Comparison

Thyme vs Kitchen Timer

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

Head to head
About

Thyme

This app offers a simple and intuitive kitchen timer experience with a unique stove-like interface. It allows users to set multiple timers simultaneously for various cooking tasks, ensuring precise timing for delicious meals.

Highlights
  • Multiple timers simultaneously
  • Stove-inspired UI
  • Easy timer setting
  • Hours and minutes support
  • Modern design
Features
Read full description

IT ONLY DOES ONE THING, BUT DOES IT VERY WELL. Over half a million home-chefs uses Thyme and knows that fine dining needs fine timing. “It gets the job done and makes those complicated meals a little bit easier." - Lifehacker “Thyme is a simple, yet cleverly designed app with an interface that looks like a kitchen stove and has a separate timer for each part..” - BuzzFeed “Thyme offers a unique combination of features that easily sets it apart from the rest.” - Beautiful Pixels Thyme is the simplest and easiest kitchen timer you could envision. It covers all your timer needs in the kitchen. This is so you can give full focus on that delicious food you’ve got cooking. Our kitchen timer gives you a simple and clean layout over your kitchen stove. Four hot plates on top and an oven in the front. To set a timer you simply tap it, swipe it. Boom! You’re done! It´s really that simple! Because fine dining needs fine timing. - The smart and simple UI makes setting new timers super easy. - Multiple timers running at the same time - Our timers support setting hours as well as minutes - Gorgeous and modern UI design that fits right in with iOS - It just works as you’d expect it to Since its launch in Christmas 2013 Thyme has won numerous awards and continues to receive critical acclaim.

About

Kitchen Timer

This app provides a simple yet multifunctional kitchen timer with customizable alarms and notifications. It offers features like quick start, tenkey time input, and background operation, all for free.

Highlights
  • Quick start functionality
  • Tenkey time input
  • Customizable alarm sounds and volume
  • Vibration and tactile feedback
  • Background notifications
  • Sleep disabled setting
  • Dark mode
Read full description

It's a simple & multifunctional kitchen timer app. All features are completely free to use. Features: - Quick start - Time input by tenkey - Alarm sound, volume, repeat, automatic stop - Vibration - Background notifications, repeats, intervals - Button tap sound, volume, tactile feedback - Color (background, font) - Sleep disabled setting (timer is running) - Dark mode - Free URL scheme: kitchentimer://

Screenshots

Thyme3 screens
Kitchen Timer3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Kitchen Timer at 100% against Thyme's 46%. Kitchen Timer also leads on rating (4.8 vs 3.0) and monetization model (ad-supported vs paid). Thyme's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 6 weeks). On price, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Kitchen Timer holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 73 and 23 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 46% of Thyme's written reviews are positive against 100% of Kitchen Timer's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Thyme ships an update every 10 days, Kitchen Timer every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Thyme versus Kitchen Timer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThymeKitchen Timer
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (73 ratings)4.8 (23 ratings) — better
Positive reviews46.2% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings73 — better23
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidAd-supported — better
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS9.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size31 MB10 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperThuy Gia NguyenFugaPiyo Inc.

Customer experience

Thyme

All ratings73 ratings
Positive46.6%
Neutral6.8%
Negative46.6%
Written reviews91 reviews
Positive46.2%
Neutral13.2%
Negative40.7%

Kitchen Timer

All ratings23 ratings
Positive95.7%
Neutral4.3%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Thyme

No in-app purchases

None

Kitchen Timer

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Thyme free?
Thyme is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Kitchen Timer free?
Kitchen Timer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Thyme or Kitchen Timer?
Kitchen Timer is rated higher. Thyme averages 3.0 out of 5 from 73 ratings, while Kitchen Timer averages 4.8 from 23 ratings.
Do Thyme or Kitchen Timer have ads?
Kitchen Timer shows ads; Thyme does not.
Which is updated more often, Thyme or Kitchen Timer?
Thyme ships an update every 10 days, and Kitchen Timer every 6 weeks. Most recently, Thyme was updated on September 28, 2026 and Kitchen Timer on September 29, 2026.

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