Comparison

Visual Timer vs First Thingy

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

Head to head
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.

About

First Thingy

Features
Read full description

Most productivity apps give you more ways to make longer lists. One Thing gives you one task. Set the one thing that matters most right now. Work on it. When you're done, mark it complete. If you give up, you have to say why — in your own words, saved permanently. That's it. Why only one task? Because you can only do one thing at a time anyway. The list is the lie. One Thing removes the lie. Why must you explain yourself? Because excuses are easy when no one is watching. One Thing is watching. Not to judge — to help you see the patterns you hide from yourself. The Honest Record Every task you've set, completed, or abandoned lives here. No editing. No deleting. Just the truth about how you spend your time and attention. Features: • Set one active task at a time — enforced • Abandoning requires a written explanation • Permanent honest record of all your tasks • Daily reminder at a time you choose • Light and dark mode • No account needed, no cloud sync, no tracking Your data stays on your device. Always.

Screenshots

Visual Timer4 screens
First Thingy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: First Thingy at none against Visual Timer's 1. First Thingy also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.4). On price, ads and device support 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. Visual Timer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. First Thingy asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Visual Timer versus First Thingy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVisual TimerFirst Thingy
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (46 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings46 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS18.415.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size21 MB36 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperApplorium LtdANTON KENT GUNNAR KARLSSON

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Visual Timer

One-time1
  • Visual Timer Unlock$5.99
None

First Thingy

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Visual Timer free?
Visual Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is First Thingy free?
First Thingy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Visual Timer or First Thingy have ads?
Neither Visual Timer nor First Thingy shows ads.

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