Comparison

Ping! vs Timezone

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

Head to head
About

Ping!

Instantly alert your family to your needs and location with a single tap. Customize your button's message and choose between a visible countdown or a discreet, silent alert. Ideal for quick check-ins or urgent requests.

Highlights
  • One-tap family alerts
  • Live location sharing
  • Customizable button messages
  • Visible countdown or discreet alert
  • Apple Watch integration
  • Widgets and controls
  • Data-minimal and private
Features
Read full description

Tell your family you need them with a single tap. Ping! is one big, friendly button for a small, private family circle. Tap on it – and everyone in your group instantly knows what's up and where you are. No typing, no explaining: your reason and your live location are already attached. From your iPhone and right from your Apple Watch. YOUR BUTTON, YOUR MESSAGE Everyone in the group sets what their own button says – from a template or your own text and emoji: • "Please pick me up" • "Breakdown – come over" • "I need help" The reason is sent word for word, along with a push notification and a map where the others see you live and can navigate to you. HOW IT WORKS 1. Create a private group or join with an invite code (whoever manages the group approves you) 2. Set up your button once – what should it say? 3. Tap the button: a friendly 5-second countdown runs (visible, with a gentle sound, cancelable). Pressed by accident? Just cancel. 4. Your group is notified instantly – with your reason and your location in real time 5. Someone taps "I'm coming" – everyone sees who's on the way 6. Done: you end the ping with a tap (or it ends automatically after one hour) ONE BUTTON – NORMAL OR FULLY DISCREET A short tap starts the visible countdown with a gentle two-tone chime (even on a silent iPhone) and vibration – so an accidental tap is noticed at once, a good safeguard especially for older relatives. Holding the button for 3 seconds sends immediately and discreetly: only quiet haptic ticks, no sound, no countdown – for moments when no one nearby should notice. Both ways send the same ping with your live location. GETS THROUGH – EVEN ON A MUTED IPHONE A ping reaches your family even when their iPhone is muted or a Focus is on. Just allow "Critical Alerts" once – the app will ask. FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY • Kids who want to be picked up – one button is enough • Older relatives: big, simple, no menus • On the go: a breakdown, a hike, the walk home at night • Any small, fixed group that looks out for each other – everyone can ping, and everyone decides when they can help SEVERAL GROUPS, YOUR DAYS You can be in several groups – family and neighbours, say – and for each one you decide whether your Ping goes there and whether you help there. Under "When can you help?" you choose the days your phone rings out loud; on the other days the Ping arrives quietly. If nobody answers, it rings out loud after all. And if nobody else can help, it rings out loud right away. For a holiday there's "I'm taking a break" – then Pings only arrive quietly. FROM YOUR WRIST You can trigger straight from the Apple Watch, no iPhone in hand. Plus Widgets and Controls so your button is always within reach. BUILT TO BE ACCESSIBLE So anyone can take part: VoiceOver-ready, large tap targets, tactile haptics and high contrast. DATA-MINIMAL – YOUR DATA STAYS YOURS Ping! needs no accounts, no email, no phone number. Your location is shared only during an active ping – and deleted automatically afterwards. No tracking, no ads, no selling your data. Hosted on our own servers in Germany. IMPORTANT NOTE Ping! is not an emergency app and not a replacement for official emergency numbers (112 in Europe, 911 in the US) – nor a medical alert service with a monitoring centre; availability and delivery are not guaranteed. Ping! helps you reach the people you trust, fast – no more, no less. Buy once, no subscriptions. Works with Family Sharing.

About

Timezone

This app helps you track time across different locations with a world clock, converter, and interactive map. Easily compare local times, find working hour overlaps, and add widgets to your home screen for quick access. Plan travel, remote work, and calls effortlessly.

Highlights
  • World clock with saved cities
  • Time zone converter slider
  • Interactive day-and-night map
  • Working hour overlap finder
  • Home screen widgets
  • City and time zone catalog search
Features
Read full description

Know the time anywhere, at a glance. Timezone combines a world clock, time zone converter, interactive day-and-night map, and useful Home Screen widgets in one focused app. • Save cities and compare local times • Slide the timeline to convert time across locations • Explore daylight, sunrise, and sunset on the world map • Find practical overlap between working hours • Add clock, city list, and world map widgets • Search a catalog of cities and time zones • Choose 12- or 24-hour time Plan calls, travel, remote work, and everyday moments without doing time-zone math.

Screenshots

Ping!4 screens
Timezone4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Timezone at Free against Ping!'s $8.99. Ping!'s advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 months). On ads, in-app purchases, device support 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

Timezone is free to download; Ping! costs $8.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Ping! ships an update every 2 days, Timezone every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Ping! versus Timezone: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPing!Timezone
Price$8.99Free — better
Rating—5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings—2 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.016.0
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB4 MB
Age rating4++4
DeveloperBLUE BOX - ProductionsPixelated Development

Customer experience

Ping!

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Timezone

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Ping!

No in-app purchases

None

Timezone

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Ping! free?
Ping! costs $8.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Timezone free?
Timezone is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Ping! or Timezone have ads?
Neither Ping! nor Timezone shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Ping! or Timezone?
Ping! ships an update every 2 days, and Timezone every 2 months. Most recently, Ping! was updated on October 25, 2026 and Timezone on October 27, 2026.

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