Comparison

Countdown vs Countdown widget

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Unlimited event countdowns
  • Count up or down to events
  • Customizable icons and colors
  • Add notes to events
  • Basic notifications and reminders
  • Event sharing
Features
Read 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/

About

Countdown widget

Design personalized countdown and count-up widgets for any event. Customize with themes, styles, and app icons. Track birthdays, holidays, vacations, and more with aesthetic looks and iCloud sync. Supports various widget sizes and modes.

Highlights
  • Custom countdown and count-up widgets
  • Multiple widget styles and themes
  • iOS Lock Screen and Standby widgets
  • Customizable app icons and fonts
  • Add personal photos
  • iCloud sync
  • Count up from past events
Features
Read full description

Create Custom Countdown or Count up widget with lots of themes, styles and App Icons. Count down to your next event: Birthday, Vacation, Holiday, Thanksgiving, Party, Halloween, Christmas, and lots more in Aesthetic looks. Create Multiple widget Features Include. • iOS 26 Standby Widget. • iOS 26 LockScreen Widget & Transparent Widget. • Multiple App Icons. • Transparent Widget. • Variety of Widget Style & Theme • Watch App & iCloud sync • Count up from past events • Stylish Fonts. • Beautiful colour , gradient Presets. • Add your Own Photos. • Light & Dark modes. • Supports all size of widgets. No Ads. Add your Custom widget with ease and edit later in no time. Upcoming version will include Apple watch supports and more themes. Download Now New Countdown Widget and Enjoy!!! Offers auto-renewing unlimited-access subscription options. $9.99/Year as Annually Subscription. These prices are for United States customers. Pricing in other countries may vary and actual charges may be converted to your local currency depending on the country of residence. If you choose to purchase a subscription, payment will be charged to your iTune account, and your account will be charged within 24-hour to the end of the current period .Auto-renewal may be turned off at any time by going to your iTunes store after purchase.Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication. Terms of use: https://motivateapps.com/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://motivateapps.com/privacyClean.html

Screenshots

Countdown4 screens
Countdown widget4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Countdown widget at none against Countdown's shown. Countdown widget also leads on review sentiment (88% vs 80%). Countdown's advantage is ratings volume (24K vs 1.3K) and rating (4.7 vs 4.5). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Countdown widget sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Countdown holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Countdown has 24K ratings behind it against 1.3K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 80% of Countdown's written reviews are positive against 88% of Countdown widget's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Countdown versus Countdown widget: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCountdownCountdown widget
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (24K ratings) — better4.5 (1.3K ratings)
Positive reviews79.9% of reviews88.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings24K — better1.3K
Update frequencyWeeklyWeekly
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS15.0 — better16
Further details — not scored
Size197 MB36 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperROOT38 LIMITEDAmit Verma

Customer experience

Countdown

All ratings23,730 ratings
Positive94.7%
Neutral3.1%
Negative2.2%
Written reviews966 reviews
Positive79.9%
Neutral7.3%
Negative12.7%

Countdown widget

All ratings1,256 ratings
Positive87.9%
Neutral4.6%
Negative7.5%
Written reviews323 reviews
Positive88.2%
Neutral3.4%
Negative8.4%

User reviews

Countdown

From 24K App Store ratings

What 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

Countdown widget

From 1.3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Best out there
  • 👍 Paid version is a must
  • 👍 Thank you so so much
  • 👍 I love the app
  • 👍 Great app!

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Not happy with this app
  • 💡 Widgets should be for sale
  • 💡 The style of widgets they are all for premium and I think that should change xx
  • 🐛 Good app, doesnt fully work for me
  • 💡 OK

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

Countdown widget

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Login screen freezes
  • Incompatible with older devices
  • Countdown widget not working on lock screen
  • Countdown based on EST instead of user's timezone

Requested features

4 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Advanced analytics dashboard
  • Sync with calendars
  • Show hours, minutes, and seconds in countdown

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Countdown

Subscriptions5
  • Premium Monthly$1.991 Month
  • Premium 3 Months7 Days trial$5.993 Months
  • Premium1 Year trial$9.991 Year
Show 2 more
  • Premium Yearly7 Days trial$9.991 Year
  • Premium Yearly (50% Off)1 Year trial$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Premium$49.99
4 purchases

Countdown widget

Subscriptions1
  • Countdown Pro.$9.991 Year
One-time3
  • Countdown Pro.$8.99
  • Countdown Pro.$12.99
  • Countdown Pro.$19.99

Questions

Is Countdown free?
Countdown is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Countdown widget free?
Countdown widget is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Countdown or Countdown widget?
Countdown is rated higher. Countdown averages 4.7 out of 5 from 24K ratings, while Countdown widget averages 4.5 from 1.3K ratings.
Do Countdown or Countdown widget have ads?
Countdown shows ads; Countdown widget does not.
Which is updated more often, Countdown or Countdown widget?
Countdown ships an update weekly, and Countdown widget weekly. Most recently, Countdown was updated on September 24, 2026 and Countdown widget on September 22, 2026.

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