Countdown vs Pencil Planner & Calendar Pro
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Countdown
Easily track important dates and events with a beautifully designed countdown timer and calendar. Set unlimited countdowns, customize with icons and colors, and receive basic reminders. Share your upcoming events with friends and family.
- Unlimited event countdowns
- Count up or down to events
- Customizable icons and colors
- Add notes to events
- Basic notifications and reminders
- Event sharing
Read full descriptionHide full description
Event Countdown is the beautifully simple countdown, calendar and widget app for the important days in your life. Counting down since 2015, rated 4.7 stars from over 130,000 ratings worldwide. The original Event Countdown app, used by over a million people every month. Start straight away with unlimited countdowns. No account or sign-up needed. Count down to the days that matter: Birthday, Holiday, Party, Christmas, Halloween, Wedding, Anniversary, Baby Due Date, Graduation, New Home, Match Day, Concert, Film Release, Retirement, Bucket List and many more. NEW: CALENDAR VIEW See every event on a beautiful month grid, with your events colour-coded below. Swipe between months, tap a day, open any countdown. LIVE COUNTDOWN WIDGETS A Home Screen widget that ticks every second, plus Next Event, multi-event, Lock Screen and StandBy widgets. LIVE ON YOUR LOCK SCREEN Live Activities show your next event on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island as the moment approaches. MAKE IT YOURS, SHARE THE EXCITEMENT Hundreds of icons, every colour, repeats that show ages on birthdays. Then turn any countdown into a shareable video. Free version: - Unlimited event countdowns, all in one place - Next Event widget on your Home Screen - Count up or down in years, days, hours, minutes and seconds - Colour code events • choose from 450 icons - Share events with friends and family - Notes, notifications, and search Premium version: - Calendar View (NEW) - The full widget collection: Live Countdown, Lock Screen, StandBy, multi-event and choose-your-event widgets - Live Activities on your Lock Screen and Dynamic Island - Ad free • Calendars • Detailed notifications - Sync events across all your Apple devices - Repeat events (with ages on birthdays and anniversaries) - 450 colour icons Event Countdown Premium is available as a monthly or yearly subscription, or as a one-off lifetime purchase. Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. Terms of Use - https://www.root38.com/terms-and-conditions/ Privacy Policy - https://www.root38.com/privacy-policy/
Pencil Planner & Calendar Pro
This app merges your digital calendar with a handwritten planner experience. Use your stylus to write directly over digital events, offering the best of both worlds for scheduling and note-taking. Plan your days, weeks, and months with a natural writing feel.
- Handwritten notes over digital calendar events
- Daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly planning
- Syncs with device calendars and reminders
- Natural writing experience with stylus
- Customizable pen colors, thickness, and styles
- Undo/Redo and smart eraser tools
- Cloud backup and sync
Read full descriptionHide full description
Write on your calendar with Apple Pencil. Pencil Planner brings the freedom of a paper planner to your digital calendar, so you can handwrite plans, highlight appointments, and take notes around the events already in your schedule. Plan on iPad, then check your calendar and handwritten plans on iPhone. Cloud backup and sync keep your planner and notes connected across devices. YOUR CALENDAR, WITH ROOM TO WRITE * See events from the calendars you use with Apple's Calendar app * Write directly over and around your calendar events * Bring tasks into your planner with Apple Reminders integration * Add handwritten priorities, time blocks, and sketches PLAN YOUR DAY, WEEK, MONTH, AND YEAR * Bring your schedule, tasks, and linked notes together in Day view * Plan your week, highlight important dates, and see the year ahead * With Version 2 layouts, schedule handwriting is shared between Day and Week, and daily highlights appear in Day, Week, and Month KEEP NOTES WITH YOUR PLANS * Create handwritten or typed notes for meetings, classes, projects, and ideas * Link notes to dates or calendar events and open them alongside your day * Organize notes into folders and pin your favorites * Add pages to handwritten notes with blank, lined, or dot-grid paper MAKE IT YOUR OWN * Write with Apple Pencil, Logitech Crayon, or your finger * Choose pens, pencils, and highlighters with adjustable colors and thickness * Move handwriting, erase whole strokes or parts of them, and undo or redo changes * Pinch to zoom for precise writing * Use light or dark mode in portrait, landscape, or Split View PRO ACCESS Unlock all planner features with a monthly or annual Pro Access subscription, including unlimited entries, storage, and devices, plus cloud backup and sync. Subscription prices and any available trial offers are shown in the app. QUESTIONS? Contact support@pencilplanner.app with questions or feature requests. Terms of use: https://pencilplanner.app/terms-of-use/
Screenshots
Verdict
Countdown and Pencil Planner & Calendar Pro both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 80% of Countdown's written reviews are positive against 43% of Pencil Planner & Calendar Pro's. Countdown also leads on monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs subscription) and update cadence (weekly vs every 2 weeks). Pencil Planner & Calendar Pro's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, rating, ratings volume 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 6 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Pencil Planner & Calendar Pro sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Countdown against 4.6 for Pencil Planner & Calendar Pro. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 24K and 13K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 80% of Countdown's written reviews are positive against 43% of Pencil Planner & Calendar Pro's.
Countdown ships an update weekly, Pencil Planner & Calendar Pro every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.
| Parameter | Countdown | Pencil Planner & Calendar Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (24K ratings) — better | 4.6 (13K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 80.1% of reviews — better | 42.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 24K — better | 13K |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Subscription |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 200 MB | 47 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ROOT38 LIMITED | Wasdesign, LLC |
Customer experience
Countdown
Pencil Planner & Calendar Pro
User reviews
Countdown
From 24K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to use
- 🎨 Customizable colors and icons
- 🕰️ Helpful for tracking upcoming events
- 💻 Works well on multiple devices
- 🧠 Assists with time management and organization
Room to improve
- 🔒 Premium features locked behind paywall
- 💸 Aggressive promotion of premium version
- 🔔 Lack of customizable notifications
- 🗓️ Missing calendar view and repeat event options
- 🐛 Issues with past event tracking and data loss after updates
Pencil Planner & Calendar Pro
From 13K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Great calendar integration
- 👍 Handwriting support with Apple Pencil
- 📆 Ability to plan and organize on digital calendar
- 🔗 Syncs across devices
- 📝 Useful note-taking features
Room to improve
- 🔒 Subscription required for full functionality
- 🐛 Bugs and glitches (crashes, data loss, UI issues)
- 💰 Expensive subscription for some users
- 📱 Limited functionality on iPhone
- 🔍 Lack of search/organization for notes
Bugs and requests
Countdown
Reported bugs
3 issues- Premium subscription issues after updates
- Inconsistent font sizing and layout
- Countdown accuracy problems for distant events
Requested features
5 requests- Calendar view integration
- Repeat/recurring event options
- More customization for notifications
- Ability to view past event details
- Improved handling of long-term countdowns
Pencil Planner & Calendar Pro
Reported bugs
5 issues- Notes randomly disappearing
- Syncing issues between devices
- Pen/eraser functionality bugs
- Frequent crashes and freezes
- Layout/UI issues (overlapping elements, unresponsive controls)
Requested features
5 requests- Add more customization options (themes, fonts, etc.)
- Integrate with Reminders app
- Allow typed text input in addition to handwriting
- Improve syncing and backup functionality
- Add ability to insert images, PDFs, and other files
In-app purchases
Countdown
- Premium Monthly$1.991 Month
- Premium 3 Months7 Days trial$5.993 Months
- Premium1 Year trial$9.991 Year
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Premium Yearly7 Days trial$9.991 Year
- Premium Yearly (50% Off)1 Year trial$9.991 Year
- Lifetime Premium$49.99
Pencil Planner & Calendar Pro
- Pro Monthly3 Days trial$4.991 Month
- Pro Yearly3 Days trial$19.991 Year
- Pro Yearly1 Year trial$19.991 Year
Questions
Is Countdown free?
Is Pencil Planner & Calendar Pro free?
Which has better reviews, Countdown or Pencil Planner & Calendar Pro?
Do Countdown or Pencil Planner & Calendar Pro have ads?
Which is updated more often, Countdown or Pencil Planner & Calendar Pro?
Other comparisons















