Rostrum vs Rossino
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Rostrum
This app provides a silent, visual countdown timer for speakers, with customizable color cues to indicate time remaining. It offers intuitive gesture controls for adjustments and can mirror the display to a larger screen.
- Silent visual countdown
- Customizable color stages
- Gesture-based editing
- External display mirroring
- Never dims screen
- Remembers settings
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Rostrum shows a speaker how much time is left, as a clock large enough to read from the back of the room — or from a phone propped on the podium. The background changes color at times you choose. Green while there's plenty left, amber when it's time to move on, red when it isn't. You decide how many stages there are and exactly when each one starts — most timers give you three fixed colors and no say in the matter. SILENT BY DESIGN No chimes. No alerts. No notifications. Not "sounds turned off by default" — Rostrum contains no code that can make a sound. Your audience never knows the timer is there. THE CLOCK IS THE CONTROL No buttons over your countdown. Tap to start or pause. Pause it and the clock becomes the editor: swipe with one finger to adjust seconds, two fingers for minutes, three for hours. A running clock refuses those swipes on purpose — a hand steadying the phone should not be able to rewrite a talk in progress. Pinch in to leave. A one-time overlay teaches the gestures, and a quiet line along the bottom of the clock keeps the key ones in view whenever the clock is stopped. Mid-talk, nothing but the time. BUILT FOR WHOEVER IS RUNNING THE ROOM Changing a talk length takes one tap. Set your common slot lengths once — 5, 15, 30, 45 minutes, whatever your event uses — and switch between speakers instantly. ON A BIG SCREEN WHEN YOU NEED IT Connect a display with AirPlay or USB-C and the clock fills it while your phone becomes the remote: start, pause, and adjust from your hand while the speaker watches the screen. WHEN TIME RUNS OUT The screen turns red and flashes briefly, then counts upward so a speaker can see exactly how far over they are. Impossible to miss, impossible to mistake for anything else. DETAILS THAT MATTER ON STAGE • The screen never dims while the clock is up • A phone call or a lock screen never stops the countdown — the full time is there when you come back • Digits never jitter or shift as the numbers change • Text color adapts automatically so it stays readable on any background • Remembers your setup between launches Also on the Mac App Store — one free app, both platforms. Free, with no purchases, no accounts, and no data collection of any kind. Rostrum has no network code — there is nowhere for your information to go.
Rossino
This productivity tool helps you focus with customizable work and break intervals. It offers cross-device synchronization for seamless session management and provides detailed statistics on your focused time. The app is free for single-device use with optional Pro features for advanced syncing and history.
- Customizable Pomodoro timer cycles
- Cross-device live timer sync (Pro)
- Detailed session statistics and history
- Menu bar countdown and keyboard control
- Lock Screen Live Activities and Dynamic Island support
- Home Screen quick actions and Control Center toggle
- Widgets and Apple Watch complications
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Rossino is a free pomodoro timer for Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. Everything below is included at no charge unless it is marked (Pro). Rossino Pro is an optional auto-renewing subscription, purchased in the app, that connects the timer across your devices: start a focus session at your desk, pick up your phone, and the countdown reads the same second on both. THE TIMER • Classic pomodoro flow: 25 minutes of focus, a 5-minute break, and a long break every fourth session. Every duration and the cycle length can be changed. • When a session ends, a chime plays and Rossino asks what comes next: start the break, start another focus session, or stop. It never steals your keyboard. Auto-start is available in Settings if you would rather not be asked. • The cycle row shows your day at a glance: red tomatoes for focus, green for breaks. Solid means finished, hollow means skipped, dimmed means not yet reached. It resets each morning. • A notification with sound at every phase change, with Start, Pause, and Skip actions right on the notification. EVERYWHERE YOU GLANCE • Mac: a countdown in the menu bar, always visible, plus full keyboard and menu control. • iPhone: a Live Activity on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island, StandBy, a Control Center toggle, and Home Screen quick actions. • iPhone Duo: folded, the full timer on the outer display; opened in landscape, the timer and your week's chart side by side. • Widgets in every size on Mac, iPhone, and iPad, including Lock Screen accessories and Apple Watch complications. STATISTICS • Today's sessions, focused minutes, breaks taken, and your streak. • A 7-day chart on Mac, iPhone, and iPad. • Statistics sync between your devices for free, so your history follows you to a new device. ROSSINO PRO (OPTIONAL SUBSCRIPTION, PURCHASED IN THE APP) The free app is a complete timer for one device, and your statistics already sync. Pro adds two things, and only these two require a purchase: • Live timer sync (Pro). Start, pause, or skip on one device, and the others follow, to the second. Without Pro, a second device shows what is running elsewhere but cannot join in. • Full history (Pro): charts and trends beyond the last 7 days. Pro is one subscription that covers Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch: $3.99 per month, or $24.99 per year with a 7-day free trial. PRIVATE BY DESIGN There is no account to create and no tracking of any kind. Rossino contains no ads and no analytics. Your timer and history live on your devices and in your own iCloud database, which we cannot read. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. Manage or cancel in your Apple Account settings. Any unused portion of a free trial is forfeited when you purchase a subscription. Privacy policy: https://gsysd.com/software/rossino/privacy Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Questions? https://gsysd.com/software/rossino/support
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Rostrum at none against Rossino's 2. Rossino's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs every 3 weeks) and device support (5 vs 3). On price, rating, review sentiment 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
Both are free to download. Rossino sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Rostrum asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Rostrum against 5.0 for Rossino. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 3 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
Rostrum ships an update every 3 weeks, Rossino every 3 days. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.
| Parameter | Rostrum | Rossino |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 3 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 12 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Scott GREER | General System Dynamics LLC |
Customer experience
Rostrum
Rossino
In-app purchases
Rostrum
No in-app purchases
Rossino
- Rossino Pro Monthly$3.991 Month
- Rossino Pro Annual7 Days trial$24.991 Year









