Comparison

Countdown Star (Ad vs Smartlights countdown

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

Head to head
About

Countdown Star (Ad

Track time until or since important events with customizable timers. Set up countdowns for birthdays, holidays, and vacations, or count up from anniversaries and special dates. Share your event timers with friends and family.

Highlights
  • Add custom events
  • Customize event visuals
  • Apple Watch display
  • Today Widget integration
  • Set exact event times
  • Adjust time units
  • Share event timers
Features
Read full description

Countdown Star is the best way to countdown to — and count up from — all of your favorite events. Countdown to birthdays, holidays, an upcoming vacation, a wedding, the New Year, parties, sporting events, concerts and more. Count up from anniversaries, the day you were born, and other special events in the past. * How many seconds until your next birthday? * How many months since you were born? * How many days until you graduate from college? * How many hours until your anniversary? * How much time is left until your vacation starts? * How many days until Christmas? * How many minutes until your party begins? * How much time is left until your baby's due date? Countdown Star is the countdown app that lets you choose which events to add, then keeps them in sync across all of your devices. Features: * iCloud Sync — events and wallpapers sync automatically across all your iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch devices * Celebration Animations — choose Confetti, Fireworks, Balloons, Stars, or Lasers when your countdown reaches zero * Repeating Events — annual events automatically advance to the next year so you never have to update them * Home Screen Widgets — Small, Medium, and Large widgets let you glance at your countdowns without opening the app * Apple Watch — view your events right on your wrist * Add Your Own Events — add as many events as you like * Custom Wallpapers — choose from 15+ built-in wallpapers or use your own photos * Time Zone Support — set each event in any time zone with localized city names * Sort and Search — sort by date, title, or your own custom order; events are sectioned into Countdown and Count Up groups * Favorites and Notifications — mark events as favorites to receive a notification when their countdown reaches zero * Interactive Slider — instantly switch between seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, or years to see your countdown exactly how you want it * Customizable Timer — choose timer position (Top, Middle, or Bottom), show or hide weeks, and toggle the leading zero * Multiple App Icons — personalize the app icon on your Home Screen Note: Countdown Star is available as a free version (with ads and an optional Remove Ads purchase) and as a paid ad-free version.

About

Smartlights countdown

Control Christmas projectors with Bluetooth, set custom countdown dates and titles, and read time. Get technical support directly from the developer.

Highlights
  • Bluetooth connectivity
  • Projector password function
  • Read time in phone
  • Calculate Christmas distance
  • Set custom countdown dates
  • Type custom titles for countdowns
Features
Read full description

This is a two in one App which can control “Countdown to Christmas projector” and “Countdown to Christmas and More projector”. Includes Bluetooth connectivity, projector password function, read time in phone and calculate the distance of Christmas function. For “Countdown to Christmas and More projector” you can not only countdown to Christmas but also set the date which you want and typing a title for it. If you need technical guidance, the App has contact information with Gemmy company in the page which can enter from the button in the lower right corner.

Screenshots

Countdown Star (Ad4 screens
Smartlights countdown4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Smartlights countdown at Free against Countdown Star (Ad's $1.99. Smartlights countdown also leads on iOS requirement (8.0 vs 17.0). Countdown Star (Ad's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 2.5) and review sentiment (56% vs 25%). On ads, 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

Smartlights countdown is free to download; Countdown Star (Ad costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Countdown Star (Ad holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Countdown Star (Ad has 3.7K ratings behind it against 20, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 56% of Countdown Star (Ad's written reviews are positive against 25% of Smartlights countdown's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Countdown Star (Ad ships an update fortnightly, Smartlights countdown every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and June 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Countdown Star (Ad versus Smartlights countdown: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCountdown Star (AdSmartlights countdown
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (3.7K ratings) — better2.5 (20 ratings)
Positive reviews56.3% of reviews — better25.0% of reviews
Number of ratings3.7K — better20
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
Best chart rank#88 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.08.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size53 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJoseph MerrillGemmy Industries Corporation

Customer experience

Countdown Star (Ad

All ratings3,673 ratings
Positive93.5%
Neutral2.9%
Negative3.5%
Written reviews400 reviews
Positive56.3%
Neutral15.3%
Negative28.5%

Smartlights countdown

All ratings20 ratings
Positive40.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative60.0%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive25.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative75.0%

Bugs and requests

Countdown Star (Ad

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Custom wallpapers not saving
  • Countdown not updating correctly
  • Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
  • Notification system not working as expected

Requested features

5 requests
  • Recurring event support
  • Ability to exclude weekends/holidays from countdown
  • Multiple event display on main screen
  • Improved widget functionality
  • Sync across devices

Smartlights countdown

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Countdown Star (Ad

No in-app purchases

None

Smartlights countdown

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Countdown Star (Ad free?
Countdown Star (Ad costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Smartlights countdown free?
Smartlights countdown is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Countdown Star (Ad or Smartlights countdown?
Countdown Star (Ad is rated higher. Countdown Star (Ad averages 4.7 out of 5 from 3.7K ratings, while Smartlights countdown averages 2.5 from 20 ratings.
Do Countdown Star (Ad or Smartlights countdown have ads?
Neither Countdown Star (Ad nor Smartlights countdown shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Countdown Star (Ad or Smartlights countdown?
Countdown Star (Ad ships an update fortnightly, and Smartlights countdown every 2 months. Most recently, Countdown Star (Ad was updated on September 26, 2026 and Smartlights countdown on June 5, 2026.

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