# Countdown Star vs Countdown to Anything!

The clearest difference is ads: Countdown to Anything! at none against Countdown Star's shown. Countdown to Anything! also leads on review sentiment (94% vs 60%). Countdown Star's advantage is ratings volume (216K vs 571) and monetization model (ad-supported vs freemium). On price, rating, update cadence and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Countdown Star sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Countdown to Anything! sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per year. 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 4.8 for Countdown to Anything!. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Countdown Star has 216K ratings behind it against 571, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 60% of Countdown Star's written reviews are positive against 94% of Countdown to Anything!'s.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and August 25, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Countdown Star | Countdown to Anything! |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (216K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/countdown-star/id576177593/reviews) | [4.8 (571 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/countdown-to-anything/id1489443070/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **216K** | 571 |
| Positive reviews | 59.6% of reviews | **94.3% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | Fortnightly |
| Monetization | **Ad-supported** | Freemium |
| Size | 55 MB | 52 MB |
| Requires iOS | **17.0** | 18.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Joseph Merrill](https://appshunter.io/developer/1099488988) | [Jupli](https://appshunter.io/developer/988757514) |

## What reviewers say

### Countdown Star

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/countdown-star/id576177593)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Remove Ads | $1.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Great app
- 🚀 Easy to use
- 💡 Customizable backgrounds
- 👍 Helpful for tracking events
- 👍 Useful for long-distance relationships

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Widget not working
- 🐛 Wallpaper feature not working
- 🐛 Countdown inaccuracies
- 🐛 Notifications not working
- 🐛 Crashes and bugs

**Reported bugs**

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

**Requested features**

- Add weeks option
- Allow multiple countdowns on one screen
- Provide Apple Watch complications
- Add ability to export/backup data
- Improve wallpaper customization


### Countdown to Anything!

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/countdown-to-anything/id1489443070)

Easily track upcoming events with customizable countdowns. Choose from a vast library of icons or create your own to personalize your countdowns for any occasion, from birthdays to holidays. Get notifications and share your progress with friends.

**Highlights:** Create countdowns to any date/time, Customizable with hundreds of icons, Repeating countdowns (yearly, weekly), Tagging for organization, End countdown notifications, Shareable countdowns, Add notes to countdowns

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium | $3.99 | per year |
| Premium (Lifetime) | $9.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 💕 Fun and cute
- 🗓️ Helpful for keeping track of events
- 🎨 Customizable with colors and icons
- ⭐ Reliable and accurate
- 🔍 Useful for remembering important dates

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Some features locked behind paywall
- 🕰️ Countdown sometimes off by a day
- 🔒 Widgets only available with premium
- 🎨 Limited free icon/color options

**Reported bugs**

- Countdowns randomly disappearing
- App crashing on launch for some users

**Requested features**

- Add option to subtract weekends from countdowns
- Allow customizing countdown format (days vs weeks)
- Provide more free icons and color options
- Make widgets available in free version
- Add ability to set reminders for countdowns


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Countdown Star free?

Countdown Star is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Countdown to Anything! free?

Countdown to Anything! is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Countdown Star or Countdown to Anything!?

Countdown Star and Countdown to Anything! are both rated 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store, from 216K and 571 ratings respectively.

### Do Countdown Star or Countdown to Anything! have ads?

Countdown Star shows ads; Countdown to Anything! does not.

### Which is updated more often, Countdown Star or Countdown to Anything!?

Countdown Star ships an update fortnightly, and Countdown to Anything! fortnightly. Most recently, Countdown Star was updated on September 27, 2026 and Countdown to Anything! on August 25, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*