Comparison

Best Sand Timer vs Disco Timer

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

Disco Timer

This app provides a visually intuitive countdown timer for various tasks, from cooking to presentations. Its unique rotary gesture for setting time and large display make it easy to use and read from a distance. Customize alerts and colors for a personalized experience.

Highlights
  • Rotary gesture time setting
  • Large, high-contrast display
  • Glanceable from a distance
  • Disable auto-lock option
  • Customizable color combinations (Premium)
  • Variety of exclusive alert tones
Features
Read full description

Boiling an egg, timing a presentation, or starting your next Pomodoro – Disco Timer is a universal countdown clock for all sorts of tasks. Setting the timer duration is based on 60-minute circle of traditional analog watches – you just wind it up with a single rotary gesture. Then tap the display to run, pause, or reset the timer. Large, high-contrast representation of the remaining time makes it glanceable from quite a distance. And an option to disable the Auto-Lock can keep the device awake while the timer is running. This comes in very handy when keeping an eye on the progress is as important as the finishing time itself. The face of the timer can be customized by choosing from a variety of color combinations (Premium feature). And for the completion alert – you can select from a dozen great-sounding tones, all of which are crafted exclusively for Codulis apps. Give Disco Timer a try, and let us know what you think!

Screenshots

Best Sand Timer4 screens
Disco Timer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Disco Timer at 89% against Best Sand Timer's 46%. Disco Timer also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.2) and update cadence (every 5 months vs every 14 months). Best Sand Timer's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.4). On price, 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

Both are free to download. Disco Timer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Best Sand Timer asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Disco Timer holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Disco Timer has 97 ratings behind it against 19, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 46% of Best Sand Timer's written reviews are positive against 89% of Disco Timer's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Best Sand Timer ships an update every 14 months, Disco Timer every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Best Sand Timer versus Disco Timer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBest Sand TimerDisco Timer
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (19 ratings)4.7 (97 ratings) — better
Positive reviews45.6% of reviews89.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1997 — better
Update frequencyEvery 14 monthsEvery 5 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better15.4
Further details — not scored
Size38 MB26 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSerhii SimkovskyiCodulis

Customer experience

Best Sand Timer

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

Disco Timer

All ratings97 ratings
Positive92.8%
Neutral2.1%
Negative5.2%
Written reviews19 reviews
Positive89.5%
Neutral5.3%
Negative5.3%

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

Disco Timer

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Best Sand Timer

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Disco Timer

One-time1
  • Disco Timer Premium$2.99

Questions

Is Best Sand Timer free?
Best Sand Timer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Disco Timer free?
Disco Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Best Sand Timer or Disco Timer?
Disco Timer is rated higher. Best Sand Timer averages 4.2 out of 5 from 19 ratings, while Disco Timer averages 4.7 from 97 ratings.
Do Best Sand Timer or Disco Timer have ads?
Neither Best Sand Timer nor Disco Timer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Best Sand Timer or Disco Timer?
Best Sand Timer ships an update every 14 months, and Disco Timer every 5 months. Most recently, Best Sand Timer was updated on October 4, 2026 and Disco Timer on October 7, 2026.

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