Comparison

My Favorite Timer vs Cal Countdown

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

Head to head
About

My Favorite Timer

This app visually displays remaining time with three colored segments that fill as time progresses. It's simple to set up and use, with an optional alarm and a feature to view total remaining time.

Highlights
  • Three colored time segments
  • Configurable segment lengths
  • Visual progress indicator
  • Optional alarm sound
  • Tap to see total time remaining
Features
Read full description

My Favorite Timer uniquely shows the time remaining for your activity via three equally sized colored segments. It’s easy to configure and easy to use. 1) Set the length of time for each color segment 2) Click start 3) As the time progresses, the colored segments fill in at the speed relative to their specified time The time is complete when all three segments are filled in. An optional alarm sound can be played as well. Single tap the while the timer is running to see the total time remaining. Great for: - timing a speech - use at school for timing a class activity - calming a child down (e.g. Timeout) - cooking multiple items in the kitchen at the same time

About

Cal Countdown

This app automatically displays a color-coded countdown to your next calendar event. It's designed for quick glances on your Apple Watch face or iPhone "Today" screen, helping you manage your schedule efficiently without manual calculations.

Highlights
  • Automatic countdown to next calendar event
  • Color-coded urgency indicators
  • Apple Watch complication support
  • iPhone "Today" widget
  • Calendar data integration
  • Option to skip specific events
Features
Read full description

"Cal Countdown" is a free, simple iOS & Apple Watch app that automatically creates a color-coded countdown to the next event on your calendar and displays it on your Apple Watch face and/or your "Today" screen. The app is primarily intended to be used as a complication on your Apple Watch or as a widget. If your days are anything like ours, packed with various meetings scattered throughout the day, every time you check your calendar, you're trying to figure out one thing: How much time do I have until my next appointment? So, you glance at your watch, note the start time of your next appointment, and calculate the difference between the current time and your next event. We got tired of doing this mental calculation many times a day, but much to our surprise, we could not find an existing iOS application that would do this chore for us. So we decided to build it ourselves. Now, every time we glance at our watch, it immediately tells us what we want to know: How much time do I have until my next appointment? The app's color changes from blue to green to yellow to orange to red as you approach the start of your next event. (6+ hours = Blue, 2-6 hours = Green, 1-2 = Yellow, 30-60 mins = Orange, 0-30 mins = Red) Cal Countdown supports all the different Apple Watch complications. All Apple Watch complications that support multi-color will be color-coded (but not all watch complications support multiple colors.) Using "Cal Countdown" is as easy as it gets. It uses the calendar data already on your phone; no signing in; no entering any usernames or passwords. The app lets you select the calendars you want to include or not in your calendar countdowns. Don't have an Apple Watch? You can still use Cal Countdown on your phone as an iPhone/iPad app with a "Today" widget. Cal Countdown does not require an account. It does not even require an internet connection. The app uses the calendar data already on your iPhone. It's completely secure. Your calendar data remains completely private, and never leaves your phone. Cal Countdown also has the ability to ignore or skip certain events on your calendar. This feature is especially useful if you have shared calendars with your family, friends, or colleagues. We often have events on our calendars that we need to know about, but may not be attending ourselves. If you want Cal Countdown to ignore or skip these events and start counting down to the following event on your calendar, just tap the "Ignore" button, and Cal Countdown will immediately start a countdown to the following event.

Screenshots

My Favorite Timer4 screens
Cal Countdown4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Cal Countdown at Free against My Favorite Timer's $0.99. Cal Countdown also leads on review sentiment (95% vs 50%) and rating (5.0 vs 4.0). My Favorite Timer's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On ads and in-app purchases 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

Cal Countdown is free to download; My Favorite Timer costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Cal Countdown holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Cal Countdown has 21 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of My Favorite Timer's written reviews are positive against 95% of Cal Countdown's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

My Favorite Timer ships an update every 22 months, Cal Countdown every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 8, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
My Favorite Timer versus Cal Countdown: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMy Favorite TimerCal Countdown
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating4.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (21 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews94.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings221 — better
Update frequencyEvery 22 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB19 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRien HealdFranck Reyherme

Customer experience

My Favorite Timer

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral50.0%
Negative0.0%

Cal Countdown

All ratings22 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews19 reviews
Positive94.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative5.3%

In-app purchases

None

My Favorite Timer

No in-app purchases

None

Cal Countdown

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is My Favorite Timer free?
My Favorite Timer costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Cal Countdown free?
Cal Countdown is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, My Favorite Timer or Cal Countdown?
Cal Countdown is rated higher. My Favorite Timer averages 4.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Cal Countdown averages 5.0 from 21 ratings.
Do My Favorite Timer or Cal Countdown have ads?
Neither My Favorite Timer nor Cal Countdown shows ads.
Which is updated more often, My Favorite Timer or Cal Countdown?
My Favorite Timer ships an update every 22 months, and Cal Countdown every 3 months. Most recently, My Favorite Timer was updated on September 8, 2026 and Cal Countdown on September 19, 2026.

Other comparisons