Comparison

Exact Seconds vs AlwaysOn

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

Head to head
About

Exact Seconds

This utility displays the current time with second-level precision, offering a large, readable clock and customizable widgets for your home and lock screens. It's designed for situations where exact timing is crucial, providing a clean and focused experience without ads or tracking.

Highlights
  • Large in-app clock with live seconds
  • Home Screen widget with live seconds
  • Lock Screen widget with live seconds
  • Customizable widget appearance
  • Multiple in-app clock colors
  • Optional in-app date display
Features
Read full description

Exact Seconds is a clean, focused clock that shows the current time down to the second. Use it whenever precise timing matters: coordinate an exact moment, check the current second at a glance, or keep a large, easy-to-read clock open on your iPhone. CUSTOMIZABLE LIVE CLOCK Choose the appearance that works best for you. Set the time format, clock color, background, and optional date display directly in the app. LIVE SECONDS WIDGETS Keep the exact time visible without opening the app. Exact Seconds supports Home Screen widgets, a Lock Screen widget, and supported CarPlay displays. Choose from multiple widget sizes and customize their appearance with built-in themes or independent background, time, and date colors. Appearance changes apply to existing widgets without requiring you to remove and add them again. Features: • Large in-app clock with live seconds • Home Screen widgets with live seconds • Lock Screen widget with live seconds • CarPlay widget support • Multiple widget sizes • 12 built-in widget themes • Independent background, time, and date colors • System, 12-hour, and 24-hour time formats • Live seconds preserved in every time format • Multiple in-app clock colors • Black or white in-app background • Optional in-app date display • No account required • No ads • No advertising or cross-app tracking Exact Seconds uses your iPhone system time. For the best accuracy, keep Set Automatically enabled in iOS Date & Time settings. Exact Seconds uses limited anonymous analytics to understand whether widgets remain active over time and to improve widget reliability. This analytics does not use IDFA and is not used for advertising or cross-app tracking.

About

AlwaysOn

Transform a plugged-in iPhone into a convenient desk display. View the time, date, calendar, and weather at a glance. Features a sleep mode for nighttime use and custom display hours.

Highlights
  • Large digital clock display
  • Current date and calendar
  • Upcoming calendar events
  • Local weather forecast
  • Customizable display hours
  • Low-brightness sleep mode
  • Burn-in protection
Features
Read full description

Turn your iPhone or iPad into a beautiful desk and nightstand clock. Free, with no ads and no subscriptions. AlwaysOn shows the time, your calendar, weather and more on a screen you leave docked or propped up, and now on your Home Screen and Lock Screen too. WIDGETS FOR YOUR HOME SCREEN • Time Together, Daylight, Word Clock, Card Clock, Tube Clock, Countdown, Green Room, Moon Phase and Horizon • Home Screen, Lock Screen and StandBy • Tap ▶ to watch a whole day go by in seconds CLOCKS AND BACKGROUNDS • Digital clocks in eight styles, including big iPhone-style digits • Clock backgrounds: Lens, Card (split-flap), Tube, Prism, Stone, Shadow and Green Room • Animated and still backgrounds: Earth, Horizon, Moon Phase, Catnap, Soft Flow, Tide and more • Seasonal backgrounds for holidays and festivals MADE FOR NIGHT • Darker nights with a soft amber clock • Day Mode hours, Smart Dimming and burn-in protection • A sunrise alarm that wakes you with light YOUR LAYOUT • Arrange the clock with Calendar, Up Next, Weather, World Clock, Countdown, Photos and Battery • Separate layouts for portrait and landscape, made for both iPhone and iPad PRIVATE BY DESIGN • No account, no tracking, no data collected • Available in English, Spanish and Simplified Chinese AlwaysOn turns a screen you're not using into something calm and useful.

Screenshots

Exact Seconds4 screens
AlwaysOn4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: AlwaysOn at 4.7 against Exact Seconds's 4.4. AlwaysOn also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 weeks). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

AlwaysOn holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 8 and 16 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Exact Seconds ships an update every 2 weeks, AlwaysOn every 4 days. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Exact Seconds versus AlwaysOn: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterExact SecondsAlwaysOn
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (8 ratings)4.7 (16 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings816 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS17.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB48 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVagram MalkhasianWeijin Wang

Customer experience

Exact Seconds

All ratings5 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

AlwaysOn

All ratings15 ratings
Positive93.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative6.7%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Exact Seconds

No in-app purchases

None

AlwaysOn

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Exact Seconds free?
Exact Seconds is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is AlwaysOn free?
AlwaysOn is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Exact Seconds or AlwaysOn?
AlwaysOn is rated higher. Exact Seconds averages 4.4 out of 5 from 8 ratings, while AlwaysOn averages 4.7 from 16 ratings.
Do Exact Seconds or AlwaysOn have ads?
Neither Exact Seconds nor AlwaysOn shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Exact Seconds or AlwaysOn?
Exact Seconds ships an update every 2 weeks, and AlwaysOn every 4 days. Most recently, Exact Seconds was updated on October 31, 2026 and AlwaysOn on October 31, 2026.

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