Comparison

Countdown Widget vs Big Days

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

Head to head
About

Countdown Widget

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

Big Days

Easily track important dates with a stylish and lightweight countdown app. Set reminders for appointments, anniversaries, birthdays, and more. Customize with your own photos or find free images online, and receive notifications for upcoming events.

Highlights
  • Countdown to events
  • Track days elapsed
  • Customizable event images
  • Online image search (Pixabay)
  • Event notifications/alarms
  • Favorite event display
  • Share events
Features
Read full description

For over 12 years, Big Days has helped millions of people look forward to life's most meaningful moments. Over 2 million downloads. NOW WITH ALL-NEW WIDGETS Keep your most important events front and center on your iPhone. With brand-new Home Screen and StandBy widgets, your countdown is always just a glance away. The fresh, modern look integrates smoothly into the iOS aesthetic. FIND THE PERFECT BACKGROUND Don't feel limited to your camera roll. Thanks to integrated Pixabay search, you can explore millions of free, high-resolution photos without ever leaving the app. Find the perfect backdrop for any occasion in seconds. REMINDERS & NOTIFICATIONS Never miss an important date again! Set custom alerts for any event and receive a notification right when it's time to celebrate or start packing. FULLY CUSTOMIZABLE Tailor every countdown to match your personal taste with custom fonts, colors, themes, and backgrounds: • Choose from dozens of clean, modern typefaces. • Adjust text color, alignment, and position. • Days remaining & days since: track both upcoming events and how much time has passed. • Favorite event on startup: set your primary countdown to open instantly when launch the app. • Easy sharing: export your countdowns for social media or save them directly as wallpapers. Follow us and share your special moments: #bigdaysapp @bigdaysapp For support or feedback, please use the Support module inside the app's Info menu.

Screenshots

Countdown Widget4 screens
Big Days4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Countdown Widget at every 2 weeks against Big Days's every 4 months. Countdown Widget also leads on ratings volume (9.5K vs 592). Big Days's advantage is review sentiment (91% vs 78%) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, rating, 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

Both are free to download. Countdown Widget sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Big Days sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Countdown Widget against 4.6 for Big Days. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Countdown Widget has 9.5K ratings behind it against 592, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 78% of Countdown Widget's written reviews are positive against 91% of Big Days's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Countdown Widget ships an update every 2 weeks, Big Days every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Countdown Widget versus Big Days: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCountdown WidgetBig Days
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (9.5K ratings) — better4.6 (592 ratings)
Positive reviews78.5% of reviews91.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings9.5K — better592
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 4 months
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size60 MB81 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperShayes Apps LLCastrovicApps

Customer experience

Countdown Widget

All ratings9,455 ratings
Positive92.7%
Neutral3.2%
Negative4.1%
Written reviews809 reviews
Positive78.5%
Neutral6.9%
Negative14.6%

Big Days

All ratings590 ratings
Positive90.7%
Neutral6.1%
Negative3.2%
Written reviews1,067 reviews
Positive91.4%
Neutral5.2%
Negative3.5%

User reviews

Countdown Widget

From 9.5K 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

Big Days

From 592 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🎨 Customizable backgrounds
  • 📅 Helpful for tracking events
  • 🎉 Exciting countdown feature
  • 📷 Option to add images

Room to improve

  • 🔒 Limited free events
  • 💰 Paywall for more features
  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or glitches
  • 📤 Difficulty transferring data to new devices

Bugs and requests

Countdown Widget

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

Big Days

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Login screen freezes
  • Images disappearing from events
  • Constant ads interrupting usage

Requested features

5 requests
  • Unlimited free events
  • Recurring event option
  • Customizable countdown styles
  • Ability to reorder events
  • Sync across multiple devices

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Countdown Widget

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
2 purchases

Big Days

One-time2
  • Widget Pack$2.99
  • Big Days Pro$3.99

Questions

Is Countdown Widget free?
Countdown Widget is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Big Days free?
Big Days is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Countdown Widget or Big Days?
Countdown Widget is rated higher. Countdown Widget averages 4.7 out of 5 from 9.5K ratings, while Big Days averages 4.6 from 592 ratings.
Do Countdown Widget or Big Days have ads?
Both Countdown Widget and Big Days show ads.
Which is updated more often, Countdown Widget or Big Days?
Countdown Widget ships an update every 2 weeks, and Big Days every 4 months. Most recently, Countdown Widget was updated on October 28, 2026 and Big Days on October 24, 2026.

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