Comparison

Clear vs Critter Timer

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

Head to head
About

Clear

This app offers a minimalist interface for managing tasks and reminders with intuitive gestures. Organize anything from daily to-dos to complex projects with customizable themes and a unique heatmap feature.

Highlights
  • Minimalist design
  • Gesture-based task management
  • Customizable themes and icons
  • Heatmap for task prioritization
  • Flexible list creation
  • Reminders and routines
Features
Read full description

Over 270 million tasks checked off in Clear. Here's why so many find it uniquely productive: BEAUTIFULLY MINIMAL Zero on-screen clutter. Just you and your thoughts, as it should be. FORM & FUNCTION Clear's colorful heatmap is stylish and useful, highlighting your most important tasks for triage. PERSONALIZABLE Make Clear perfectly yours with color themes, icons, font options and more. FLUENT GESTURES Swipe to check off to ascending musical chimes and see why Clear's trademark gestures make it frictionless to dump the clutter in your head into its heat mapped lists. SIMPLE & FLEXIBLE There’s a whole world of listing past the iconic daily to-do or grocery list. Anything cluttering your head is likely perfect to store in a tidy list in Clear: Daily Kanban (Today, Tomorrow, Next Day lists to drag & drop between) Upcoming Reminders Routines List Priority Lists Errands & Chores Bucket List Treat Yourself Work Project Checklist Watch List (Shows & Movies) Play List (Video Games) Subscriptions & Budgeting Lists Read List Tier Lists or Top 10 Lists Recipes Lists Simple Journal or Notes Trip & Event Plans Gym Workout List

About

Critter Timer

This app provides a cozy focus timer experience on your Apple Watch with charming, hand-illustrated woodland companions. Engage in focused work sessions while your critter friend studies alongside you, then enjoy gentle break animations that shift the scene to twilight.

Highlights
  • Standalone watchOS app
  • Animated woodland companions
  • Customizable focus and break lengths
  • Time-sensitive notifications
  • Daily session tracking and streaks
  • Auto-start option for seamless transitions
Features
Read full description

Critter Timer is a cozy focus timer for your Apple Watch, starring hand-illustrated woodland companions that move and work alongside you. Tap to start a focus session, and your chosen critter settles into their tiny world — a rabbit by candlelight in a cozy hut, a fox curled up in an English library, or a cat working at a cottage desk. They study while you study. Then it's break time. Your companion stretches, looks out the window, sips tea, gazes at the stars. The scene shifts to twilight. Two minutes, five minutes, however long you set — and back to focus when you're ready. DESIGNED FOR THE WRIST • Standalone watchOS app — no iPhone needed once installed • Beautiful animated scenes optimized for Apple Watch displays • Digital Crown to adjust focus and break lengths • Simple tap-to-start, tap-to-pause controls • Time-sensitive notifications keep you on schedule, even during Focus mode • Subtle haptics throughout — never jarring THREE COMPANIONS, ONE WORLD • A rabbit in a quill-and-ink study, candle flickering, cozy hut at dusk • A fox in a Victorian library, leather chairs and stacked books • A cat at a cottage writing desk, surrounded by warm lamplight FOCUS SESSIONS • 5 to 60 minutes, in 5-minute increments • Choose your length per session BREAK SESSIONS • 1 to 30 minutes • Different scene tone — softer light, looser poses • A gentle reminder to actually rest BUILT FOR DEEP WORK • Track your daily session count and watch your streak grow • Auto-start option flows you straight from focus into break, and back again — no taps, no friction • Resume gracefully if you switch wrists, get pulled away, or your watch sleeps mid-session • Distinct visual tone for focus vs. break so you always know where you are WHY YET ANOTHER TIMER? Most focus timers feel like productivity software. Critter Timer feels like a window into a small, kind world. Whether you're working, studying, reading, journaling, meditating, or just trying to be present for 25 minutes — your companion is right there, doing their thing alongside you. No accounts. No ads. No tracking. No subscription. Just you, your watch, and a small woodland friend. Built with care for people who love their Apple Watch and want a focus tool that respects both their attention and their aesthetic.

Screenshots

Clear4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Clear at Free against Critter Timer's $1.99. Clear also leads on ratings volume (5.2K vs 1). Critter Timer's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and rating (5.0 vs 4.6). 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

Clear is free to download; Critter Timer costs $1.99 up front. Clear sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Critter Timer asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Critter Timer holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Clear has 5.2K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Clear versus Critter Timer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterClearCritter Timer
PriceFree — better$1.99
Rating4.6 (5.2K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews62.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings5.2K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 3 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPod, Apple Watch
Requires iOS16.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size196 MB26 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperImpendingTodd Seabrook

Customer experience

Clear

All ratings5,215 ratings
Positive90.1%
Neutral2.5%
Negative7.4%
Written reviews652 reviews
Positive62.4%
Neutral7.4%
Negative30.2%

Critter Timer

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Clear

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Text input issues on iOS 16 update
  • List items disappearing after updates
  • Syncing problems across devices
  • Crashes and performance issues

Requested features

6 requests
  • Restore iCloud sync capability
  • Add undo/restore deleted items feature
  • Improve reminders and due dates functionality
  • Introduce a one-time purchase option
  • Develop a desktop/web version
Show 1 more
  • Improve list management and organization

Critter Timer

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Clear

Subscriptions3
  • Legacy Clear Pro Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Clear Pro$3.991 Month
  • Legacy Clear Pro Annual$24.991 Year
One-time7
  • Bonus Sound PackFree
  • GulkaveFree
  • Cormorant GaramondFree
Show 4 more
  • Chicago FLFFree
  • Pocket MonkFree
  • 8-Bit Sound Pack$1.99
  • Sci-Fi Sound Pack$2.99
None

Critter Timer

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Clear free?
Clear is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Critter Timer free?
Critter Timer costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Clear or Critter Timer?
Critter Timer is rated higher. Clear averages 4.6 out of 5 from 5.2K ratings, while Critter Timer averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Clear or Critter Timer have ads?
Neither Clear nor Critter Timer shows ads.

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