Comparison

Best Sand Timer vs Hourglass

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

Hourglass

A visual timer app that uses falling sand to help you track time peacefully. Ideal for focus sessions, meditation, or any activity where a calm sense of time passing is desired. Offers customizable colors and time visibility with a Pro upgrade.

Highlights
  • Visual falling sand timer
  • Customizable timer durations
  • Relaxing sand animation
  • Timer completion notifications
  • Restart recent timers
  • Customizable colors (Pro)
  • Toggle time visibility (Pro)
Features
Read full description

Watch the sand fall and enjoy a calmer way to keep track of time. Hourglass is a simple visual timer that lets you enjoy the gentle motion of falling sand while counting down your time. Use it for studying, focused work, reading, breaks, meditation, or any moment when you want time to feel a little more peaceful. Unlike an ordinary digital timer, Hourglass gives you a visual sense of time passing as the sand slowly falls. Perfect for: • Studying and focus sessions • Work and productivity • Reading and hobbies • Pomodoro sessions • Meditation and quiet time • Relaxing breaks Features: • Set any timer duration you like • Relaxing falling-sand animation • Quickly restart recently used timer durations • Notifications when the timer finishes • Customize sand and background colors with Pro • Show or hide the remaining time with Pro Whether you're studying, working, meditating, or taking a break, Hourglass gives you a simple and calming way to experience time. standard Apple Terms of Use (EULA) https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Best Sand Timer4 screens
Hourglass3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Best Sand Timer at none against Hourglass's 2. Best Sand Timer also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (46% vs 30%). Hourglass's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 14 months) and rating (4.5 vs 4.2). On price 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. Hourglass sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Best Sand Timer asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Hourglass holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Hourglass has 257 ratings behind it against 19, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 46% of Best Sand Timer's written reviews are positive against 30% of Hourglass'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, Hourglass weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Best Sand Timer versus Hourglass: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBest Sand TimerHourglass
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (19 ratings)4.5 (257 ratings) — better
Positive reviews45.6% of reviews — better30.0% of reviews
Number of ratings19257 — better
Update frequencyEvery 14 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size38 MB52 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSerhii SimkovskyiFocaccia, Inc.

Customer experience

Best Sand Timer

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

Hourglass

All ratings254 ratings
Positive87.4%
Neutral4.3%
Negative8.3%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive30.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative50.0%

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

Hourglass

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Best Sand Timer

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Hourglass

Subscriptions1
  • Pro - Monthly7 Days trial$0.991 Month
One-time1
  • Hourglass Timer Pro$4.99

Questions

Is Best Sand Timer free?
Best Sand Timer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Hourglass free?
Hourglass is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Best Sand Timer or Hourglass?
Hourglass is rated higher. Best Sand Timer averages 4.2 out of 5 from 19 ratings, while Hourglass averages 4.5 from 257 ratings.
Do Best Sand Timer or Hourglass have ads?
Hourglass shows ads; Best Sand Timer does not.
Which is updated more often, Best Sand Timer or Hourglass?
Best Sand Timer ships an update every 14 months, and Hourglass weekly. Most recently, Best Sand Timer was updated on November 1, 2026 and Hourglass on November 12, 2026.

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