Comparison

Best Sand Timer vs NiceClock Digital

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

Head to head
About

Best Sand Timer

A digital hourglass timer that visually represents the passage of time. It's designed to be kid-friendly, offers customizable alarm sounds, and allows users to personalize the timer's color. This universal app provides a stylish way to manage tasks and stay notified.

Highlights
  • Digital hourglass visualization
  • Kid-friendly time perception
  • Customizable alarm sounds (16 options)
  • Notification even when inactive
  • Color themes for timer customization
  • Universal app for iPhone and iPad
Features
Read full description

Digital sand timer with artistic design. Time flows and does it stylishly. This digitized hourglass can be used to time anything for up to 60 minutes. It's like having a nice looking visual indicator of how much time is left on your task. * KIDS FRIENDLY Timer visualizes time to kids and lets them feel the time. Without reading or even knowing the numbers one can look at the visualized time flow, feel it and understand how long to wait or whether to hurry up. * STAY NOTIFIED It lets you set the alarm sound that will play when the timer is finished. You can choose from 16 unique alarm sounds, melodies and loops. You’ll be notified when your time is up even if you’re using another app or your device is locked. It can also repeat the sound alarm (up to 3 times) at the given interval if it was missed/snoozed. * COLOR YOUR TIME You can easily change the timer color to fit your personal lifestyle. There are 5 color themes: turquoise, red, green, amber and pink. Just pick the one you like in the application settings. * UNIVERSAL APP Timer works both on your iPhone/iPod and iPad, contains HD graphics for retina and iPad displays and supports all screen orientations for all devices. [+Retina graphics for iPad 3rd generation] * SEE ALSO: Best Timer Beautifully designed sand timer, stylish kitchen timer, countdown/up and powerful stopwatch All in one creatively combined Best Timer application to suit all your timing needs. Search "Best Timer" on iTunes (http://itunes.apple.com/app/best-timer/id415656570) * There are plenty of things we really need to time, just do them the way you like! ***Important for iOS5+ devices: if there is no alarm played when the application is inactive please go to system Settings / Notifications, select the application name and configure the timer's alarms, whether they perform sound and if they're to appear on lock screen. VISIT US: smartphoneware.com

About

NiceClock Digital

This app transforms your iOS device into a beautiful digital clock with customizable themes and a night mode. It offers a clean interface and prevents auto-lock for continuous viewing.

Highlights
  • Beautiful digital clock display
  • Customizable themes
  • Night mode for dimmed viewing
  • Disable auto-lock function
  • Helvetica New font
Features
Read full description

NiceClock is one of the most beautiful clocks for your iOS device. Put your iPhone in the docking station and let NiceClock do its magic. With the function "Disable Auto-Lock" the app stays open. Enjoy the nice view of the time with the beautiful swiss font "Helvetica New". You can chose between many nice themes. Thanks to the new night mode you can use NiceClock with a dimmed screen during night. This application is financed by advertising. Additional features of the pro version: - Even more themes. - No advertisements.

Screenshots

Best Sand Timer4 screens
NiceClock Digital4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Best Sand Timer at none against NiceClock Digital's shown. Best Sand Timer also leads on rating (4.2 vs 3.8) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). NiceClock Digital's advantage is update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 14 months). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Best Sand Timer holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 19 and 49 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 46% of Best Sand Timer's written reviews are positive against 49% of NiceClock Digital's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Best Sand Timer ships an update every 14 months, NiceClock Digital every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Best Sand Timer versus NiceClock Digital: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBest Sand TimerNiceClock Digital
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (19 ratings) — better3.8 (49 ratings)
Positive reviews45.6% of reviews49.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1949 — better
Update frequencyEvery 14 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better15.5
Further details — not scored
Size38 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSerhii SimkovskyiNiceApps GmbH

Customer experience

Best Sand Timer

All ratings19 ratings
Positive84.2%
Neutral0.0%
Negative15.8%
Written reviews149 reviews
Positive45.6%
Neutral14.8%
Negative39.6%

NiceClock Digital

All ratings49 ratings
Positive67.3%
Neutral8.2%
Negative24.5%
Written reviews83 reviews
Positive49.4%
Neutral16.9%
Negative33.7%

Bugs and requests

Best Sand Timer

Reported bugs

8 issues
  • No sound when timer reaches zero
  • Sand not aligned with hourglass
  • Graphics not aligned properly
  • Buttons partially off screen
  • App not configured for certain iPhone screens (e.g., XR)
Show 3 more
  • App freezes when trying to change timer
  • Alarm fails to go off if other notifications occur
  • Force closes when timer ends

Requested features

10 requests
  • Display current time on screen
  • Keypad for setting timer
  • Option to hide digital timer
  • Longer timer duration (beyond 1 hour)
  • Vibrate function
Show 5 more
  • More sound options
  • Sound control on screen
  • Option to view timer when phone is locked
  • Sound while sand is pouring
  • Start timer by turning the iPad

NiceClock Digital

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Best Sand Timer

No in-app purchases

None

NiceClock Digital

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Best Sand Timer free?
Best Sand Timer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is NiceClock Digital free?
NiceClock Digital is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Best Sand Timer or NiceClock Digital?
Best Sand Timer is rated higher. Best Sand Timer averages 4.2 out of 5 from 19 ratings, while NiceClock Digital averages 3.8 from 49 ratings.
Do Best Sand Timer or NiceClock Digital have ads?
NiceClock Digital shows ads; Best Sand Timer does not.
Which is updated more often, Best Sand Timer or NiceClock Digital?
Best Sand Timer ships an update every 14 months, and NiceClock Digital every 6 weeks. Most recently, Best Sand Timer was updated on October 4, 2026 and NiceClock Digital on October 9, 2026.

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