Countdown vs Time Blocking
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Countdown
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.
- 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
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Countdown is an easy, beautiful way to keep track of upcoming events, holidays and important dates. Features: • Upcoming Countdowns — Add, edit and view all your important events • Natural-Language Creation — Quickly create countdowns using phrases such as “Holiday next Friday at 6pm” • Past Countdowns — Revisit previous events and see how much time has passed • Repeat and Duplicate — Reuse archived countdowns for annual or similar events • Custom Images — Choose a photo, search the web, generate an image with Image Playground or select a colour • Siri Shortcuts — Create, find and interact with countdowns using Siri and the Shortcuts app • Apple Watch — View your countdowns directly from your wrist • Customisable Widgets — Display your latest countdowns or choose a specific countdown • Lock Screen Widgets — Keep your next countdown visible from the Lock Screen • Archive Widgets — View previous countdowns and memorable events • Control Centre — Open Countdown quickly from Control Centre • Flexible Reminders — Receive notifications at the event time, one day, one week or one month beforehand • Sharing — Share beautifully generated countdown images with friends or on social media • Full OS Support — Designed for Dark Mode, rotation, resizable layouts, Split View, Drag and Drop, VoiceOver and the latest Apple devices • Private by Design — Your countdowns are stored on your devices and synced securely through your personal iCloud account, with no tracking or analytics • Pay Once — No advertisements or subscriptions, with regular free updates for Countdown Pro Countdown Pro unlocks unlimited countdowns, archived countdowns, full widget support, alternative app icons and much more with one affordable in-app purchase. Available for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. Also available on Mac with your purchase.
Time Blocking
Organize your day by assigning specific time slots to tasks. This productivity app helps you create a realistic schedule, track your progress, and build better habits. Customize your layout and export your plans to your existing calendar.
- Assign time blocks to tasks
- Create realistic daily schedules
- Modular and customizable layout
- Review historical time usage
- Export to calendar and reminders
- Light and dark mode options
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Take control of your day with Time Boxed, a simple and flexible productivity app built around one powerful idea: give every task a time and a place. Time boxing helps turn an overwhelming to-do list into a clear, realistic plan. Instead of wondering what to work on next, organize your day into focused blocks and know exactly where your time is going. Plan Your Day Create time blocks for work, workouts, errands, study sessions, personal projects, or anything else that matters. Build a schedule that fits the way you actually work. Fully Modular Layout Your productivity system should work for you—not the other way around. Customize and organize your layout to create a workspace that matches your routine and priorities. Look Back at Your History Review previous days and see how you've planned your time over time. Use your history to recognize patterns, refine your routine, and build better habits. Export to Calendar & Reminders Turn your plan into action by exporting your time blocks to your calendar or reminders, making it easy to keep your schedule connected with the tools you already use. Light & Dark Mode Choose the appearance that works best for you, whether you're planning your morning or organizing tomorrow late at night. Time Boxed is designed to remove friction between deciding what you want to accomplish and actually doing it. Plan intentionally. Focus on what matters. Make time for it. Standard EULA - https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Time Blocking at 5.0 against Countdown's 4.6. Countdown's advantage is ratings volume (162 vs 1) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, update cadence, 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
Both are free to download. Countdown sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Time Blocking sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Time Blocking holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Countdown has 162 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Countdown ships an update weekly, Time Blocking every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Countdown | Time Blocking |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (162 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 70.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 162 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 39 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Rob Sammons | GREGORY COLTON ADAMS |
Customer experience
Countdown
Time Blocking
Bugs and requests
Countdown
Reported bugs
9 issues- 🐛 Cannot add more than two countdowns
- 🐛 Widget colors "washing out"
- 🐛 Incorrect countdowns
- 🐛 Countdown data disappeared
- 🐛 Keyboard shows up and won't go away
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- 🐛 Cannot add new photo from Camera Roll when editing
- 🐛 Photos too zoomed in and blurry
- 🐛 Widget not showing minutes/seconds
- 🐛 Event title shows, but no countdown
Requested features
13 requests- 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
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- Pop-up alerts at event start
- Pin to menu bar or screen
- Use past countdowns to see days passed
- Option to display time or just days
- Year ticker
- Jump ahead by years in date selector
- Show full pictures within the app
- Support for Apple Watch
Time Blocking
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Countdown
- Countdown Pro$1.99
Time Blocking
- Time Boxed Pro Monthly$0.991 Month
- Time Boxed Pro Lifetime$29.99
Questions
Is Countdown free?
Is Time Blocking free?
Which has better reviews, Countdown or Time Blocking?
Do Countdown or Time Blocking have ads?
Which is updated more often, Countdown or Time Blocking?
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