Comparison

Countdown Star 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

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

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 Star4 screens
Smartlights countdown4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Countdown Star at 4.8 against Smartlights countdown's 2.5. Countdown Star also leads on review sentiment (60% vs 25%) and ratings volume (216K vs 20). Smartlights countdown's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). On price 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. Countdown Star sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Smartlights countdown asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Countdown Star holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 2.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Countdown Star has 216K ratings behind it against 20, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 60% of Countdown Star's written reviews are positive against 25% of Smartlights countdown's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Countdown Star 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 · 2 level
Countdown Star versus Smartlights countdown: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCountdown StarSmartlights countdown
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (216K ratings) — better2.5 (20 ratings)
Positive reviews59.6% of reviews — better25.0% of reviews
Number of ratings216K — better20
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationAd-supportedFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.08.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size55 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJoseph MerrillGemmy Industries Corporation

Customer experience

Countdown Star

All ratings215,578 ratings
Positive94.9%
Neutral3.1%
Negative2.1%
Written reviews1,302 reviews
Positive59.6%
Neutral11.8%
Negative28.6%

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

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

Smartlights countdown

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Countdown Star

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$1.99
None

Smartlights countdown

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Countdown Star free?
Countdown Star is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Smartlights countdown free?
Smartlights countdown is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Countdown Star or Smartlights countdown?
Countdown Star is rated higher. Countdown Star averages 4.8 out of 5 from 216K ratings, while Smartlights countdown averages 2.5 from 20 ratings.
Do Countdown Star or Smartlights countdown have ads?
Countdown Star shows ads; Smartlights countdown does not.
Which is updated more often, Countdown Star or Smartlights countdown?
Countdown Star ships an update fortnightly, and Smartlights countdown every 2 months. Most recently, Countdown Star was updated on September 26, 2026 and Smartlights countdown on June 5, 2026.

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