Comparison

Countdown Star (Ad vs Days Until ‎

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

Easily track the time remaining until or elapsed since important events. Offers a variety of customization options, including wallpapers and animations, with seamless syncing across devices. Get instant updates on your wrist or home screen.

Highlights
  • iCloud Sync across devices
  • Celebration animations
  • Repeating event support
  • Home screen widgets
  • Apple Watch compatibility
  • Customizable wallpapers
  • Time zone support
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 * Compatible with iPhone Duo — Countdown Star fits the outer and inner displays, open or closed, and when partially open like a book * 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

Days Until ‎

This app helps you track upcoming events with a visually appealing countdown. It offers a home screen widget and daily notifications to keep you informed. You can also share your countdowns with others or use the images as wallpapers.

Highlights
  • Event countdowns and count-ups
  • Home screen widget
  • Daily notifications
  • Background image customization
  • Easy sharing with friends
  • Offline functionality
Features
Read full description

Simple, elegant design shows you how long until your upcoming big event with beautiful background images. Or, if your event is in the past, it will count up. There is also a widget to track your countdown on your home screen. Daily notifications remind you how long until your special day. • Easy share your countdown tracking with friends and family • Post your countdown tracking to Facebook with one click • Works offline • Countless beautiful background images • Great to use as wallpapers • Great for tracking birthdays, weddings, trips, or any other big event! Please email us or leave review feedback for feature requests or any other improvement suggestions you have for Countdown Timer. We love to hear from you and are always looking to improve our Countdown Timer app! Please share Countdown Timer app with your friends and family! Thanks! Team Zaffles

Screenshots

Countdown Star (Ad4 screens
Days Until ‎4 screens

Verdict

The call

Countdown Star (Ad and Days Until ‎ both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 56% of Countdown Star (Ad's written reviews are positive against 0% of Days Until ‎'s. Countdown Star (Ad also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). Days Until ‎'s advantage is price (Free vs $1.99). On rating and iOS requirement 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

Days Until ‎ is free to download; Countdown Star (Ad costs $1.99 up front. Days Until ‎ sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Countdown Star (Ad asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Countdown Star (Ad against 4.6 for Days Until ‎. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Countdown Star (Ad has 3.7K ratings behind it against 88, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 56% of Countdown Star (Ad's written reviews are positive against 0% of Days Until ‎'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Countdown Star (Ad ships an update every 10 days, Days Until ‎ every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Countdown Star (Ad versus Days Until ‎: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCountdown Star (AdDays Until ‎
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (3.7K ratings) — better4.6 (88 ratings)
Positive reviews55.7% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings3.7K — better88
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidAd-supported — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size53 MB310 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJoseph MerrillZaffles

Customer experience

Countdown Star (Ad

All ratings3,707 ratings
Positive93.4%
Neutral3.0%
Negative3.6%
Written reviews406 reviews
Positive55.7%
Neutral15.5%
Negative28.8%

Days Until ‎

All ratings81 ratings
Positive91.4%
Neutral3.7%
Negative4.9%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral33.3%
Negative66.7%

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

Days Until ‎

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Countdown Star (Ad

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Days Until ‎

One-time1
  • Countdown Lifetime Supporter$1.99

Questions

Is Countdown Star (Ad free?
Countdown Star (Ad costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Days Until ‎ free?
Days Until ‎ is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Countdown Star (Ad or Days Until ‎?
Countdown Star (Ad is rated higher. Countdown Star (Ad averages 4.7 out of 5 from 3.7K ratings, while Days Until ‎ averages 4.6 from 88 ratings.
Do Countdown Star (Ad or Days Until ‎ have ads?
Days Until ‎ shows ads; Countdown Star (Ad does not.
Which is updated more often, Countdown Star (Ad or Days Until ‎?
Countdown Star (Ad ships an update every 10 days, and Days Until ‎ every 6 weeks. Most recently, Countdown Star (Ad was updated on November 6, 2026 and Days Until ‎ on November 3, 2026.

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