TimeSignals vs HourChime
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
TimeSignals
This app provides an hourly time signal feature for your iPhone, offering gentle reminders with customizable chimes or spoken voices. Schedule signals in 30-minute intervals, and they will play even when the app is closed, unless Do Not Disturb is active.
- Hourly time signal
- Customizable voice options
- Chime and cuckoo clock sounds
- Scheduled alerts
- Background operation
- Adjustable intervals
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TimeSignals is an app that adds an hourly time signal feature to your iPhone. It gently reminds you of the time you may have forgotten with a chime at unexpected moments. You can choose the time signal voice from options like Japanese or English. Time signals can be scheduled in 30-minute intervals between 00:00 and 23:30 on the time setting screen. Once set, the time signal will play at the scheduled times even if the app is not running. (However, if Do Not Disturb mode is active, the time signal will not sound.) Please note that we do not respond to App Store reviews or questions posted there. For inquiries or requests, please contact us via the support email within the app. About the time signal, cuckoo clock, and chime sounds: The time signal does not differentiate between the hour and half-hour, nor does it indicate the specific time. The cuckoo clock chimes the number of hours on the hour and once at the half-hour. The chime distinguishes between the hour and half-hour but does not indicate the specific time. Use this option if you prefer not to have spoken announcements. The voice data for [Japanese Ami 12 o’clock] was provided by the following site: https://amitaro.net/ I'm sorry. I am not good at English. Thank you for interested.
HourChime
This app provides hourly or 30-minute voice cues and sounds to help you stay focused and on track. It features customizable quiet hours and a clean, battery-friendly interface. The app is designed for reliable background operation.
- Hourly/30-minute chime intervals
- Spoken time announcements
- Customizable mute schedule
- Background operation
- Battery-friendly design
- Light/Dark Mode support
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Chime your day into focus. Hourly or every-30-minute voice cues that keep you on track. Quiet when you need it—powerfully simple when you don’t. HourChime is a focused time-management app that keeps your rhythm with hourly or every-30-minute chimes and optional spoken time, delivering notifications reliably in the background. Set quiet hours with a mute schedule for sleep, meetings, or deep work. A clean, intuitive UI is optimized for Light/Dark Mode and designed to be battery-friendly with no unnecessary background tasks. Features • Chime interval: hourly or every 30 minutes • Spoken time announcement (on/off) + bell sound toggle • Mute Schedule: per time window/day for sleep & meetings • AM/PM or 24-hour display switch • Works reliably in the background after permission • One-time in-app purchase removes ads & unlocks all features (Restore Purchases supported) • Minimal data use; privacy-minded by design Perfect for • Focus sessions, study blocks, and Pomodoro-style routines • Office hours, standups, and calendar-free time awareness • Gentle timekeeping at home and bedtime wind-downs Download now and give your day a clear, calm cadence.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: HourChime at none against TimeSignals's shown. HourChime also leads on review sentiment (62% vs 49%) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). TimeSignals's advantage is update cadence (every 4 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, rating, ratings volume 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. TimeSignals sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and HourChime sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
HourChime holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6 and 3 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 49% of TimeSignals's written reviews are positive against 62% of HourChime's.
TimeSignals ships an update every 4 weeks, HourChime every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | TimeSignals | HourChime |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (6 ratings) | 4.7 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 49.1% of reviews | 61.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 6 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 weeks — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 334 MB | 13 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Yasushi Sakai | Mitsuhiro Hashimoto |
Customer experience
TimeSignals
HourChime
In-app purchases
TimeSignals
- Remove Ads.$1.99
- Use of User-Created Sounds$2.99
HourChime
- Premium$1.99









