Countdown Star vs Noel
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Countdown Star
Easily track upcoming events with customizable countdowns and count-ups. Personalize your experience with custom wallpapers, animations, and widgets. Syncs across devices and offers notifications for important dates.
- iCloud Sync across devices
- Celebration animations
- Repeating event support
- Home screen widgets
- Customizable wallpapers
- Notifications for event completion
- Interactive time unit slider
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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.
Noel
This app helps you embrace the holiday spirit with a countdown to Christmas, festive recipes, gift ideas, and activity planning. Enjoy carols with built-in music sheets and track your holiday preparations.
- Christmas countdown clock
- Advent widget
- AI gift ideas
- Recipe list
- Activity list
- Christmas music sheets
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Your cozy companion for the holiday season. Get into the Christmas spirit with Noel, the ultimate app for festive fun, creativity, and countdown excitement! Whether you’re planning activities, discovering new recipes, or looking for the perfect gift ideas — Noel keeps the magic of Christmas at your fingertips. Features: - Christmas Countdown Clock: Watch the days, hours, and minutes tick away until Christmas Day! - Advent Widget: Add a joyful countdown widget to your Home or Lock Screen. - AI Gift Ideas: Need inspiration? Get smart, personalized gift ideas for everyone on your list. - Recipe List: Save your favorite Christmas recipes or add your own festive creations. - Activity List: Create and track your favorite holiday activities — from decorating to baking and beyond. - Christmas Music Sheets: Play your favorite carols with easy-to-read music sheets right inside the app. Noel brings together everything you love about Christmas — creativity, music, giving, and celebration — all in one beautifully designed experience. Start counting down, creating, and celebrating today with Noel!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Noel at none against Countdown Star's shown. Noel also leads on review sentiment (80% vs 59%). Countdown Star's advantage is ratings volume (217K vs 84). On price, rating, update cadence and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Countdown Star sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Noel sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Countdown Star against 4.7 for Noel. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Countdown Star has 217K ratings behind it against 84, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 59% of Countdown Star's written reviews are positive against 80% of Noel's.
Countdown Star ships an update fortnightly, Noel every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 13, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Countdown Star | Noel |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (217K ratings) — better | 4.7 (84 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 59.1% of reviews | 80.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 217K — better | 84 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 55 MB | 132 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Joseph Merrill | Paul Roden II |
Customer experience
Countdown Star
Noel
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
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- Add option for annual/recurring events
Noel
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Countdown Star
- Remove Ads$1.99
Noel
- Noel Premium$3.991 Month
- Noel Premium3 Days trial$29.991 Year
Questions
Is Countdown Star free?
Is Noel free?
Which has better reviews, Countdown Star or Noel?
Do Countdown Star or Noel have ads?
Which is updated more often, Countdown Star or Noel?
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