Comparison

Countdowns vs Countdown Timer

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

Head to head
About

Countdowns

Track upcoming events or past milestones with customizable countdowns and count-ups. Visualize your time with beautiful widgets and sync across all your Apple devices. Organize events with lists and receive custom notifications.

Highlights
  • Customizable countdown and count-up timers
  • Gorgeous, colorful widgets
  • Unlimited number of timers
  • Repeating timers
  • Calendar event import
  • iCloud sync
  • Custom notifications
Features
Read full description

Countdowns helps you count down to something you're looking forward to, whether that's a wedding, birthday, or new iPhone! Need to count up from it instead? No problem! Designed to be more than a timer app, Countdowns is great for keeping tabs on how long it is until something, or how long it is since it happened. Count up from the last time you had a cigarette and down to your next cookie — if it happened in the past or is happening in the future, Countdowns keeps track of the time so you don't need to. Countdowns can keep your timers running no matter where you are. Available for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch, Countdowns can sync your timers between your devices so you're always up to speed. As a free download, Countdowns offers the following features: - Gorgeous, colorful widgets on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. - An unlimited number of countdowns. - Repeating timers which are perfect for birthdays and similar events. - Siri & Shortcuts integrations. - Support for importing events from calendars, reminders, and contacts. - Multiple unit options (days, weeks, etc.) and icons to make your countdown your very own. - Dark mode. - And more! An optional monthly, annual, or one-time in-app purchase unlocks additional features, including: - iCloud support to keep all of your timers in sync across iPhones, iPads, and Macs. - A compact display mode so you can see more timers at once. - Lists so you can more easily organize your timers — put all of your birthday timers in a list, for example. - Directional indicators so you always know whether a timer is counting up or down. - Custom notifications and sounds so you'll never miss a timer again. - Archive function that saves old timers. Countdowns subscriptions can be canceled at any time, but will renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the next payment is due. For more information, see our privacy policy & terms of use: https://www.countdowns-app.com/policies

About

Countdown Timer

Track time remaining until important events or time elapsed since a past event. Receive notifications when a countdown expires. This app offers a simple, ad-free experience for managing your time.

Highlights
  • Countdown timer
  • Count-up timer
  • Event tracking
  • Time remaining
  • Time elapsed
  • Event notifications
Features
Read full description

The simplest countdown timer (and regular countdown). Without advertising. The timer works in two modes: 1. How much time left to the event 2. How much time has passed after the event When the timer expires, you will receive a notification.

Screenshots

Countdowns4 screens
Countdown Timer3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Countdown Timer at none against Countdowns's 6. Countdown Timer also leads on ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 17.0). Countdowns's advantage is update cadence (every 4 weeks vs every 7 months) and ratings volume (9.3K vs 1.2K). On price, rating, review sentiment 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. Countdowns sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Countdown Timer asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Countdowns against 4.8 for Countdown Timer. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Countdowns has 9.3K ratings behind it against 1.2K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 78% of Countdowns's written reviews are positive against 85% of Countdown Timer's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Countdowns ships an update every 4 weeks, Countdown Timer every 7 months. Both last shipped on September 23, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Countdowns versus Countdown Timer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCountdownsCountdown Timer
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (9.3K ratings)4.8 (1.2K ratings) — better
Positive reviews78.3% of reviews84.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings9.3K — better1.2K
Update frequencyEvery 4 weeks — betterEvery 7 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS17.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size54 MB8 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperShayes Apps LLCGregory Strigunov

Customer experience

Countdowns

All ratings9,340 ratings
Positive92.8%
Neutral3.2%
Negative4.0%
Written reviews803 reviews
Positive78.3%
Neutral7.0%
Negative14.7%

Countdown Timer

All ratings1,208 ratings
Positive95.9%
Neutral2.3%
Negative1.7%
Written reviews66 reviews
Positive84.8%
Neutral1.5%
Negative13.6%

User reviews

Countdowns

From 9.3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Simple and easy to use
  • 🚀 Accurate and reliable countdowns
  • 💡 Customizable countdown settings
  • 🔒 Syncs across devices via iCloud
  • 👍 Clean and intuitive interface

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Widget not always updating automatically
  • 💰 Paid subscription required for some features
  • 🐛 Occasional bugs or glitches
  • 🔒 Privacy concerns with user tracking

Countdown Timer

From 1.2K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Simple and straightforward
  • 🚀 No ads or subscriptions
  • 🔒 No unnecessary permissions or tracking
  • 👍 Minimalistic and clean design
  • 👍 Easy to use and understand

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional bugs or glitches
  • 🔍 Limited functionality (single timer only)

Bugs and requests

Countdowns

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Countdowns not displaying correctly
  • Sync issues between devices
  • Compatibility problems with newer iOS versions

Requested features

5 requests
  • Allow reordering of countdowns
  • Improve recurring event handling
  • Add more customization options
  • Provide full-screen countdown view
  • Implement more notification options

Countdown Timer

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Timer not always accurate
  • Countdown not working as expected in some cases

Requested features

3 requests
  • Add widget support
  • Allow multiple timers/countdowns
  • Provide more customization options

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Countdowns

Subscriptions2
  • Countdowns Premium7 Days trial$0.991 Month
  • Countdowns Premium7 Days trial$7.991 Year
One-time4
  • Small Tip$0.99
  • Medium Tip$4.99
  • Large Tip$9.99
Show 1 more
  • Lifetime Unlock$19.99
None

Countdown Timer

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Countdowns free?
Countdowns is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Countdown Timer free?
Countdown Timer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Countdowns or Countdown Timer?
Countdown Timer is rated higher. Countdowns averages 4.7 out of 5 from 9.3K ratings, while Countdown Timer averages 4.8 from 1.2K ratings.
Do Countdowns or Countdown Timer have ads?
Countdowns shows ads; Countdown Timer does not.
Which is updated more often, Countdowns or Countdown Timer?
Countdowns ships an update every 4 weeks, and Countdown Timer every 7 months. Most recently, Countdowns was updated on September 23, 2026 and Countdown Timer on September 23, 2026.

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