Comparison

Lickety Split vs Timer for Kids

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

Head to head
About

Lickety Split

This app transforms daily chores into engaging games for children using music and visual timers. It helps motivate kids to complete tasks like getting ready or cleaning up by making time tangible and fun, reducing the need for parental nagging.

Highlights
  • Musical countdown timers
  • Animated hourglass visual
  • Gamifies daily tasks
  • Motivates dawdling children
  • Customizable timers with in-app purchase
  • Parent and educator developed
Features
Read full description

"We need to leave the house in five minutes." "Brush your teeth for two whole minutes." "For the umpteenth time, please pick up your toys." Sound familiar? Telling a young child they have five minutes rarely works: five minutes feels different every time. So we made it a game. Lickety Split is the visual musical timer that turns daily tasks into a beat-the-clock adventure, so parents can be their child's champion instead of their task-master. Choose a task and start the timer. Classical music plays for exactly as long as the task should take, gently and then excitedly speeding up, while an animated character acts out the task and a Time Disc drains as time runs out. Kids feel the urgency without the pressure. When they beat the timer, everyone celebrates. Two kinds of timers: Beat the Timer: finish before the music runs out. - Ready to leave the house (5 minutes) - Getting dressed - PJs on - Getting ready for a meal - Cleaning up the room - Making the bed Count Down: turn waiting into a calm, visible experience. - Brushing teeth (a full two minutes) - Taking turns - Study time - Reading time Anything Timer: choose 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10 or 20 minutes, each with its own perfectly matched song. Great for any new task, or for "Watch the timer and then we'll play together." Your Song, Your Length: time any task with a song from your own music. Timey the hourglass is free, with 18 different rewards. Premium adds four more characters, a train, a unicorn, a bee and a caterpillar, each with its own short animated stories for both kinds of timer. Premium is an optional yearly subscription ($1.99 a year in the US), behind a grown-up question. Made for small hands and busy grown-ups: - Tap the timer to pause; resume, start over or go home - Settings to hide the Time Disc or the numbers, skip the story intro or voice prompts, and choose what happens when time runs out - Anything that changes how a timer works, opens a link or involves a purchase asks a grown-up question first Why it works: For young children, time is an abstract idea that only makes sense when it is attached to something they can see and hear. The prefrontal cortex, responsible for focus, self-regulation and executive function, is among the last parts of the brain to mature. Lickety Split meets children where they are: the accelerating music, the animation and the Time Disc act as a gentle scaffold for attention and transitions, helping children build a real sense of time at their own pace. Especially loved by parents of children with ADHD, autism and sensory processing differences, for whom visual timers and clear sound cues can make an enormous difference with time blindness and transitions. It was designed for all children, and works beautifully for every family. Used and loved by: - Families building morning routines, bedtime routines and homework habits - Early childhood educators managing classroom transitions - Occupational therapists supporting children's daily living skills Available in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Turkish, Japanese, Korean and Chinese. Timers and music work fully offline. No ads, no tracking and no personal information collected: the app goes online only to verify purchases and send anonymous crash reports. Developed by parents and educational technologists, Lickety Split has been helping families raise confident, independent children since 2011. We hope it brings a little more calm, and a lot more cheering, to your family's day. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.swirlystudios.com/privacy

About

Timer for Kids

This app visually represents the passage of time for children with engaging characters and various timer displays. It supports daily family routines like homework, playtime, and chores, making time management an adventure.

Highlights
  • Visual time passage with characters
  • Multiple timer views (Circle, Sand, Stars, etc.)
  • Customizable durations
  • Pause and early finish celebrations
  • Offline functionality
  • Adjustable sounds and alerts
Features
Read full description

Timer for Kids helps children see time pass with fun characters and different timer views. A way to support everyday family routines. A TIMER FOR EVERY ACTIVITY Use it for reading, homework, brushing teeth, playtime or tidying up. Choose a duration and a character to get started. DIFFERENT WAYS TO SEE TIME Explore views such as Circle, Sand, Stars, Cake, Tidy Up, Reading, Race and Game. Animations show time passing as children work on their activity. AT THEIR PACE, YOUR WAY Pause the timer whenever you need to, or celebrate an early finish with “You win!”. Turn sounds on or off to suit the moment. You can also set the timer to count down or count up, depending on what helps motivate your child. ENJOY TOGETHER AS A FAMILY • Colorful characters. • Adjustable duration. • Optional sounds and an alert when time is up. • Works offline. • No ads, accounts or subscriptions. • Available in Spanish and English for iPhone and iPad. Turn time into an adventure and celebrate little achievements every day.

Screenshots

Lickety Split4 screens
Timer for Kids1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Lickety Split at Free against Timer for Kids's $3.99. Lickety Split also leads on ratings volume (28 vs 1). Timer for Kids's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and review sentiment (100% vs 67%). On update cadence, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

Lickety Split is free to download; Timer for Kids costs $3.99 up front. Lickety Split sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $2.99 per year. Timer for Kids asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Timer for Kids holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Lickety Split has 28 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of Lickety Split's written reviews are positive against 100% of Timer for Kids's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Lickety Split ships an update every 11 days, Timer for Kids every 8 days. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Lickety Split versus Timer for Kids: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLickety SplitTimer for Kids
PriceFree — better$3.99
Rating4.8 (28 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings28 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 11 daysEvery 8 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size155 MB44 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSwirly Studios LLCJOSE ANTONIO ALCALA MURO

Customer experience

Lickety Split

All ratings26 ratings
Positive96.2%
Neutral3.8%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews36 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral5.6%
Negative27.8%

Timer for Kids

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Lickety Split

Subscriptions1
  • Plus$2.991 Year
None

Timer for Kids

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Lickety Split free?
Lickety Split is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Timer for Kids free?
Timer for Kids costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Lickety Split or Timer for Kids?
Timer for Kids is rated higher. Lickety Split averages 4.8 out of 5 from 28 ratings, while Timer for Kids averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Lickety Split or Timer for Kids have ads?
Neither Lickety Split nor Timer for Kids shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Lickety Split or Timer for Kids?
Lickety Split ships an update every 11 days, and Timer for Kids every 8 days. Most recently, Lickety Split was updated on November 1, 2026 and Timer for Kids on November 1, 2026.

Other comparisons