Comparison

Tabata Timer vs Rounds

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

Head to head
About

Tabata Timer

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Tabata Timer is a focused interval timer for Tabata, HIIT, core work, sprints, and custom circuits. Set up a routine once, press start, and let the timer guide the session. START TRAINING FAST โ€ข Choose built-in routines, including Classic Tabata โ€ข Set prepare, work, rest, and set-break times โ€ข Choose rounds per set and total sets โ€ข Create, edit, reorder, or delete routines โ€ข Add an exercise name to any workout segment STAY IN THE WORKOUT โ€ข Hear the current phase or exercise name โ€ข Hear the next exercise announced during rest โ€ข Get countdown beeps for the final 3 seconds โ€ข Use vibration and keep the screen awake while training โ€ข Choose to auto-pause when you leave the app SEE YOUR PROGRESS โ€ข Keep workout history on your device โ€ข Review weekly training volume and personal records โ€ข Track achievements and total training days โ€ข Set a weekly goal and daily reminders โ€ข Choose a light, dark, or system theme PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account is needed to train. Your routines, workout history, achievements, and settings stay on your device and are not synced to our servers. All workouts, routines, history, and stats are available without a purchase. Monthly and yearly subscriptions renew automatically until canceled in App Store settings; the lifetime option is a one-time purchase. Every paid option removes ads only. The App Store handles payment and subscription management. Privacy Policy: https://privacy.tabatatimer.lifeeapp.com/ Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Rounds

Features
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You set the work, you set the rest, and the timer takes it from there. Before every change it turns red and beeps once a second, so the end of a step reaches you with your eyes down. Made for HIIT, tabata, boxing rounds, MMA, BJJ and muay thai, EMOM and AMRAP, circuit training, planks, jump rope, dead hangs and run-walk intervals. Ready-made workouts start with one tap, and anything you build yourself is yours to repeat. No account, no sign-up, no email address. Your workouts live on your device and travel between your devices through your own iCloud. Two ways to train Workout: you add exercises one at a time, give each one its own time, and drop rests in between. Take an exercise from the 45 built in across seven categories, or type your own name. What you type stays in the app, so next time it is one tap. Intervals: rounds of work and rest, with no exercise names. Set three numbers and you are done. Ten rounds of ninety seconds with thirty off, or eight rounds of twenty on and ten off, take the same three moves. Either one saves as a template with the times already in it. Edit it, duplicate it to change one thing without touching the original, put it in the archive, or delete it. The last seconds In the middle of an exercise you are looking at the floor, not at the screen, so the end of a step has to reach you without being read. The timer turns red and beeps once a second before every change. You choose how long that warning runs: the last 10, 5 or 3 seconds, set separately for exercises and for rests, because the end of a rest needs more notice than the end of a plank. The sound plays even when the phone is on silent, the way the built-in Clock does. If you would rather feel it than hear it, there is vibration. The screen stays awake while the timer runs, and time is counted from the clock, so the countdown does not drift. What you see while you work One number, big enough to read from the floor, and a ring that empties as the step runs out. The whole screen carries the phase: your accent color for work, a cool color for rest, red for the last seconds. Portrait and landscape are the same layout. Every start opens with three seconds of Get ready, so the first exercise does not catch you halfway through a movement. Every workout carries its own timer theme: animated ones, Christmas and Halloween included, plus one you build yourself, and new ones arrive with updates. Now and then something happens on screen, a reindeer licks the glass or a ghost swoops past, while the numbers stay in view. On top of that: seasonal app colors, a stopwatch mascot, more than a dozen countdown and finish sounds, more than thirty typefaces, and an emoji on each workout so you know it on the list without reading. On the Mac The same app in a window, with a sidebar for your workouts and the archive, a search field, a details panel, and the countdown filling the whole window. New workout is โŒ˜N, intervals โ‡งโŒ˜N, and โŒ˜, opens settings. Build a workout at the desk and it is on the phone by the time you are on the mat. Rounds Premium No ads. Your first 7 days are free, with no card and everything unlocked. After that, Rounds Premium is a yearly or monthly subscription that renews automatically unless you cancel it in your Apple Account settings at least 24 hours before the period ends. One plan covers iPhone, iPad and Mac. If you bought Rounds ad-free earlier, you keep everything. What the app does not do It does not weigh you, count calories or draw charts. It does not talk to a watch or to Health. It has no account. The only thing you give it is the name you type at the start, so it can greet you. When you leave the app, the timer stops and waits for you. Rounds speaks ten languages and follows the one your device is set to. Support: https://nanas.pro/support Privacy: https://nanas.pro/legal/privacy#rounds Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Tabata Timer4 screens
Rounds4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Rounds at none against Tabata Timer's shown. Tabata Timer's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Tabata Timer sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Rounds sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Tabata Timer ships an update weekly, Rounds every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
Tabata Timer versus Rounds: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTabata TimerRounds
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 5 days โ€” better
AdsYesNo โ€” better
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS15.0 โ€” better18.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size29 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHsiao hung suAdrian Skobiej

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Tabata Timer

Subscriptions2
  • Remove Ads Monthly$0.991 Month
  • Remove Ads Yearly$7.991 Year
One-time1
  • Remove Ads Lifetime$11.99
3 purchases

Rounds

Subscriptions2
  • Rounds Premium (Monthly)$2.991 Month
  • Rounds Premium (Yearly)$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • Rounds without ads$9.99

Questions

Is Tabata Timer free?
Tabata Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Rounds free?
Rounds is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Tabata Timer or Rounds have ads?
Tabata Timer shows ads; Rounds does not.
Which is updated more often, Tabata Timer or Rounds?
Tabata Timer ships an update weekly, and Rounds every 5 days. Most recently, Tabata Timer was updated on November 6, 2026 and Rounds on October 31, 2026.

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