Comparison

Exam Countdown vs SecureClient

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

Head to head
About

Exam Countdown

This app helps students, teachers, and schools keep track of important dates. It provides countdown timers for exams, tests, and coursework deadlines, with options for reminders and sharing progress with others. Users can organize their academic schedule and stay on top of their responsibilities.

Highlights
  • Countdown timers for exams and tests
  • Unlimited exam countdowns
  • Color-coded exams
  • Icon customization
  • Share countdowns with others
  • Add notes to exams
  • Basic and detailed notifications
Features
Read full description

Exam Countdown is the beautifully simple countdown, planner and widget app for every exam that matters. Counting down since 2015, rated 4.7 stars from over 30,000 ratings. The original exam countdown app, used by students, teachers and schools in over 100 countries. Count down to the ones that count: matric prelims, trials and NSC finals, GCSE and A Level papers, IB, SQA Highers, university finals, coursework and homework deadlines, driving theory, music grades and every test in between. CALENDAR VIEW See your whole semester on a month grid, color coded, with every exam a tap away. LIVE COUNTDOWN WIDGETS A Home Screen widget that ticks every second, plus Next Exam, Next 4 Exams and Lock Screen widgets. LIVE ON YOUR LOCK SCREEN Live Activities put your next exam on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island as it approaches. MAKE IT YOURS Hundreds of icons, every color, categories to group your subjects, and notes on any exam. Free version: • Unlimited exam countdowns, all in one place • Count down in years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes and seconds • Color code your exams • Choose from 400 icons • Add notes to any exam • Invite friends and family to count down with you • Notifications before every exam Premium version: • Ad free • The full widget collection, including the second by second Live Countdown • Live Activities on your Lock Screen and Dynamic Island • Calendar View • Categories to group your subjects • Detailed alerts, with your choice of alert sound • Record and review your exam results • Sync across all your Apple devices • All 400 color icons and 70 colors Exam Countdown is free to download and use. Premium is available as a yearly subscription or as a one off lifetime purchase. Terms of Use - https://www.root38.com/terms-and-conditions/ Privacy Policy - https://www.root38.com/privacy-policy/

About

SecureClient

This application provides a secure environment for taking tests, featuring offline support and built-in protections against device or internet failures. It prevents users from exiting the test session or accessing other applications during examinations. A test keycode is required to start.

Highlights
  • Offline test support
  • Built-in protections
  • Prevents leaving test session
  • Prevents accessing other apps
  • Test keycode entry
Features
Read full description

SecureClient is a standalone test delivery app with offline test support and built-in protections against internet and device failure. SecureClient features lockdown capabilities that prevent you from leaving the test session and accessing any other apps on your device during the examination. Enter your test keycode to begin.

Screenshots

Exam Countdown4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Exam Countdown at 82% against SecureClient's 30%. Exam Countdown also leads on rating (4.7 vs 2.3) and ratings volume (1.6K vs 3). SecureClient's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5) and ads (none vs shown). On price, update cadence 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. Exam Countdown sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 3 months. SecureClient asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Exam Countdown holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Exam Countdown has 1.6K ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 82% of Exam Countdown's written reviews are positive against 30% of SecureClient's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Exam Countdown versus SecureClient: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterExam CountdownSecureClient
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (1.6K ratings) — better2.3 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews82.2% of reviews — better30.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1.6K — better3
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 5 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPad, Mac
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size102 MB281 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperROOT38 LIMITEDBTL Group Limited

Customer experience

Exam Countdown

All ratings1,636 ratings
Positive93.0%
Neutral3.7%
Negative3.3%
Written reviews135 reviews
Positive82.2%
Neutral8.1%
Negative9.6%

SecureClient

All ratings3 ratings
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive30.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative70.0%

Bugs and requests

Exam Countdown

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Login issues after device change
  • Subscription not working as expected
  • Loading screen freezes
  • Incompatibility with newer devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Calendar view
  • Sync with device calendar
  • Customizable exam reminders
  • Widget support
  • More icons and color options

SecureClient

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

5 purchases

Exam Countdown

Subscriptions4
  • Premium 3 Months$2.993 Months
  • Premium Yearly7 Days trial$4.991 Year
  • Premium Access1 Year trial$4.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Premium Yearly Subscription$5.491 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Premium$9.99
None

SecureClient

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Exam Countdown free?
Exam Countdown is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SecureClient free?
SecureClient is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Exam Countdown or SecureClient?
Exam Countdown is rated higher. Exam Countdown averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.6K ratings, while SecureClient averages 2.3 from 3 ratings.
Do Exam Countdown or SecureClient have ads?
Exam Countdown shows ads; SecureClient does not.
Which is updated more often, Exam Countdown or SecureClient?
Exam Countdown ships an update every 5 weeks, and SecureClient every 5 weeks. Most recently, Exam Countdown was updated on October 15, 2026 and SecureClient on September 30, 2026.

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