Comparison

TrueOffset vs NTP Candle Timer

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

Head to head
About

TrueOffset

This app precisely measures your device's clock accuracy against global time servers. It offers multiple clock faces, time scales, and audible time signals, including radio time codes. Analyze time source quality with detailed charts and compare IPv4/IPv6 responses.

Highlights
  • NTP server comparison
  • Multiple clock faces (analog, digital, NTP offset)
  • UTC & TAI time scales
  • Audible time signals and radio time codes
  • Dual-stack IPv4/IPv6 comparison
  • Flexible time source selection
  • Quality analytics charts
Features
Read full description

TrueOffset measures how far your iPhone or iPad's clock is from the world's time servers, and which way. Compare Network Time Protocol (NTP) servers with one another, see how far apart they are, and set any of them as your reference. FIVE CLOCK FACES - 12-Hour Classic — Traditional analog display - 24-Hour Scientific — Full day on one dial - NTP Offset — Dual second hands show device vs. true time - Digital — Large display with millisecond precision - Time Code — A radio time code spelled out second by second UTC & TAI TIME SCALES Show Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and International Atomic Time (TAI), 37 seconds ahead of it, beside your local time, with deadbeat second hands that step on each second. TIME SIGNALS Hear the true second. Optional pips are timed against your NTP reference, so the start of each one marks the real second, not your device's idea of it. Choose from the classic broadcast signals, synthesized to their published pitch and timing: Six Pips (Greenwich Time Signal), WWV, WWVH, CHU, Jihō, Moscow Six Pips, and Australia's VNG. Sound them on the hour, every 15 minutes, or every minute. Bluetooth or AirPlay speaker running late? Measure its delay with the microphone and TrueOffset compensates. RADIO TIME CODES A clock sold as "atomic" is a radio listening to a distant station that spells out the time one second at a time. TrueOffset plays the codes of WWVB, DCF77, MSF, JJY (40 and 60 kHz), and BPC and shows each second being decoded as it is sent. Try setting a radio-controlled watch with it (beta), or switch on the DCF77 weather seconds to hear how Germany's station once sent a forecast. TRUEOFFSET MASTER CLOCK Our tribute to the U.S. Naval Observatory's telephone time service. A tick sounds every second while a voice announces your local time and then Universal Time, each ahead of a beep that lands on the true second. Prefer it quiet? Switch the voice off and keep the ticks. TrueOffset is not affiliated with the U.S. Naval Observatory. DUAL-STACK COMPARISON Ask one server over IPv4 and IPv6 side by side, to catch two different machines behind one name or a network that answers for both. FLEXIBLE TIME SOURCES Compare against Apple, Google, Cloudflare, NIST, US Naval Observatory, global NTP pools, or add your own servers. The default reference, ntp.trueoffset.app, is a Safran SecureSync 1200 with its own rubidium atomic clock. Set any source as your reference. QUALITY ANALYTICS Eight chart pages show the character of your time sources: - Overview — Every server at a glance - Offset History — Track drift over time - Offset Histogram — How the offsets are spread - Offset Range — Compare consistency across servers - Round Trip and Offset — See whether network delay moves the offset - Clock Sources — Decode reference clocks (GPS, PPS, Rubidium, Cesium) - IPv4 and IPv6 — Compare one server's two addresses - Rankings — Servers scored by jitter and round-trip time, with the steadiest named HELP IN THE APP What an offset is, why your clock drifts, what UTC and atomic time are, and what each screen shows, explained in the app. For anyone who cares how accurate their time really is, and wants to see the difference, not just trust it. Also on Apple TV. FOR TIMEKEEPERS: TRUEOFFSET FOR MAC Run your own time servers? The Mac app, free in this same listing, reads what they record about themselves and charts it, from six hours to a year: - NTPsec, ntpd, chrony, linuxptp, gpsd, Safran SecureSync, and Timebeat - Logs from a folder, or collected over SSH every hour, read-only - Offset, frequency, Allan deviation, temperature, peers, PTP, GNSS sky plots, and each machine's real-time clocks - Restarts, steps, and holdover found and marked, not averaged in - Your servers compared side by side as a fleet More at trueoffset.app/timekeepers --- In appreciation of Emerald Sequoia's Emerald Time.

About

NTP Candle Timer

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A clear candle countdown beside your charts. NTP Candle Timer is a timing utility for stock, futures, forex and crypto traders. Watch the time remaining in a repeating interval without covering your trading platform. NETWORK-TIME SYNC The app periodically compares device time with network time and applies the measured offset to its display. The final 15 seconds show hundredths of a second. Actual accuracy can vary with the network, device and your trading platform's time source. The app does not change your device clock. YOUR INTERVAL, YOUR DISPLAY Choose 1, 3, 5, 15, 30 or 60 minutes. Use landscape or portrait orientation, select a font and color, and optionally show the battery indicator. AN OPTIONAL REFERENCE CLOCK Display Local, New York or UTC time below the countdown. New York follows daylight saving time automatically. This option is off by default and does not change the countdown or the timezone of your market alerts. VISUAL AND SOUND ALERTS Choose warning colors, final-seconds sounds and a session-end sound. Set market open and close reminders in your device's local time. Keep the app open during your session; it is not a background alarm service. The core timer and reference clock are free with banner advertising. An optional auto-renewable subscription removes banner ads and unlocks Pulse and Afterglow visual effects. The app interface supports English, Korean, Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese, German and French, following your device language preferences. Other languages fall back to English. NTP Candle Timer does not provide prices, trading signals, brokerage services or financial advice. Verify critical timing with your trading platform. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at purchase confirmation. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel subscriptions in your Apple Account settings. Privacy Policy: https://jddev-apps.web.app/ntp-candle-timer/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Support: https://jddev-apps.web.app/ntp-candle-timer/support

Screenshots

TrueOffset4 screens
NTP Candle Timer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: TrueOffset at none against NTP Candle Timer's 2. TrueOffset also leads on ads (none vs shown). NTP Candle Timer's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs fortnightly) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.6). On price 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. NTP Candle Timer sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. TrueOffset asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

TrueOffset ships an update fortnightly, NTP Candle Timer weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
TrueOffset versus NTP Candle Timer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTrueOffsetNTP Candle Timer
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (8 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings8 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightlyWeekly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple TV — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB44 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRichard BollarDong Hyeon Ji

In-app purchases

None

TrueOffset

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

NTP Candle Timer

Subscriptions2
  • Premium - Monthly$0.991 Month
  • Premium - Yearly$7.991 Year

Questions

Is TrueOffset free?
TrueOffset is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is NTP Candle Timer free?
NTP Candle Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do TrueOffset or NTP Candle Timer have ads?
NTP Candle Timer shows ads; TrueOffset does not.
Which is updated more often, TrueOffset or NTP Candle Timer?
TrueOffset ships an update fortnightly, and NTP Candle Timer weekly. Most recently, TrueOffset was updated on October 31, 2026 and NTP Candle Timer on October 5, 2026.

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