# Countdown vs iDays

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: iDays at none against Countdown's 1. iDays also leads on review sentiment (80% vs 70%) and ratings volume (522 vs 162). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Countdown sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. iDays asks for nothing beyond the download.

iDays holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 162 and 522 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 70% of Countdown's written reviews are positive against 80% of iDays's.

Countdown ships an update fortnightly, iDays every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Countdown | iDays |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (162 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/countdown-upcoming-events/id964477476/reviews) | **[4.8 (522 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/idays-elegant-countdown/id1007007017/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 162 | **522** |
| Positive reviews | 70.0% of reviews | **80.2% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Fortnightly** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 61 MB | 200 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | **9.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Rob Sammons](https://appshunter.io/developer/659065077) | [Gerinn LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/537042831) |

## What reviewers say

### Countdown

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/countdown-upcoming-events/id964477476)

Easily track upcoming events, holidays, and important dates with custom photos and notifications. View your countdowns on your Apple Watch, Mac, or Lock Screen widgets. Share events and enjoy a private, ad-free experience with optional Pro features.

**Highlights:** Add, modify, and view countdowns, Customizable photos from library or web, Siri integration for easy access, Apple Watch and Mac support, Widgets for home and lock screens, Shareable countdown images, Customizable event notifications

**Features:** Family Sharing, Apple Watch app, iMessage stickers, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Countdown Pro | $1.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Simple and easy to use
- 🖼️ Customizable background images
- ✨ Clean and elegant design
- 🚀 Fast and reliable performance
- 💰 Good value for one-time purchase

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 App became paid/premium required
- 🖼️ Widget customization limitations
- ⏳ Date selector can be cumbersome
- 📸 Photo cropping/zooming issues
- 🚫 Limited free features

**Reported bugs**

- 🐛 Cannot add more than two countdowns
- 🐛 Widget colors "washing out"
- 🐛 Incorrect countdowns
- 🐛 Countdown data disappeared
- 🐛 Keyboard shows up and won't go away

**Requested features**

- Recurring event option
- Ability to crop images
- Import calendar events
- Integration with Google/iCloud calendars
- Option to show more than one goal in a large widget


### iDays

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/idays-elegant-countdown/id1007007017)

Easily track and count down to important life events, from anniversaries to holidays. Set custom reminders and organize your special days with intuitive features. Never forget a significant date again.

**Highlights:** Count-down/Count-up events, Multiple themes, Date calculator, Custom time reminders, Notifications display widget, iCloud backup, System calendar import/export

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Watch app, iMessage stickers, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🎨 Beautiful and clean UI design
- 👍 Simple and intuitive to use
- 💡 Useful countdown/event tracking functionality
- 🌙 iCloud support and facial recognition features
- 📱 Works well as a free app

**What reviewers complain about**

- 📢 Excessive advertisements
- 🌑 Dark mode widget text readability issues
- ⚠️ App crashes and stability problems
- 🔒 Data access and backup concerns
- 💰 Unclear payment/subscription model

**Reported bugs**

- Rating popup window cannot be dismissed
- App crashes on startup
- Incorrect date calculations
- Spaces not showing at end of event names
- Dark mode widget text appears black and unreadable

**Requested features**

- Searchable notes field
- Search function for entries
- Time specification option (not just dates)
- Photo attachment capability
- CSV export functionality


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Countdown free?

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

### Is iDays free?

iDays is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Countdown or iDays?

iDays is rated higher. Countdown averages 4.6 out of 5 from 162 ratings, while iDays averages 4.8 from 522 ratings.

### Do Countdown or iDays have ads?

Neither Countdown nor iDays shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Countdown or iDays?

Countdown ships an update fortnightly, and iDays every 3 weeks. Most recently, Countdown was updated on October 15, 2026 and iDays on October 20, 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.*