Comparison

Mariabs · Interval Timer vs Rondo

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

Head to head
About

Mariabs · Interval Timer

This app provides a customizable interval timer for various training styles like HIIT and Tabata. It offers voice cues, haptic feedback, and a clear display to keep users focused on their workouts. A new run mode with GPS tracking is also available.

Highlights
  • Customizable interval parameters
  • Voice cues for transitions
  • Musical chimes and haptic feedback
  • GPS tracking for runs
  • Run/walk interval support
  • Glanceable monochrome display
  • Workout settings remembered
Features
Read full description

Mariabs is a sharp, minimal interval timer for anyone who trains in rounds — tabata, HIIT, EMOM, circuits, or your own custom intervals. Set your prepare, work, rest, cycles, blocks, and block-rest durations in seconds. Press the white play button. Mariabs counts you in, calls out each phase, and chimes the final 3-2-1 of every interval so you can keep your eyes on what you're doing instead of on the screen. WHAT YOU GET • Six adjustable parameters: prepare, work, rest, cycles per block, number of blocks, and rest between blocks • Voice cues for every transition: "Prepare", "Work", "Rest", and "Block complete — get ready for the next" • Distinct musical chimes per phase, generated on-device, synced with light haptics • 3-2-1 countdown ticks before each phase change • Big, monochrome timer dial with a subtle progress ring tinted to the current phase • Cycle and block progress shown at all times so you always know where you are • Plays over whatever you're already listening to — music, podcasts, anything — and lowers it only for the moment Mariabs speaks • Stays awake automatically while a workout is running • Settings remembered between launches NEW IN 2.0: RUN MODE Switch from TIMER to RUN and Mariabs measures your run with GPS. • Just run: distance, pace, time and your route on a map, with an optional time goal and/or distance goal • Run / walk: run and walk intervals on top of the run (default run 4:00, walk 1:00 × 6), spoken over your music • Your split for every kilometre (or mile) is called out with its pace • Lock Screen and Dynamic Island show the countdown, distance and pace • Save or discard each run. Saved runs stay on your iPhone, with map and splits, and can be exported as GPX • No account, nothing uploaded. Runs are not written to Apple Health DESIGNED TO STAY OUT OF THE WAY The screen is dark, glanceable from across a gym, and built around one button. There are no menus, no levels, no streaks, no badges, no analytics. You configure once, then press play. PRIVACY Mariabs collects nothing. No account. No email. No analytics. No tracking. Your settings, runs and routes stay on your device. Location is used only during a run. The privacy policy is one page; you can read it before you tap install. NO ADS Mariabs has no ads, no in-app purchases, and no premium tier. No account required.

About

Rondo

This app provides a hands-free, spoken interval timer for workouts, ensuring accuracy and clear cues for each phase. It offers customizable timers for various training formats and keeps your screen awake during sessions. Your workout history is saved locally, with an option for premium features like unlimited timer saves and advanced stats.

Highlights
  • Hands-free spoken cues for work and rest
  • Large, readable countdown display
  • Haptic feedback for phase changes
  • Accurate wall-clock timing
  • Music integration with volume softening
  • Support for Tabata, EMOM, and custom timers
  • Workout history tracking
Features
Read full description

Rondo — the interval workout timer that runs your workout so you don't have to You already know your workout. Rondo just makes sure it runs perfectly — hands-free, out loud, and dead accurate. Build your timer once, hit start, and put the phone down. Rondo calls every round for you. THE RUNNING TIMER IS THE WHOLE POINT - A countdown big enough to read from across the gym, mid-burpee. - Spoken cues call out work, rest, and the final round — backed by a beep on every change, so you never have to look. - A haptic buzz on every phase change, so you feel the switch even with music blasting. - Color-blind-safe by design: work and rest flip the whole screen light-to-dark, not just red-to-green. - Keeps your screen awake — and can push brightness to full — while you train. TIMING THAT DOESN'T DRIFT Rondo tracks real wall-clock time, not ticks. Lock your phone, take a call, drop it in your pocket for two minutes — come back and the timer is exactly where it should be, to the second. Most timers quietly fall behind when the screen sleeps. Rondo doesn't. Ever. PLAYS NICE WITH YOUR MUSIC Cues soften your playlist for a beat, then let it come right back. Rondo never pauses your music or hijacks playback — it talks over your track, it doesn't replace it. BUILT FOR THE FORMATS YOU ACTUALLY TRAIN Tabata, EMOM, and a blank builder — free, out of the box. Rounds, sets, lead-in, rest, set-rest, and cooldown, each set with simple steppers. Name your intervals and see the exact breakdown before you start — so a "4-minute Tabata" really is 4 minutes, honestly labelled. WATCH YOUR TRAINING ADD UP Every finished workout lands in your history with a stat strip, a streak, and a month calendar — proof of the work, one session at a time. Free keeps your last seven days; Premium opens all of it, with all-time stats and CSV export. Either way, it stays on your device. PRIVATE BY DEFAULT No account. No sign-up. No ads. No analytics profile. Your timers and your history live on your phone and go nowhere. (Purchases are handled through the App Store) FREE, AND ACTUALLY GENEROUS Unlimited runs — never capped. The whole builder, every interval type, beeps, spoken cues, vibration, keep-awake, and your last 5 timers kept automatically, nothing to remember to save. Light, dark, and system themes included. RONDO PREMIUM — WHEN YOU WANT MORE - Save your timers — as many as you like, named and kept for good. - Custom colors for every interval. - Your whole training history, all-time stats, and CSV export. - Every workout format — AMRAP, For Time, Round for Time, Fight Gone Bad, and multi-block templates. - The full theme gallery and every accent color. Try Premium free for 3 days. Then it's one plan, $1.99 a year — cancel anytime in Settings. Yes, that price is real: a full year for less than a soda, no catch, and no pricier plan hiding behind it. WHY "RONDO"? In music, a rondo is the form where the main theme keeps returning between contrasting episodes. Work, rest, work again — the theme always comes back. Sound familiar? Your workout has been a rondo all along. Now it has a timer that keeps time like one. Terms of Use: https://deecode.io/rondo/terms Privacy Policy: https://deecode.io/rondo/privacy EULA: https://deecode.io/rondo/eula Made by DeeCode LLC.

Screenshots

Mariabs · Interval Timer4 screens
Rondo4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Mariabs · Interval Timer at none against Rondo's 1. Mariabs · Interval Timer also leads on update cadence (every 6 days vs every 2 weeks) and device support (3 vs 1). Rondo's advantage is ratings volume (3 vs 1). On price, rating, ads and iOS requirement 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. Rondo sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Mariabs · Interval Timer 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 Mariabs · Interval Timer against 5.0 for Rondo. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 3 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Mariabs · Interval Timer ships an update every 6 days, Rondo every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Mariabs · Interval Timer versus Rondo: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMariabs · Interval TimerRondo
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings13 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.2 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB12 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperPER MAGNE HELSETHDeeCode LLC

In-app purchases

None

Mariabs · Interval Timer

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Rondo

One-time1
  • Rondo Premium Lifetime$4.99

Questions

Is Mariabs · Interval Timer free?
Mariabs · Interval Timer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Rondo free?
Rondo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Mariabs · Interval Timer or Rondo?
Mariabs · Interval Timer and Rondo are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 3 ratings respectively.
Do Mariabs · Interval Timer or Rondo have ads?
Neither Mariabs · Interval Timer nor Rondo shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Mariabs · Interval Timer or Rondo?
Mariabs · Interval Timer ships an update every 6 days, and Rondo every 2 weeks. Most recently, Mariabs · Interval Timer was updated on October 31, 2026 and Rondo on October 9, 2026.

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