Comparison

Ad‑Free Countdowns vs Big Day

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

Head to head
About

Ad‑Free Countdowns

Features
Read full description

Track the moments that matter most — completely ad-free. Countdown helps you anticipate life's exciting events with beautiful, customizable countdown timers. Whether you're counting down to a vacation, birthday, wedding, graduation, or any special occasion, Countdown keeps your most important dates front and center. Why Countdown? Unlike other countdown apps cluttered with ads and distractions, Countdown offers a clean, focused experience. No banner ads. No video interruptions. No data harvesting. Just a beautifully designed app that respects your time and privacy. Features: • Beautiful Widgets — Add stunning countdown widgets to your Home Screen. See exactly how many days, hours, and minutes remain until your special events at a glance. • iCloud Sync — Your countdowns stay in sync across all your Apple devices automatically. Create a countdown on your iPhone and see it instantly on your iPad. • Smart Reminders — Never miss a moment. Set custom reminders to alert you as your event approaches. • Recurring Events — Perfect for birthdays, anniversaries, and annual celebrations. Countdown automatically resets after each occurrence. • Dark Mode Support — Looks great day or night with full support for iOS dark mode. • Privacy Focused — Your data stays on your device and in your private iCloud account. We don't collect analytics or sell your information. Upgrade to Premium: Unlock the full Countdown experience with a one-time purchase: • Unlimited countdowns (free users can create up to 3) • Custom photos as countdown backgrounds • Multiple reminders per countdown • Custom fonts and styling • Categories to organize your events • Support independent app development Download Countdown today and start anticipating your next adventure.

About

Big Day

Features
Read full description

Count down to what matters. See it on your Home Screen, Lock Screen, and Apple Watch. Countdown turns any date into a live countdown you can actually see — no opening an app, no digging through a calendar. Your next trip, your wedding, your exam, your due date. Always one glance away. FREE, AND ACTUALLY FREE No ads. Not on the free tier, not ever. No banners, no video walls, no "watch this to unlock." WIDGETS THAT DO MORE • Home Screen widgets in every size — small, medium, large, and inline • Lock Screen widgets so you see it without unlocking • Live Activities — watch the final hours tick down in real time on your Lock Screen and Dynamic Island • Interactive widgets — mark events done or snooze right from the Home Screen • Apple Watch complication showing your next event COUNT DOWN — OR COUNT UP Days until your holiday. Or days since you quit smoking, since the baby arrived, since you started. Both directions, same app. BUILT FOR REAL LIFE • Recurring events that reset themselves — birthdays, anniversaries, rent, monthly deadlines • Weekday-only counting for work deadlines (17 working days, not 24 calendar days) • Multiple alerts per event — a week out, a day out, an hour out • Categories with colors and icons — travel, family, work, health • Custom photo backgrounds from your library or our gallery • Choose exactly what shows: years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, seconds • Share a countdown to iMessage in one tap YOUR APPLE WATCH, INCLUDED Your countdowns sync to your Watch automatically — no iCloud account needed, no subscription, on the free tier. COUNTDOWN PRO — ONE PAYMENT, NOT A SUBSCRIPTION Unlimited events, iCloud sync between iPhone and iPad, unlimited custom backgrounds, and all widget styles. Pay once. Keep it forever. Free tier includes 5 events, all widget sizes, Apple Watch sync, and zero ads. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your events stay on your device and in your own iCloud. No accounts, no servers, no tracking. EULA: Apple’s Standard License Agreement applies.

Screenshots

Ad‑Free Countdowns4 screens
Big Day4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Big Day at every 2 weeks against Ad‑Free Countdowns's every 4 months. On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Ad‑Free Countdowns sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Big Day sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Ad‑Free Countdowns ships an update every 4 months, Big Day every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 5 level
Ad‑Free Countdowns versus Big Day: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAd‑Free CountdownsBig Day
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS18.517.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBRETT SHERWYN WATERSONDamien Asseya

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Ad‑Free Countdowns

One-time1
  • Countdown Premium$3.99
1 purchases

Big Day

One-time1
  • Countdown Pro$5.99

Questions

Is Ad‑Free Countdowns free?
Ad‑Free Countdowns is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Big Day free?
Big Day is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Ad‑Free Countdowns or Big Day have ads?
Neither Ad‑Free Countdowns nor Big Day shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Ad‑Free Countdowns or Big Day?
Ad‑Free Countdowns ships an update every 4 months, and Big Day every 2 weeks. Most recently, Ad‑Free Countdowns was updated on October 18, 2026 and Big Day on October 20, 2026.

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