Comparison

Gentle Timer vs Visual Timer

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

Head to head
About

Gentle Timer

This app offers a visually engaging countdown timer with animated characters and customizable backgrounds. It's designed to make time tracking fun and intuitive, suitable for various activities from brushing teeth to work breaks. Additional features include a stopwatch, breathing exercises, and a Pomodoro timer.

Highlights
  • Animated character countdown
  • Customizable backgrounds and music
  • Interactive animations
  • Lock Screen and Dynamic Island integration
  • Stopwatch and Pomodoro timer
  • Multiple timers simultaneously
  • Apple Watch support
Features
Read full description

Gentle Timer is a cheerful timer with cute animated characters. Set a time, and a character walks across the screen as the timer counts down. When it reaches the other side, time is up. You can always see how much time is left. • Pick a cute character, an animated background, and calming music. • Your character can leave a trail of sparkles, rubber ducks, or baby chicks. • A race car can drive around the timer and finish when time is up. • Choose a pet to pop up and cheer you on. • Your pet also shows on your Lock Screen, Home Screen, and Dynamic Island. • Fun animations play when your timer starts and when it ends. Use it for brushing teeth, homework, cooking, reading, or a short break at work. It also has a stopwatch, breathing exercises, and a Pomodoro timer for work and breaks. You can run more than one timer at once, too. There is also a simple Apple Watch timer. Free to download, with no ads and no subscription. Unlock more characters, pets, backgrounds, and music with a one-time purchase.

About

Visual Timer

This app offers a visually engaging countdown timer with multiple unique styles to represent the passage of time. Customize colors, backgrounds, and alarm sounds for various activities like focus work, cooking, or kids' routines.

Highlights
  • Nine unique visual timer styles
  • Customizable colors and backgrounds
  • Over 50 alarm sound options
  • Adjustable durations from seconds to hours
  • Presets and recent duration quick-picks
  • Designed for focus, cooking, kids, and workouts
Features
Read full description

Visual Timer - Time you can actually see Make every minute count with a timer that's actually worth looking at. Visual Timer turns the wait into the show: nine beautiful, hand-crafted styles that each visualize time in a different way. Pick your style: • Circular - a classic clock-face wedge that drains as time runs out • Liquid - a wave-tinted pool that drains as the clock ticks • Pixel - a grid of pixels disappears one by one • Rain - thousands of tiny grains rain down and pile up to fill the screen • Blocks - falling pieces stack up to fill the screen • Maze - a snake winds across the screen until it fills every cell • Rings - concentric rainbow rings, one per minute, leaving a colored trail • Sun - the sun arcs across the sky, drifting from dawn through dusk to night • Path - a dot glides along a trail — follow the built-in curve or draw your own • Spread - a colorful infection blooms from a few seeds until it fills the screen Make it yours: • Pick any color for the timer fill or background • Use your own photos as a backdrop or foreground • Choose from 50+ alarm sounds, from a gentle chime to a rooster • Custom durations from a few seconds to several hours • Quick-pick recent durations and built-in presets Built for any moment: • Focus and deep work - visual progress without distraction • Cooking - set it on the counter and just glance over • Kids - turn time-outs, brushing teeth, or screen-time limits into something they actually watch • Workouts - clear interval timing without staring at numbers • Meditation - calm, smooth visuals that don't pull attention • Studying - Pomodoro sessions that look like part of the desk A timer that feels at home on your phone. Designed top-to-bottom for iOS - Liquid Glass controls, fluid animations, and dark-mode-first aesthetics.

Screenshots

Gentle Timer4 screens
Visual Timer4 screens

Verdict

The call

Gentle Timer and Visual Timer both sit at 4.6 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of Gentle Timer's written reviews are positive against 33% of Visual Timer's. Gentle Timer also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 weeks) and ratings volume (395 vs 117). Visual Timer's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). On price, rating, ads 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. Gentle Timer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Visual Timer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Gentle Timer against 4.5 for Visual Timer. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 395 and 117 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 100% of Gentle Timer's written reviews are positive against 33% of Visual Timer's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Gentle Timer ships an update every 2 days, Visual Timer every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on October 30, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Gentle Timer versus Visual Timer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGentle TimerVisual Timer
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (395 ratings) — better4.5 (117 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better33.3% of reviews
Number of ratings395 — better117
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.0 — better18.4
Further details — not scored
Size212 MB52 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJOHNNY LIApplorium Ltd

Customer experience

Gentle Timer

All ratings395 ratings
Positive89.4%
Neutral3.0%
Negative7.6%
Written reviews42 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Visual Timer

All ratings106 ratings
Positive88.7%
Neutral4.7%
Negative6.6%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral33.3%
Negative33.3%

Bugs and requests

Gentle Timer

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • No sound issues reported
  • Seconds not displayed on countdown
  • Landscape mode not working

Requested features

8 requests
  • More free options
  • Landscape mode support
  • Ability to set specific seconds
  • Toggle off motion on settings menu
  • Cat character option
Show 3 more
  • View of all timers set all time
  • Ability to create 'Goals' (e.g., set 40 hours)
  • Dinosaur character option

Visual Timer

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Gentle Timer

One-time1
  • All Pets, Characters & Scenes$4.99
1 purchases

Visual Timer

One-time1
  • Visual Timer Unlock$5.99

Questions

Is Gentle Timer free?
Gentle Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Visual Timer free?
Visual Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Gentle Timer or Visual Timer?
Gentle Timer is rated higher. Gentle Timer averages 4.6 out of 5 from 395 ratings, while Visual Timer averages 4.5 from 117 ratings.
Do Gentle Timer or Visual Timer have ads?
Neither Gentle Timer nor Visual Timer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Gentle Timer or Visual Timer?
Gentle Timer ships an update every 2 days, and Visual Timer every 2 weeks. Most recently, Gentle Timer was updated on October 30, 2026 and Visual Timer on October 30, 2026.

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