Comparison

Countdown Star vs TheatreSound

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

Head to head
About

Countdown Star

Track time until or since important life events. Set custom timers for birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, and more. Personalize with your own photos and share progress with friends.

Highlights
  • Add custom events
  • Customize event visuals
  • Apple Watch display
  • Today Widget integration
  • Set exact event times
  • Adjust time units
  • Share event progress
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

TheatreSound

Cue sounds like a professional for live performances without manual fading or frantic media loading. Set up entire shows using your iTunes library and make last-minute changes on the fly for perfect theater sound.

Highlights
  • Professional sound cueing
  • No manual fading
  • No frantic media loading
  • Set up entire performances
  • Last-minute changes on the fly
  • Control background ambience
  • Cue sound effects
Features
Read full description

The TheatreSound app allows you to cue sounds like a professional theater lighting rig. No manual fading, no frantic loading of digital media or skipping to the right track. Set up an entire performance using any media available via iTunes, and then simply cue each sound in the scene as it occurs. You can make last-minute changes on the fly, so you stay in full control. Example uses include controlling background ambience in theater productions, cuing sound effects with on-stage dialogue, mixing backing tracks for dancers and singers. All good for the perfect theater sound.

Screenshots

Countdown Star4 screens
TheatreSound4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Countdown Star at Free against TheatreSound's $7.99. Countdown Star also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 31 months) and ratings volume (216K vs 1). TheatreSound's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). On 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

Countdown Star is free to download; TheatreSound costs $7.99 up front. Countdown Star sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. TheatreSound asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

TheatreSound holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Countdown Star has 216K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Countdown Star ships an update fortnightly, TheatreSound every 31 months. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
Countdown Star versus TheatreSound: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCountdown StarTheatreSound
PriceFree — better$7.99
Rating4.8 (216K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews59.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings216K — better1
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 31 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationAd-supported — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#197 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS17.08.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size55 MB31 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJoseph MerrillCache Limited

Customer experience

Countdown Star

All ratings215,578 ratings
Positive94.9%
Neutral3.1%
Negative2.1%
Written reviews1,321 reviews
Positive59.3%
Neutral11.7%
Negative28.9%

TheatreSound

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Countdown Star

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Widget not displaying events
  • Wallpaper not saving
  • Countdown off by one day
  • Notifications not working as expected
  • Crashes and glitches after updates

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add weeks option
  • Allow multiple countdowns on one screen
  • Provide Apple Watch complications
  • Add ability to export/backup data
  • Improve wallpaper customization
Show 1 more
  • Add option for annual/recurring events

TheatreSound

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Countdown Star

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$1.99
None

TheatreSound

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Countdown Star free?
Countdown Star is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is TheatreSound free?
TheatreSound costs $7.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Countdown Star or TheatreSound?
TheatreSound is rated higher. Countdown Star averages 4.8 out of 5 from 216K ratings, while TheatreSound averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Countdown Star or TheatreSound have ads?
Countdown Star shows ads; TheatreSound does not.
Which is updated more often, Countdown Star or TheatreSound?
Countdown Star ships an update fortnightly, and TheatreSound every 31 months. Most recently, Countdown Star was updated on October 19, 2026 and TheatreSound on September 17, 2026.

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