Comparison

Photo Countdown Widget vs CountFree

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

Head to head
About

Photo Countdown Widget

Create unlimited, personalized countdown widgets for your most anticipated moments. Beautifully track events with custom photo backgrounds directly on your Home Screen. Enjoy all features for free with a clean, simple design.

Highlights
  • Unlimited event countdowns
  • Custom photo backgrounds
  • Home Screen widgets
  • Clean and simple design
  • Free to use
  • Event arrival messages
Features
Read full description

Every widget free — Home Screen, Lock Screen and StandBy. No ads, no account, nothing locked. Your photo, your countdown: count down to a wedding, a trip or a baby, or count the days since you quit, started a streak or saw your last concert. New widgets show your next event on their own and move on when its day has passed. They flip from "days until" to "days since" automatically. Your events and photos never leave your phone. Nothing to sync, nothing to lose in a sync. COUNTDOWN & COUNT SINCE • Count down the days to any future event • Count up from any date — perfect for sobriety, streaks and milestones • Show days, or weeks, months or years ("12 weeks, 3 days") • Switches automatically when the date passes, or lock it to always count down or always count since EVERY WIDGET, FREE • Small, medium, large and extra-large Home Screen widgets • Up Next: your next few events in one widget • Lock Screen widgets — circular, rectangular and inline • Your photo as the background — add up to 10 and the widget rotates through them • Color themes for events without a photo, including Birthday, Wedding, Trip and Holiday • Tap a widget to open its event MAKE IT YOURS • 10 ready-made looks, previewed live with your own photo • Frame your photo: drag and pinch until it fits every widget size • 8 fonts, any text color, 6 text positions and a readability slider • Photos stay visible on a Tinted or Clear Home Screen • Widgets follow the event's style, or pick a font and color for one widget alone REMINDERS & REPEATS • Repeat every year, month or week, or every few days, weeks, months or years — birthdays and anniversaries roll over on their own • Reminders on the day, or 1 day, 1 week, 2 weeks or 1 month before, at the time you pick • Share any countdown as a square photo card SIMPLE & PRIVATE • Add an event in seconds — pick an occasion, a date and a photo • No account, no signup, no ads, no subscription • Your events stay on your device • In English, Spanish, German, French, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese and Swedish Perfect for: • Vacations, birthdays, weddings, holidays • Sobriety tracking & addiction recovery • Fitness goals & streaks • Anniversaries & milestones • Baby due dates & retirement countdowns Free to use. If Photo Countdown earns a place on your Home Screen, the Support screen lets you leave an optional tip or a rating — that's what keeps it free. Nothing is ever locked.

About

CountFree

Track important future events and past milestones with customizable widgets displayed directly on your home screen. Choose from multiple themes and sizes to personalize your countdowns and count-ups. All features are available 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 home screen 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

Photo Countdown Widget4 screens
CountFree4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Photo Countdown Widget at none against CountFree's 4. Photo Countdown Widget also leads on update cadence (every 9 days vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (5 vs 1). On price, rating, 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. CountFree sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Photo Countdown Widget asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Photo Countdown Widget against 5.0 for CountFree. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Photo Countdown Widget has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Photo Countdown Widget ships an update every 9 days, CountFree every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Photo Countdown Widget versus CountFree: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhoto Countdown WidgetCountFree
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (5 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings5 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.6 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperShahriar AhmedMatthew Kriel

In-app purchases

None

Photo Countdown Widget

No in-app purchases

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 Photo Countdown Widget free?
Photo Countdown Widget is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is CountFree free?
CountFree is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Photo Countdown Widget or CountFree?
Photo Countdown Widget and CountFree are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 5 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Photo Countdown Widget or CountFree have ads?
Neither Photo Countdown Widget nor CountFree shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Photo Countdown Widget or CountFree?
Photo Countdown Widget ships an update every 9 days, and CountFree every 2 months. Most recently, Photo Countdown Widget was updated on September 29, 2026 and CountFree on September 25, 2026.

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