Comparison

Countdown Widget vs Riff Calendar

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

Head to head
About

Countdown Widget

Easily create and track important dates like birthdays and deadlines. Organize events in a timeline with filters for upcoming, past, and all items. Personalize events with icons and receive optional reminders.

Highlights
  • Create and edit countdown events
  • Personalize events with icons
  • Optional local reminders
  • Home screen widgets
  • Customizable widget styles and colors
  • Upcoming, Past, and All filters
Features
Read full description

Countdown helps you stay focused on the dates that matter most. Create countdowns for birthdays, trips, deadlines, and milestones in seconds, then track everything in one clean timeline. Use Upcoming, Past, and All filters to quickly see what is next, what is done, and what still needs your attention. KEY FEATURES • Create and edit countdown events quickly • Set a date with optional time for precise countdowns • Personalize events with built-in icons • Turn on optional local reminders at event time • See event progress at a glance with clear indicators • Add Home Screen widgets in small and medium sizes • Choose active widget styles: Minimal and Days • Customize widget colors with solid backgrounds and light or dark text • Use a “Next Event” widget or pin a specific event Whether you are planning ahead or counting down to something exciting, Countdown keeps your important moments front and center. For in-app purchases and subscriptions, see https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Riff Calendar

This calendar app allows you to zoom in and out of your schedule, viewing a half-year at a glance or a single day hour-by-hour. Events can be edited directly on the calendar, and it integrates with your existing device calendars without requiring an account.

Highlights
  • Zoomable calendar views
  • Direct event editing
  • Integrated weather forecasts
  • Daylight shading
  • Works with existing calendars
  • Home and Lock Screen widgets
Features
Read full description

Riff is a calendar that you zoom. Pinch your fingers together and half a year fits on screen. Spread them and a single day opens, hour by hour. There are no month, week and day views to switch between. EVERY STEP OF THE ZOOM IS A WORKING CALENDAR Zoom out to find a free weekend, zoom in to pick the hour. The day you were looking at stays on screen the whole way. EDIT ON THE CALENDAR ITSELF Hold a free slot and type a title. Slide an event to a new hour, or carry it to another week. The days around it stay in view while you edit. WEATHER AND DAYLIGHT Each day shows its forecast, and a faint shade covers the hours between sunset and sunrise where you are. Turn them on in Riff’s settings. YOUR CALENDARS, NO ACCOUNT Riff works on the calendars already on your iPhone: iCloud, Google, Exchange and the rest. There is nothing to import and no account, and no data is collected. Reminders stand beside your events. ALSO Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets, alerts, repeats, search, time zones, Siri and Shortcuts, 30 languages. GOOD TO KNOW Riff is for iPhone and needs iOS 26 or later. You can answer invitations but not send them. PRICE Free for three weeks with everything included. Then choose a monthly or yearly subscription, or a one-time purchase. Every option unlocks all of Riff and works with Family Sharing. The prices for your country are under In-App Purchases. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the period. You manage them in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://riffcalendar.com/privacy/ Riff is made by one developer, Magnus Rex, in Sweden. Write to hello@riffcalendar.com.

Screenshots

Countdown Widget4 screens
Riff Calendar4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Riff Calendar at none against Countdown Widget's shown. Riff Calendar also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 4 weeks). Countdown Widget's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and ratings volume (4 vs 1). On price, rating, review sentiment 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. Countdown Widget sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Riff Calendar sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. 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 — 4.0 for Countdown Widget against 4.0 for Riff Calendar. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 1 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Countdown Widget ships an update every 4 weeks, Riff Calendar every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Countdown Widget versus Riff Calendar: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCountdown WidgetRiff Calendar
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (4 ratings)4.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings4 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 4 weeksEvery 5 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS26.026.0
Further details — not scored
Size31 MB13 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCraig OsborneKJELL MAGNUS REX

Customer experience

Countdown Widget

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Riff Calendar

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Countdown Widget

Subscriptions2
  • Countdown Pro Monthly$1.991 Month
  • Countdown Pro Yearly7 Days trial$6.991 Year
3 purchases

Riff Calendar

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Yearly$24.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$49.99

Questions

Is Countdown Widget free?
Countdown Widget is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Riff Calendar free?
Riff Calendar is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Countdown Widget or Riff Calendar?
Countdown Widget and Riff Calendar are both rated 4.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 4 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Countdown Widget or Riff Calendar have ads?
Countdown Widget shows ads; Riff Calendar does not.
Which is updated more often, Countdown Widget or Riff Calendar?
Countdown Widget ships an update every 4 weeks, and Riff Calendar every 5 days. Most recently, Countdown Widget was updated on October 2, 2026 and Riff Calendar on October 21, 2026.

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