Comparison

Visual Countdown Timer vs Speech Blubs

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

Head to head
About

Visual Countdown Timer

This app uses a visual countdown to help children understand time and complete tasks. A picture is revealed as time elapses, and an exciting animation and sound reward completion. It aims to turn daily struggles into fun and encourage quicker task completion.

Highlights
  • Visual countdown from green to red
  • Picture revealed as time elapses
  • Exciting sound and animation reward
  • Customizable background images
  • User-selected reveal images
  • Adaptable for various tasks
Features
Read full description

Is it a battle to get your child to do something quickly? This visual countdown App was designed for my 2 year old son to help him get his reward chart star for getting dressed quickly. Getting him dressed used to take forever with many stalling strategies being deployed. Now he runs upstairs asking for the "Countdown". Watch as the timer runs from green to amber to red, helping the child understand that time is running out. A fun picture is slowly revealed as the time runs down and when the time is up the child is rewarded with an exciting sound and the picture spins. Background image changes to match the time of day, so that your child is given subtle hints as to what time of day the task they are being asked relates to. Choose your own image to reveal from your iPhones photo library to really surprise your child. Endless possible uses: * Getting dressed * Getting out the door (shoes and coats on) * Tidying * Brushing teeth * Sharing toys Turns daily struggles into fun time!

About

Speech Blubs

This voice-controlled app helps children aged 1-8 learn new sounds and words through engaging video modeling and interactive exercises. It offers a safe, ad-free learning environment with positive reinforcement and access to a vast library of activities and parent resources.

Highlights
  • Voice-controlled speech therapy
  • Video modeling for learning
  • 1500+ exercises and activities
  • Face filters and mini-games
  • Parent's Academy with articles
  • Positive reinforcement system
  • Multiple language options
Features
Read full description

WHAT DOES SPEECH BLUBS OFFER? Speech Blubs is a voice-controlled speech therapy app designed to help your child learn new sounds and words, and to practice speaking in a stimulating, educational environment. **FEATURED IN** Autism Parenting Magazine, Brisbane Kids, Speech Chick Therapy, Beautiful Speech Life, and The Speech Teacher. Awarded the Social Impact Award and supported by the Facebook Start Program, and winner of the “Safe for Children” certificate, the Mom’s Choice Award, the Parent’s Picks 2020 Award Winner, and techozens.com’s “Best and Trusted Speech Therapy App for Kids. WHY LEARN WITH SPEECH BLUBS? Our app was created with speech therapists, teachers, & parents, and uses video modeling for effective speech development. Our apps have zero ads and no flashy features, thus providing a safe and non-intrusive learning experience. We use ABA therapy-inspired positive reinforcement that rewards kids with fun games and stickers for trying. Having the app at your fingertips makes it easy to practice in a routine that suits you, and helps avoid stressful disruptions that can upset your child. Our apps use multiple child and platform support, so with one sign-in ALL of your kids can use the app, no matter if it's on your device, a partner’s, or grandparents’. Speech Blubs is available in English (both American and British), German, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Czech, Swedish, Polish, Hebrew, Hungarian, Lithuanian, and Romanian. You can switch the language from the menu inside the app. KEY FEATURES: Parents’ Academy: A newly-added parent section provides access to an ever-growing content library of 350+ articles on parenting, homeschooling, education, speech therapy, and more. All written by 20+ speech and teaching professionals. Also, check out our practical video tips! Kids’ area: There are over 1500+ exercises, activities, videos, mini-games, and dozens of NEW face filters. We have lions, firefighters, monkeys, giraffes, hats, glasses, and more. Also, the app’s look and feel is even more child-friendly and engaging. There are some new animal characters to guide and motivate kids through exercises to achieve learning goals and make learning fun! Choose from 28 fun sections: Early Sounds, When I Grow Up, Get into Shapes, Living Colors, Yummy Time, This Is My Body, Mouth Gym, Animal Kingdom, Ride Your Wheels, Sing-Along, and many more! SCIENTIFICALLY-PROVEN LEARNING TECHNIQUES Speech Blubs uses video modeling for immersive learning, where children observe their peers as “teachers'' on video. When children watch their peers in real-time, their MIRROR NEURONS fire up! This scientifically proven and effective approach was confirmed in a UCLA study published by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and showed that kids learn faster and better when learning from other kids. SUBSCRIPTION, PRICING, & TERMS With Speech Blubs membership you get a free personalized report with tips & tricks, plus unlimited access to all the activities to try our app. Your subscription automatically renews unless the auto-renew feature is turned off at least 24 hrs. before the end of the current period. The account will be charged for renewal within 24 hrs. before the end of the current period. Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account at the confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user’s Account Settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial period will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication. WE HELP CHILDREN LEARN TO SPEAK & READ! Read our full Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy here: https://speechblubs.com/legal

Screenshots

Visual Countdown Timer4 screens
Speech Blubs4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Visual Countdown Timer at free with in-app purchases against Speech Blubs's subscription. Visual Countdown Timer also leads on review sentiment (80% vs 67%). Speech Blubs's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs monthly) and chart position (#41 vs unranked). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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. Visual Countdown Timer sells 7 one-off in-app purchases and Speech Blubs sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $14.49 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Visual Countdown Timer against 4.6 for Speech Blubs. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 41K and 59K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 80% of Visual Countdown Timer's written reviews are positive against 67% of Speech Blubs's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Visual Countdown Timer ships an update monthly, Speech Blubs every 9 days. Both last shipped on October 28, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Visual Countdown Timer versus Speech Blubs: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVisual Countdown TimerSpeech Blubs
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (41K ratings)4.6 (59K ratings) — better
Positive reviews80.3% of reviews — better67.2% of reviews
Number of ratings41K59K — better
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 9 days — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterSubscription
Best chart rank—#41 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.5 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size185 MB147 MB
Age rating4++4
DeveloperFehners Software LLPBlub Blub Inc.

Customer experience

Visual Countdown Timer

All ratings41,288 ratings
Positive88.9%
Neutral5.7%
Negative5.3%
Written reviews299 reviews
Positive80.3%
Neutral6.0%
Negative13.7%

Speech Blubs

All ratings58,414 ratings
Positive90.7%
Neutral3.7%
Negative5.6%
Written reviews2,092 reviews
Positive67.2%
Neutral5.4%
Negative27.4%

User reviews

Visual Countdown Timer

From 41K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great for classroom/special needs use
  • 👍 Simple and visual design
  • 👍 Customizable pictures and sounds
  • 👍 Helps with transitions and routines
  • 👍 Motivates kids to complete tasks

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and glitches
  • 🔊 Loud ticking sound
  • 🔒 Ads in free version
  • 🔒 Can't pause or stop timer

Speech Blubs

From 59K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Good for kids
  • 👍 Helps with speech development
  • 👍 Engaging and fun
  • 👍 Effective in improving speech
  • 👍 Fantastic support tool

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and freezes frequently
  • 🐛 Glitchy and buggy
  • 🔒 Privacy concerns with microphone and camera access
  • 💰 Expensive subscription
  • 💰 Deceptive free trial and billing practices

Bugs and requests

Visual Countdown Timer

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Custom pictures load rotated
  • Timer stops working when app is in background

Requested features

5 requests
  • Option to set timer to countdown to a specific time
  • Ability to adjust timer in smaller increments
  • Option to keep picture displayed after timer ends
  • Background timer functionality
  • Custom sound/music options

Speech Blubs

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes and freezes
  • Microphone and camera issues
  • Inconsistent functionality across devices
  • Billing and subscription problems

Requested features

6 requests
  • More diverse and age-appropriate content
  • Ability to focus on specific speech sounds
  • Offline mode
  • Better volume and audio controls
  • Improved parental controls and child lock
Show 1 more
  • Syncing across multiple devices

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Visual Countdown Timer

One-time7
  • Ocean Pack$0.99
  • Transport Pack$0.99
  • Animal Pack$0.99
Show 4 more
  • Cartoon Pack$0.99
  • Mask Maker$0.99
  • Remove Ads$1.99
  • Premium Upgrade$3.99
6 purchases

Speech Blubs

Subscriptions6
  • Show of Support - Monthly5 variants$14.491 Month
  • Boost your child's speech!$14.491 Month
  • Show of Support - Monthly7 Days trial$14.491 Month
Show 3 more
  • Show of Support - Monthly1 Month trial$14.491 Month
  • Show of Support - Annual$29.491 Year
  • Show of Support - Annual7 Days trial2 variants$59.991 Year

Questions

Is Visual Countdown Timer free?
Visual Countdown Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Speech Blubs free?
Speech Blubs is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Visual Countdown Timer or Speech Blubs?
Speech Blubs is rated higher. Visual Countdown Timer averages 4.6 out of 5 from 41K ratings, while Speech Blubs averages 4.6 from 59K ratings.
Do Visual Countdown Timer or Speech Blubs have ads?
Both Visual Countdown Timer and Speech Blubs show ads.
Which is updated more often, Visual Countdown Timer or Speech Blubs?
Visual Countdown Timer ships an update monthly, and Speech Blubs every 9 days. Most recently, Visual Countdown Timer was updated on October 28, 2026 and Speech Blubs on October 28, 2026.

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