Comparison

Countdown vs Ahead

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

Ahead

Easily track important life events with this user-friendly calendar countdown application. View upcoming events as home screen widgets, receive timely notifications, and share your countdowns with others. Sync events across devices and enjoy a dark mode option.

Highlights
  • Home screen widgets
  • Event notifications
  • Cross-device sync
  • Event sharing
  • Dark mode
Read full description

Ahead is a free, easy to use calendar countdown app that you can use to track important events in your life. Features: • View events as Widgets on your Home Screen • Use on iPhone and iPad. Premium users get Apple Watch and Mac versions! • Share your events with friends and family • Receiving a notification when it is time for your event • Create as many events as you'd like • Sync your events across your devices (via iCloud) • Dark Mode Questions or Feedback? ———————————— We'd love to hear from you! Free free to email suggestions or issues to alexmariposa@outlook.com Terms of Use ——————— https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Countdown4 screens
Ahead4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Countdown at 24K against Ahead's 2. Countdown also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.6). Ahead's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and review sentiment (100% vs 80%). On price, ads, 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 Ahead sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Ahead holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Countdown has 24K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 80% of Countdown's written reviews are positive against 100% of Ahead's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Countdown ships an update weekly, Ahead every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and June 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Countdown versus Ahead: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCountdownAhead
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (24K ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews79.9% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings24K — better2
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size197 MB15 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperROOT38 LIMITEDAlex Malek

Customer experience

Countdown

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

Ahead

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

Ahead

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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
2 purchases

Ahead

Subscriptions1
  • Annual Subscription$3.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Unlock$12.99

Questions

Is Countdown free?
Countdown is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Ahead free?
Ahead is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Countdown or Ahead?
Ahead is rated higher. Countdown averages 4.7 out of 5 from 24K ratings, while Ahead averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Countdown or Ahead have ads?
Both Countdown and Ahead show ads.
Which is updated more often, Countdown or Ahead?
Countdown ships an update weekly, and Ahead every 3 weeks. Most recently, Countdown was updated on September 25, 2026 and Ahead on June 10, 2026.

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