Number of ratings309 — better290
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.610.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size25 MB24 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFortuisoft LLCHN Tech Ltd.

Customer experience

TalkingTime

All ratings309 ratings
Positive90.6%
Neutral2.9%
Negative6.5%
Written reviews205 reviews
Positive92.7%
Neutral2.0%
Negative5.4%

Chimes

All ratings290 ratings
Positive81.7%
Neutral4.8%
Negative13.4%
Written reviews98 reviews
Positive66.3%
Neutral9.2%
Negative24.5%

User reviews

TalkingTime

From 309 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Reliable and consistent
  • 🚀 Helps with time management
  • 💡 Customizable announcements
  • 👍 Easy to use and set up
  • 🚀 Keeps users on track

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional stability issues
  • 🔊 Low volume of announcements
  • 🔊 Limited voice options

Chimes

From 290 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ⏰ Useful hourly chime
  • 🔔 Variety of sound options
  • 🕰️ Customizable chime settings
  • 🕰️ Helpful for staying on schedule
  • 🎶 Enjoyable chime sounds

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Inconsistent chime functionality
  • 🤔 Confusing setup process
  • 🔇 Chimes not audible in some cases
  • 🔍 Unclear instructions
  • 💰 Paid features not worth the cost

Bugs and 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

Chimes

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Chimes not working after iOS updates
  • App crashing or freezing
  • Notifications not triggering as expected
  • Purchased features not unlocking properly

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to import custom sounds
  • Implement quarter-hour chimes
  • Allow more granular time customization
  • Integrate with Apple Watch
  • Improve volume control options

In-app purchases

1 purchases

TalkingTime

Subscriptions1
  • Pro upgrade7 Days trial$1.991 Month
1 purchases

Chimes

One-time1
  • Pro Version$3.99

Questions

Is TalkingTime free?
TalkingTime is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Chimes free?
Chimes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, TalkingTime or Chimes?
TalkingTime is rated higher. TalkingTime averages 4.6 out of 5 from 309 ratings, while Chimes averages 4.2 from 290 ratings.
Do TalkingTime or Chimes have ads?
Neither TalkingTime nor Chimes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, TalkingTime or Chimes?
TalkingTime ships an update every 6 weeks, and Chimes fortnightly. Most recently, TalkingTime was updated on October 15, 2026 and Chimes on October 12, 2026.

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