Comparison

Interval Timer vs Surge HIIT

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Interval Timer

This app provides a customizable interval timer for various training routines, including HIIT and Tabata. Easily set up custom workouts, track your progress, and stay motivated with visual cues and audio notifications. It's suitable for a wide range of activities from fitness to productivity.

Highlights
  • Customizable workout setup
  • Progress tracking with calendar
  • Saveable custom presets
  • Color-coded notifications
  • Listen to music/audiobooks
  • Large, full-screen display
  • Widget for easy access
Features
Read full description

Interval Timer: Tabata and HIIT is a customizable timer for sports. Use it for High-intensity interval training and workout. It's a free sports interval timer app that makes it easy to create your custom training routine. Use it as your timer for training or exercise. This sports timer is great for crossfit, fitness and running. The sports timer will also be useful for various activities such as crossfit, jogging, boxing,circuit training,breathing exercises and yoga. You can use this circuit timer as a productivity timer to focus on your work tasks. Key features: Setup workout Tracking your progress Customizable presets Notifications & colors Motivation Listening music or books Huge digits Widget SETUP WORKOUT Set up, edit and save your own workouts with the customizable feature. Add as many intervals as you like. You can add a 10 second rest period and a 20 second work period, as well as a 5 second interval between exercises. TRACKING PROGRESS Track your workouts with a Calendar. Plan and track events, and get notified when you have a training scheduled. With this feature, you will not miss a single workout and will keep track of your progress. CUSTOMIZABLE PRESETS Save your workouts in the presets section. It's also possible to create your own custom intervals. You can add an unlimited number of presets. NOTIFICATIONS & COLORS Each training phase is easy to distinguish by a different color and is initiated by an individually adjustable signal (sound, vibration, voice) MOTIVATION Each completed exercise motivates you to achieve higher goals. Enjoy your training and achieve your fitness goals with the interval timer. LISTENING MUSIC Listen to motivational audiobooks or your favorite music and get inspired and energized. Full screen color coded display is easy to read from a distance. Widget helps you train without being distracted by the constant unlocking of your phone. Interval Timer: Tabata and HIIT is an easy to use sports workout timer for your daily fitness training at home, at the gym or everywhere else.

About

Surge HIIT

Features
Read full description

HIIT shouldn't start with a fight against a confusing timer. Surge HIIT does the hard part for you: pick a workout, hit start, and move. Your phone — and your Apple Watch — call every interval so you never have to look down mid-burpee. Built for people who want to sweat, not fiddle. — WORKOUTS THAT ARE READY WHEN YOU ARE — Eight studio-quality HIIT workouts, beginner to advanced. No setup, no guesswork. Warm-up, work, rest, cooldown — all timed, all coached, all yours from the first tap. — BUILD YOUR OWN, EXACTLY YOUR WAY — Drag-and-drop the perfect routine in our custom builder. Set work and rest to the second, name your exercises, pick your colors. Tabata, EMOM, circuits, ladders — if you can imagine it, you can build it. Frankly, the builder is tremendous. — YOUR APPLE WATCH BECOMES A COACH — This is where Surge pulls ahead. Real-time heart rate. Active calories. Haptic taps on every interval change so you feel the switch without breaking stride. Your custom workouts sync straight to your wrist, and your Activity rings close automatically. Leave the phone on the bench. — SPOKEN CUES, EYES UP — Surge announces each interval out loud in a natural voice and ducks your music so you hear it. No squinting at a screen between rounds. — NINE THEMES WITH REAL CHARACTER — From cool Glacier blues to molten Ember, electric Voltage, and a neon Tron-inspired grid. Make the app yours. — 100% OFFLINE. ZERO ADS. ZERO NONSENSE — No internet required. No accounts. No ads interrupting your set. Ever. Just you and the work. — APPLE HEALTH — Every session saves to Apple Health — workouts, active calories and heart rate — so your progress lives where the rest of your fitness data does. — START FREE — Two built-in workouts and two custom workouts are free forever. Want it all? Start a 14-day free trial — no credit card, no commitment. Keep the free workouts as long as you like. Surge Premium unlocks: • All 8 HIIT workouts • Unlimited custom workouts and exercises • Every color theme • The full Apple Watch experience It's a HIIT timer that respects your time. Believe me — your next workout starts the second you open it. Download Surge HIIT and go. ——— Subscription details: A yearly subscription is available after the free trial, or buy Lifetime once and own it forever. Payment is charged to your Apple ID. The yearly subscription auto-renews unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your App Store account settings. Privacy Policy: https://ibkoch247.de/en/datenschutz/ Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Interval Timer4 screens
Surge HIIT4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Surge HIIT at none against Interval Timer's shown. Surge HIIT also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs monthly). Interval Timer's advantage is device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.6). On price 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Interval Timer sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $2.09 per month and Surge HIIT sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $29.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Interval Timer ships an update monthly, Surge HIIT every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Interval Timer versus Surge HIIT: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterInterval TimerSurge HIIT
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (384 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews96.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings384 — better—
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 5 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size113 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSimpleInnovation LLCRalf Koch

Bugs and requests

Interval Timer

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Occasional app crashes
  • Compatibility issues with older devices

Requested features

3 requests
  • More pre-designed workout routines
  • Ability to name and customize exercises
  • Option to adjust countdown time between intervals

Surge HIIT

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

12 purchases

Interval Timer

Subscriptions8
  • Timer PRO for 1 month: 30% OFF7 Days trial$2.091 Month
  • Timer PRO for 1 month: 25% OFF7 Days trial$2.291 Month
  • Interval Timer PRO for 1 month$2.991 Month
Show 5 more
  • Interval Timer PRO for 1 month7 Days trial$2.991 Month
  • Interval Timer PRO - 30% OFF7 Days trial$15.001 Year
  • Interval Timer PRO - 25% OFF7 Days trial$16.491 Year
  • Interval Timer PRO for 1 year$21.991 Year
  • Tabata Timer PRO for 1 year7 Days trial$21.991 Year
One-time4
  • Interval Timer - no Ads$2.99
  • HIIT Timer PRO Forever 30% OFF$27.99
  • HIIT Timer PRO Forever 25% OFF$29.99
Show 1 more
  • Exercise Timer PRO Forever$39.99
3 purchases

Surge HIIT

Subscriptions1
  • Surge Hiit Premium - Yearly$29.991 Year
One-time2
  • Surge Hiit Premium - 14-day TrialFree
  • Surge Hiit Premium - Lifetime$79.99

Questions

Is Interval Timer free?
Interval Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Surge HIIT free?
Surge HIIT is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Interval Timer or Surge HIIT have ads?
Interval Timer shows ads; Surge HIIT does not.
Which is updated more often, Interval Timer or Surge HIIT?
Interval Timer ships an update monthly, and Surge HIIT every 5 days. Most recently, Interval Timer was updated on October 16, 2026 and Surge HIIT on October 12, 2026.

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