Comparison

Countdown Star vs Protoworld

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

Protoworld

Read full description

Protoworld är en interaktiv digital skulpturpark som växer fram i Södertälje. Här speglas konst och kulturella händelser i en virtuell värld via Augmented Reality (AR). I den digitala spegelvärlden tar konstverk plats i staden. På en mobil eller annan skärm kan man se en mixad värld av fysiska och digitala föremål i parken. Ett sätt att ta del av samtidskonst som kommer att växa fram från år till år till fler platser och händelser. Appen har tagits fram av Grafikens Hus i samarbete med: Afaina de Jong, konstnär och arkitekt, och Egberth Thomas, Inna Vision Jens Evaldsson, konstnär och maker Jonas Lythell, app-utvecklare Olivia Berkowicz, curator Södertälje Science Park Tack till kulturrådet

Screenshots

Countdown Star4 screens
Protoworld3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Protoworld at none against Countdown Star's 1. Protoworld also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.0). Countdown Star's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 17 months). 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. Protoworld asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Countdown Star ships an update fortnightly, Protoworld every 17 months. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Countdown Star versus Protoworld: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCountdown StarProtoworld
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (216K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews59.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings216K — better—
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 17 months
AdsYes—
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationAd-supported—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS17.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size55 MB391 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJoseph MerrillGrafikens Hus Gripsholms Kungsladugard AB

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

Protoworld

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Countdown Star

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$1.99
None

Protoworld

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Countdown Star free?
Countdown Star is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Protoworld free?
Protoworld is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which is updated more often, Countdown Star or Protoworld?
Countdown Star ships an update fortnightly, and Protoworld every 17 months. Most recently, Countdown Star was updated on October 14, 2026 and Protoworld on October 1, 2026.

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