The best countdown apps for iPhone split into two kinds. Most count the days until a date: a vacation, a birthday, an exam, a wedding. A few count down to times in your day. The right pick also depends on where you want to see the number, because Lock Screen widgets, Home Screen widgets, StandBy and Apple Watch are free in some apps and paid in others.
Below are six picks, each for a different job. Ratings, features and pricing come from each app's US App Store listing and its own website as of November 2026. If you only want the steps for getting a countdown under the clock, see how to put a countdown on your iPhone Lock Screen.
Quick picks
| App | Best for | Free Lock Screen widget | Apple Watch | How it charges |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Countdown | Days until events, most people | Circular and inline | Yes | One purchase, no subscription |
| Days | A photo for every event | Listed as a feature | Yes | Free to download |
| Countdown Star | Celebrations, time zones, count-ups | Home Screen widgets only | Yes | Free with ads, or paid ad-free version |
| Countdown Buddy | Designing your own widget | Yes (one basic widget free) | — | Free version, paid upgrade |
| DayCount | Countdowns plus daily streaks | Listed as a feature | No (iPhone, iPad, Mac) | Yearly subscription or lifetime |
| DuePal | The next fixed time in your day | Current Due widget | Premium | Weekly, monthly, yearly or one-time |
Best for counting the days to anything: Countdown
Countdown by Find Appiness is the default answer for a reason: 4.8 stars from more than 190,000 US ratings, and more than 20 million downloads by its own count. You can create unlimited events for free, make them repeat (every two weeks, the last Friday of the month), count only weekdays, count up from a past date, and add holidays for your country in one tap. Events sync over iCloud across iPhone, iPad and Mac, and you can check them on Apple Watch and put them on your watch face.
The free version includes the circular and inline Lock Screen widgets, according to its current App Store listing. The rectangular Lock Screen widget, StandBy, Home Screen widgets, custom reminders, alarms that ring on silent (iOS 26.1 or later) and automatic calendar import are Premium, which also removes ads. Premium is one purchase; the listing says "No subscriptions."
Skip it if you want a big Home Screen countdown without paying: Home Screen widgets are behind Premium.
Best for a photo behind every event: Days
Days from MD Apps (4.8, 12,000+ ratings) is the prettiest of the group. Every event gets a full-screen photo, and you swipe between them like cards. It has Lock Screen and Home Screen widgets, events that repeat yearly, monthly or weekly, and reminders as the day gets closer. Its website adds notes, tickets and to-do lists per event, and lets friends and family count down to a shared event with you. Days runs on Apple Watch too.
Days is free to download. Its listing doesn't spell out which features, if any, need a purchase, so check inside the app before you build a big collection.
Skip it if you want lots of detail per countdown, such as weekday-only counting or alarms.
Best for celebrations and time zones: Countdown Star
Countdown Star from Joe Merrill has the largest rating count here (4.8 from more than 216,000). It's the one with personality: confetti, fireworks, balloons or lasers when a countdown hits zero, 15+ wallpapers or your own photos, and a slider that flips the same countdown between seconds, hours, days, weeks or years. Each event can sit in its own time zone, which helps for a flight landing or a launch in another country. Annual events roll over to next year by themselves, and events sync over iCloud to iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch.
Its listing describes small, medium and large Home Screen widgets but not a Lock Screen widget. It comes as a free version with ads (plus a Remove Ads purchase) or as a separate paid ad-free version.
Skip it if the Lock Screen is where you want the number.
Best for designing your own widget: Countdown Buddy
Countdown Buddy from Taptics (4.6, 26,000+ ratings) is less a list of events and more a widget maker. You pick one of 11 countdown styles, then change the background color, add a photo from your library or its gallery, and choose a font that suits the style. Each widget is available in small and medium sizes for the Home Screen, and it also makes Lock Screen widgets. It can count up from a past moment and leave weekends out of a work deadline.
The free version includes one countdown widget with the basic design; more widgets and styles need the paid upgrade.
Skip it if you want to track many events for free: the free version is one widget.
Best for countdowns plus streaks: DayCount
DayCount from Zaminiti (4.7, 26,000+ ratings) is for people who want countdowns and "days since" in the same place as habits. Alongside events that count before and after a date, it tracks daily streaks and sends a daily summary of your top five events or streaks. Widgets for the Home Screen or Lock Screen can be styled with filters, fonts, textures and borders. It also has categories, Unsplash images, decimal counting, Face ID lock, calendar import, and sync across iPhone, iPad and Mac.
DayCount Premium is a yearly subscription with a free 7-day trial, or a lifetime purchase.
Skip it if you want your countdowns on Apple Watch; its listing doesn't include a Watch app.
Best for the next thing in your day: DuePal
Every app above counts the days to a date. None of them is built for "38 minutes until stand-up, then 2 hours until lunch, then pickup at 15:00." That's the job we built DuePal for. You set the fixed times of your day once (they can repeat on chosen weekdays), and the countdown to the next one is already running whenever you look. When a time arrives, it moves on to the following one by itself, so there's no timer to restart and no subtraction to do.
- Free: two dues and two countdowns of your own, ready-made countdowns to the weekend, payday and the next public holiday, and the Current Due widget on the Lock Screen and Home Screen.
- DuePal Premium: the live countdown as a Lock Screen Live Activity and in the Dynamic Island, unlimited dues and countdowns, the Countdowns widget, the Apple Watch app, alarms that ring in Silent mode on iOS 26, public-holiday skipping, a sound for each due, and every clock style and color. It's a weekly, monthly or yearly subscription or a one-time purchase. If you installed DuePal before version 4.3, the Live Activity stays free for you.
It pairs well with a date app: keep Countdown or Days for the trip in 12 days, and DuePal for the shape of today. If losing track of time is a daily pattern, our guide to dealing with time blindness and our roundup of visual timer apps for ADHD go further.
Skip it if you only need the days until one event; any of the date apps above is simpler.
Don't forget the free built-in option
For a length of time (25 minutes, 2 hours), you may not need an app at all. A timer started in the Clock app stays on the Lock Screen while it runs and shows in the Dynamic Island when the phone is unlocked. It can't count down to a date or a clock time, and it disappears when it ends. For a whole month under the clock instead of a single number, a calendar wallpaper does that.
Which one should you get?
- Days until a few big events, free Lock Screen widget: Countdown.
- You want each countdown to look like a memory: Days.
- Events in other time zones, or you like a celebration at zero: Countdown Star.
- One countdown, designed exactly your way: Countdown Buddy.
- Countdowns and habit streaks in one app: DayCount.
- The times of your workday or school day: DuePal.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best countdown app for iPhone?
For counting the days until events, Countdown by Find Appiness is the safest pick: 4.8 stars from more than 190,000 US ratings, unlimited free countdowns, free circular and inline Lock Screen widgets, and an Apple Watch app. Pick Days if you want a photo for every event, Countdown Buddy if you want to design the widget, and DuePal if you are counting down to times in your day rather than dates.
Is there a countdown app without a subscription?
Yes. Countdown by Find Appiness sells Premium as one purchase with no subscription. Countdown Star comes as a free version with ads and a Remove Ads purchase, or as a separate paid ad-free version. DayCount Premium is a yearly subscription or a lifetime purchase, and DuePal Premium is weekly, monthly or yearly, or a one-time purchase.
Which countdown apps work on Apple Watch?
Countdown by Find Appiness shows your countdowns on Apple Watch and can put them on your watch face. Countdown Star and Days also run on Apple Watch. DuePal's Apple Watch app, which counts down to your next due, is part of DuePal Premium. DayCount's listing covers iPhone, iPad and Mac but not Apple Watch.
Can a countdown app count down to a time today instead of a date?
Most countdown apps are built for dates and show days left. For times in your day, such as a 9:30 stand-up or 15:00 school pickup, DuePal counts down to the next fixed time and moves on to the following one by itself, with dues that repeat on chosen weekdays. For a single length of time, the built-in Clock timer is enough.
A countdown for today, not just for dates
Set the times of your day once. DuePal counts down to each one and moves on to the next by itself.
Download DuePal on the App Store →Related: How to Put a Countdown on Your iPhone Lock Screen · Time Timer Alternatives. Questions? Email us.
