Clocks vs Punctum
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Clocks
Transform your device into a beautiful clock and weather display. Offers customizable clocks, animated backgrounds, and font options for a personalized experience. It's a private, ad-free alternative to standby modes, with optional matching screensavers for macOS.
- Animated backgrounds
- Customizable clock variations
- Font and color options
- Private and ad-free
- MacOS screensaver sync
- Shortcuts support
Read full descriptionHide full description
The Clocks app transforms your phone, tablet, or mac into a beautiful clock display, perfect for any home office, bedroom, or studio. It's perfect as an alternative to Standby Mode with even more options: ◎ 28+ gorgeous and intentionally designed animated backgrounds ◎ 15+ variations of clocks you can pair in any combination ◎ Some font and font color options for more personalization ◎ Private, no ads. Designed to be simple and stunning. ◎ Pro Park includes a download for matching screen savers on MacOS so your display can match across your entire work setup. ◎ Three clocks and three backgrounds are usable for free! ◎ Best used on a MagSafe charger, but also works on phones without it. ◎ Shortcuts support to allow Clocks to open automatically when connected to a charger Does Clocks open automatically? Not by default, but within Settings there's a tutorial on how to set it up using Shortcuts. Does Clocks replace Standby mode? We think Clocks is better fitted for daytime use and the official Standby for night time. Will you release more packs in the future? Yes! I plan on designing more backgrounds and clocks in future updates, some which will be free some which will be paid (but affordable). Roadmap - Coming soon: - Timers - More font options and settings
Punctum
Read full descriptionHide full description
Punctum is a dot-matrix clock for your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Apple TV. Every character is drawn dot by dot, in a typeface made for the grid, with the weight and roundness of the dots in your hands. A CLOCK THAT STAYS OUT OF THE WAY Time and date, a timer, your next calendar event, the song that is playing, and the battery. Pick what the display shows and how it moves. Dot size and shape are yours to set, and the display rolls from one value to the next. FULL DISPLAY Dock your iPhone and Punctum fills the whole screen, dimmed and quiet, as a bedside clock. Nothing but the dots, with a slow drift that protects the screen. WIDGETS AND WATCH Small Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets, an Apple Watch app, and an Apple TV app, all in the same dots. PUNCTUM PRO, ONE PURCHASE Unlock everything once and keep it, shared with your family: - Live weather with 17 dot-drawn icons - Phosphor green and Night red inks, and a night schedule - Up to four timers, five rotating messages, and a live timer on the Lock Screen - Medium and Large widgets, and Apple Watch complications - Alternate app icons No account, no ads, no tracking. Punctum collects no data. Try everything free for 7 days. Then unlock the full app with a single one-time purchase. No subscription.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is device support: Punctum at 4 against Clocks's 2. On price, update cadence, 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
Both are free to download. Clocks sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Punctum sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Clocks ships an update every 5 days, Punctum every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Clocks | Punctum |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (469 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 59.3% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 469 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.4 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 100 MB | 15 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Daniel Destefanis | Jiajia Zhang |
Bugs and requests
Clocks
Reported bugs
1 issue- Infinite loop of pop-up ads when trying to use the app
Requested features
3 requests- Timer with start/stop functionality
- Numbered screen savers for easier selection
- Widget support
Punctum
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Clocks
- Clocks Pro Pack$3.99
Punctum
- Punctum Pro Lifetime$3.99









