Comparison

Interval Timer vs Shift

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

Head to head
About

Interval Timer

Customize your workout timing with spoken countdowns and sound cues. Build complex interval routines for various fitness activities and stay focused on your training without constantly checking the screen.

Highlights
  • Customizable interval timing
  • Spoken countdowns and sound cues
  • Support for HIIT, Tabata, and circuits
  • Adjustable sound and haptic feedback
  • Workout saving and organization
  • Offline use and background audio
Features
Read full description

Sound Cue is a custom interval timer for workouts that need more than a last-second beep. Place spoken countdowns or beep cues exactly where you need them—early enough to prepare, change equipment, reset, or breathe before the next effort. BUILD EACH PART OF YOUR WORKOUT Choose how many timed work intervals (reps) and sets you want, then time Get Ready, Work, Rest, and Between Sets independently. Build a simple round timer or use Sound Cue for HIIT, Tabata, boxing, circuits, mobility, cardio, climbing, and more. PLACE CUES WHERE YOU NEED THEM Add up to five sound cues to each workout part: Get Ready, Work, Rest, or Between Sets. For each cue, choose a beep or spoken number. Each cue can play once, every second as a countdown, or on a custom repeating schedule. Set when it begins and whether repeating cues stop after a chosen count or continue until that workout part ends. FOLLOW ALONG BY SOUND Start the timer and stay focused on your workout. Phase announcements and scheduled cues tell you when to work, rest, and reset without checking the screen. STAY IN THE FLOW • Track time remaining, the current set and rep, completion percentage, and the next interval at a glance. • Choose beep or voice alerts—or turn them off—for interval changes and workout completion. • Adjust sound volume, turn haptic feedback on or off, and choose whether cues briefly lower music or other audio. • Hear scheduled cues while your iPhone is locked or while using another app. SAVE AND ORGANIZE WORKOUTS The free library starts with three included workouts and holds up to five saved workouts in total. Rename, reorder, edit, and reuse them. Use named groups to keep related workouts together and easy to find. A one-time in-app purchase expands the limit to 100 saved workouts. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Sound Cue has no ads, analytics, or tracking. Workouts, cues, and preferences are stored locally and are not transmitted by Sound Cue. Build your intervals, press Start, and let Sound Cue keep you moving.

About

Shift

Features
Read full description

Shift is an interval timer made as simple as possible (but not any simpler). Set up in seconds: • Work • Rest • Repeat How long you exercise – how long you recover – how many rounds. That’s all. Tap Start and Shift takes it from there. Finished workouts stay in History, so your last workout can be your next preset. Load it and go. A few essentials: • Voice cues or simple tones that don’t lower your music • Keeps time in the background • A Live Activity on your Lock Screen and Dynamic Island • A workout display you can turn sideways • Made for iPhone and iPad Completely free. No ads, no paywall, no subscriptions. No accounts, analytics or tracking. Your workouts stay on your device.

Screenshots

Interval Timer4 screens
Shift4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Shift at none against Interval Timer's 1. Interval Timer's advantage is iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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. Interval Timer sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Shift asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Interval Timer ships an update every 2 days, Shift every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on September 18, 2026 and September 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Interval Timer versus Shift: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterInterval TimerShift
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (4 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings4 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 4 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS17.0 — better26
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOctopus Software LLCJorick van Meijeren

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Interval Timer

One-time1
  • 100 Workout Upgrade$4.99
None

Shift

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Interval Timer free?
Interval Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Shift free?
Shift is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Interval Timer or Shift have ads?
Neither Interval Timer nor Shift shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Interval Timer or Shift?
Interval Timer ships an update every 2 days, and Shift every 4 days. Most recently, Interval Timer was updated on September 18, 2026 and Shift on September 12, 2026.

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