Comparison

Countdown Star vs 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

Countdown

This app calculates your predicted lifespan for entertainment purposes. It also tracks your time alive with second-level accuracy. The goal is to encourage healthier habits and a greater appreciation for time.

Highlights
  • Predict lifespan (for entertainment)
  • Calculate time alive (accurate to seconds)
  • Encourages health awareness
  • Promotes efficient time use
Features
Read full description

How long have I been alive in this world? The purpose of this program is to make people pay attention to health, drink less alcohol, smoke less, and exercise more. Features: • Base on big data to calculate When Will You Die (For entertainment only). • Calculate How long have I been alive in this world? (Accurate to seconds) • Learn how to cherish time and use it efficiently. For entertainment only, please don't take it seriously, pay attention to life, maintain exercise, and be in a good mood to live longer.

Screenshots

Countdown Star4 screens
Countdown3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Countdown Star at 4.8 against Countdown's 3.7. Countdown Star also leads on ratings volume (216K vs 150) and review sentiment (60% vs 40%). Countdown's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence, ads and monetization model 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. Countdown asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Countdown Star holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Countdown Star has 216K ratings behind it against 150, 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 40% of Countdown's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Countdown Star ships an update fortnightly, Countdown every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on September 25, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Countdown Star versus Countdown: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCountdown StarCountdown
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (216K ratings) — better3.7 (150 ratings)
Positive reviews59.6% of reviews — better40.3% of reviews
Number of ratings216K — better150
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationAd-supportedAd-supported
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS17.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size55 MB38 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperJoseph Merrill长金 胡

Customer experience

Countdown Star

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

Countdown

All ratings150 ratings
Positive67.3%
Neutral3.3%
Negative29.3%
Written reviews72 reviews
Positive40.3%
Neutral4.2%
Negative55.6%

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

Countdown

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Countdown Star

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$1.99
None

Countdown

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Countdown Star free?
Countdown Star is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Countdown free?
Countdown is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Countdown Star or Countdown?
Countdown Star is rated higher. Countdown Star averages 4.8 out of 5 from 216K ratings, while Countdown averages 3.7 from 150 ratings.
Do Countdown Star or Countdown have ads?
Both Countdown Star and Countdown show ads.
Which is updated more often, Countdown Star or Countdown?
Countdown Star ships an update fortnightly, and Countdown every 3 weeks. Most recently, Countdown Star was updated on September 25, 2026 and Countdown on September 25, 2026.

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