Comparison

Home screen countdown widgets vs CountFree

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

Head to head
About

Home screen countdown widgets

Display customizable countdown and count-up widgets on your home screen for important events. Track birthdays, holidays, deadlines, habits, and more with personalized themes and icons. Unlock unlimited widgets and customization options with a premium upgrade.

Highlights
  • Countdown and count-up widgets
  • Home screen customization
  • Personalized themes and icons
  • Light and dark mode support
  • Habit and goal tracking
  • Unlimited widget creation (premium)
Features
Read full description

Track Events That Matter! Stay on top of important moments with Countup • Events Tracker – a beautifully designed countdown and count-up widget app for your iPhone. COUNTDOWN & COUNT-UP WIDGETS Effortlessly track upcoming events or special moments from the past with fully customizable widgets on your Home Screen and Widget Center. Perfect for tracking: • Birthdays and anniversaries • Holidays and vacations • Exams and deadlines • Fitness and habit tracking • Work goals and milestones • And much more! MAKE IT YOURS Customize each widget with: • Unique colors and themes • Personalized text and icons • Light and dark theme support LIMITED FREE VERSION • Create 1 widget for free • Access a limited selection of styles Upgrade to unlock more customization options and unlimited widgets. WE WANT YOUR FEEDBACK This is just the beginning. We are actively working on new features and improvements,  and your feedback helps shape the future of the app.  If you have any suggestions or questions, feel free to reach out to us at support@9arch.eu. Stay tuned—we’ll be back soon with even more features! Terms of use https://appnest.9arch.eu/apps/countup/terms_of_use.html

About

CountFree

Track important future events and past milestones with customizable widgets. View real-time countdowns and count-ups directly on your Home Screen without ads or paywalls.

Highlights
  • Unlimited countdowns and count-ups
  • Unlimited Home Screen widgets
  • Multiple widget sizes
  • Four customizable themes
  • Progress bars
  • Custom emoji support
  • Real-time updates
Features
Read full description

Track every moment that matters — right on your Home Screen. CountFree gives you beautiful countdown and count-up widgets with zero catches. No ads. No paywalls. No "premium" upgrades. Every single feature is yours, and it always will be. Whether you're counting down to a wedding, a vacation, or your baby's due date — or counting up from a sobriety milestone, a move to a new city, or the day you adopted your dog — CountFree keeps your most important dates front and center. WIDGETS THAT FEEL LIKE HOME Add countdown widgets directly to your iPhone or iPad Home Screen in small, medium, or large sizes. Pick from four beautiful themes — light, dark, sunset, and ocean — and personalize each event with any emoji. Set a start date and end date to see a progress bar that shows exactly how far you've come. It's incredibly satisfying to watch it fill up. Your countdowns update in real time. Just glance at your Home Screen — no need to open the app. COUNTS UP TOO Not every important date is in the future. Track time since meaningful moments: → Days sober → Years at your job → Time since you quit smoking → How long you've been together → Gym streak → Anything that matters to you I built CountFree because I was tired of countdown apps that lock basic features behind paywalls. Want more than 3 widgets? Pay up. Want a dark theme? Subscribe. It felt wrong. So I built the app I wanted to use — and made everything available to you. CountFree is a passion project. There are no investors, no growth targets, no ad networks. Just an app that does what it says. If CountFree adds value to your life, there's an optional tip jar and a supporter subscription to help me keep building. Supporters get a small badge as a thank-you. But you already have everything — it's just a way to say thanks. EVERYTHING YOU GET → Unlimited countdowns and count-ups → Unlimited Home Screen widgets → Small, medium, and large widget sizes → Four themes: light, dark, sunset, ocean → Progress bars with start and end dates → Custom emoji for every event → Real-time updates on your Home Screen → Works on iPhone and iPad → No account required → No ads. Ever. Download CountFree and start tracking the moments that matter. EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Home screen countdown widgets4 screens
CountFree4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Home screen countdown widgets at 4.5 against CountFree's 4.3. Home screen countdown widgets also leads on iOS requirement (16.4 vs 26.0). CountFree's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 4 months) and ratings volume (11 vs 2). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Home screen countdown widgets sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days and CountFree sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Home screen countdown widgets holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: CountFree has 11 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Home screen countdown widgets ships an update every 4 months, CountFree every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Home screen countdown widgets versus CountFree: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHome screen countdown widgetsCountFree
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (2 ratings) — better4.3 (11 ratings)
Positive reviews—80.0% of reviews
Number of ratings211 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS16.4 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size50 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer9arch OÜMatthew Kriel

Customer experience

Home screen countdown widgets

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

CountFree

All ratings11 ratings
Positive81.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative18.2%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Home screen countdown widgets

Subscriptions2
  • Countup Premium • Weekly3 Days trial$0.997 Days
  • Countup Premium • Annually$11.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$5.99
4 purchases

CountFree

One-time4
  • Cheers$0.99
  • High Five$2.99
  • Large Tip$4.99
Show 1 more
  • Standing Ovation$9.99

Questions

Is Home screen countdown widgets free?
Home screen countdown widgets is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is CountFree free?
CountFree is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Home screen countdown widgets or CountFree?
Home screen countdown widgets is rated higher. Home screen countdown widgets averages 4.5 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while CountFree averages 4.3 from 11 ratings.
Do Home screen countdown widgets or CountFree have ads?
Neither Home screen countdown widgets nor CountFree shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Home screen countdown widgets or CountFree?
Home screen countdown widgets ships an update every 4 months, and CountFree every 2 months. Most recently, Home screen countdown widgets was updated on October 30, 2026 and CountFree on November 5, 2026.

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