Comparison

Best Interval Timer vs Rest Timer

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

Head to head
About

Best Interval Timer

This app acts as your personal coach, guiding you through workouts with customizable routines. Focus on your exercise while it manages timing for warm-up, high/low intensity intervals, cool-downs, and rest periods.

Highlights
  • Customizable workout routines
  • Warm-up, intensity, cool-down, rest periods
  • Background and multitasking support
  • Adjustable interval sounds and vibrations
  • Workout practice tracking
  • Landscape and portrait orientation
Features
Read full description

This app is like your personal coach, just focus on your workout without having to worry about time, Best Interval Timer will lead you to finish them perfectly. There is one default routine in this free version, but you can edit it to your own one which include warm-up, high/low intensity, cool down and rest time etc, you can custom as many sets as you wish to do. Key Features: ⁃ One default routine. ⁃ Big readable counting down time. ⁃ Start, pause or reset routine. ⁃ Warm up, low intensity, high intensity, cool down, rest time. ⁃ Support background, foreground playing and multitasking. ⁃ Music plays. ⁃ Vibrate or not. ⁃ 15 interval switch sounds. ⁃ 12 background interval pictures available. ⁃ Show number of times you have practiced of one routine. ⁃ Support landscape and portrait. ⁃ Create one reminder to alert you doing your workout. ⁃ Supports universal version. If you have any question or suggestion, please send email to our support userfeed@vip.tom.com.

About

Rest Timer

This app provides a simple countdown timer for rest periods during workouts. It features customizable sounds, notification-based restarts, and dynamic display support. Easily manage your workout intervals without interrupting your music or unlocking your phone.

Highlights
  • One-tap timer start
  • Customizable rest periods
  • Plays music during countdown
  • Restart from notification
  • Dynamic Island and Live Activity support
  • Adjust timer while running
Features
Read full description

Free app. No ads. Start the timer with one tap. Keeps playing music after a short alarm sound. Restart the timer from the notification. Dynamic Island and Live Activity supported. This is the simplest countdown timer out there, with a set of convenience features you can't find in any other similar app. It's primarily used for timing rest periods during a strength training workout. It works great in the gym, at home, and outdoors. Let your phone notify you when it's time to start the next set or exercise. *** Instructions *** Start the countdown by pressing one of the 9 timer buttons. Reset it if you don't need it anymore. Press'n'hold the button to change its timer duration. === Important! === Please make sure to allow the app to send you notifications, otherwise, you might not hear sound warnings, and it won't work with the screen locked. *** What makes this app better than the others? *** You can change the timer duration while the timer is already running. The app recalculates the remaining time and keeps the time that has already passed. Sometimes there is not enough energy in the tank, and you need an extra minute to rest. Or you started the wrong timer and want to change it to the correct one. The app uses carefully selected custom sounds that play nicely with your workout music. They are noticeable enough not to miss them but still easy on your ears. A gentle sound warning signals you to start preparing for the next set (for time intervals of 30 seconds and higher). Another more distinct sound follows when the time is up. When you're done with the set, you can restart the timer from the notification without unlocking the screen! No need to think about how long your rest time is after each set. *** FAQ *** Q. I can't hear the sound notifications. What's wrong? A. Please make sure that you have allowed the app to send you notifications. Go to Settings App -> Notifications -> find WaitWaitGo! -> Allow notifications and Sounds need to be On. Also, make sure that the silent switch on the phone is off, and if you have any iOS focus modes active, make sure they allow notifications from WaitWaitGo!. As a last resort, go to Settings -> Sounds and make sure that the Ringer And Alerts volume slider is set to some higher value.

Screenshots

Best Interval Timer4 screens
Rest Timer3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Rest Timer at none against Best Interval Timer's shown. Rest Timer also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 12 months) and rating (4.9 vs 4.6). Best Interval Timer's advantage is ratings volume (81 vs 11). On price, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Rest Timer holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Best Interval Timer has 81 ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 89% of Best Interval Timer's written reviews are positive against 100% of Rest Timer's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Best Interval Timer ships an update every 12 months, Rest Timer every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Best Interval Timer versus Rest Timer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBest Interval TimerRest Timer
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (81 ratings)4.9 (11 ratings) — better
Positive reviews89.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings81 — better11
Update frequencyEvery 12 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationAd-supportedFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.014.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB20 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer倩 赵Srdan Stanic

Customer experience

Best Interval Timer

All ratings81 ratings
Positive92.6%
Neutral4.9%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews103 reviews
Positive89.3%
Neutral6.8%
Negative3.9%

Rest Timer

All ratings11 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Best Interval Timer

Reported bugs

7 issues
  • App stops working after rating notification
  • Buttons don't work after rating notification
  • Crashes when saving timers
  • Crashes when editing exercises
  • Freezes and stops working
Show 2 more
  • Lost all timers after reinstalling
  • Side view unusable

Requested features

10 requests
  • Ability to save multiple intervals/routines
  • Voice cues for start/stop
  • Apple Watch compatibility
  • Larger buttons and text
  • Option to save different schedules (e.g., Tabata)
Show 5 more
  • Fix crashing when saving timers
  • Fix crashing when editing exercises
  • Improve side view usability
  • Remove ads or reduce frequency
  • Option to have cool down at the end of all intervals

Rest Timer

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Best Interval Timer

No in-app purchases

None

Rest Timer

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Best Interval Timer free?
Best Interval Timer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Rest Timer free?
Rest Timer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Best Interval Timer or Rest Timer?
Rest Timer is rated higher. Best Interval Timer averages 4.6 out of 5 from 81 ratings, while Rest Timer averages 4.9 from 11 ratings.
Do Best Interval Timer or Rest Timer have ads?
Best Interval Timer shows ads; Rest Timer does not.
Which is updated more often, Best Interval Timer or Rest Timer?
Best Interval Timer ships an update every 12 months, and Rest Timer every 2 months. Most recently, Best Interval Timer was updated on September 28, 2026 and Rest Timer on September 26, 2026.

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