# Countdowns vs Important Dates

The clearest difference is ads: Important Dates at none against Countdowns's shown. Important Dates also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 78%) and rating (4.9 vs 4.7). Countdowns's advantage is ratings volume (9.4K vs 39) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Countdowns sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Important Dates sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Important Dates holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Countdowns has 9.4K ratings behind it against 39, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 78% of Countdowns's written reviews are positive against 100% of Important Dates's.

Countdowns ships an update every 4 weeks, Important Dates every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Countdowns | Important Dates |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (9.4K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/countdowns-widgets-and-timer/id917514700/reviews) | **[4.9 (39 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/important-dates-countdown/id1625185222/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **9.4K** | 39 |
| Positive reviews | 78.3% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 4 weeks | **Every 2 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 56 MB | 5 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **14.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Shayes Apps LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/412539504) | [Roman Kotov](https://appshunter.io/developer/912021271) |

## What reviewers say

### Countdowns

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/countdowns-widgets-and-timer/id917514700)

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:** Family Sharing, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Countdowns Premium | $0.99 | per month |
| Countdowns Premium | $7.99 | per year |
| Small Tip | $0.99 | one-time |
| Medium Tip | $4.99 | one-time |
| Large Tip | $9.99 | one-time |
| Lifetime Unlock | $19.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

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

**Reported bugs**

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

**Requested features**

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


### Important Dates

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/important-dates-countdown/id1625185222)

Easily track upcoming events or past milestones with this intuitive day counter. Organize events with custom folders, set personalized reminders, and view countdowns directly on your home screen. Make every moment count by staying on top of what matters most.

**Highlights:** Unlimited event tracking, Custom event organization with folders, Personalized reminders and notifications, Home screen widgets for instant updates, Track days remaining and days elapsed, Unique automatically generated backgrounds

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Support the project | $1.99 | one-time |
| Support the project | $9.99 | one-time |
| Support the project | $19.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Countdowns free?

Countdowns is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Important Dates free?

Important Dates is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Countdowns or Important Dates?

Important Dates is rated higher. Countdowns averages 4.7 out of 5 from 9.4K ratings, while Important Dates averages 4.9 from 39 ratings.

### Do Countdowns or Important Dates have ads?

Countdowns shows ads; Important Dates does not.

### Which is updated more often, Countdowns or Important Dates?

Countdowns ships an update every 4 weeks, and Important Dates every 2 weeks. Most recently, Countdowns was updated on September 26, 2026 and Important Dates on September 22, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*