People look for Fliqlo alternatives for a few different reasons. On iPhone and iPad, Fliqlo is a paid app that only shows the clock while it's open, and it can't sit on the Lock Screen or in StandBy. Its look is deliberately fixed: white numerals on black, the same design since 2002. And sometimes a big flip clock on the desk is the right idea showing the wrong number: it tells you it's 9:41, when what you actually needed to know was how long you have until the meeting. The best Fliqlo alternative depends on which of those is your reason.
Below are five, starting with the one we make, DuePal, because it covers the case Fliqlo doesn't. Each has its own "best for". If you're after countdown apps in general, see the best countdown apps for iPhone.
Where Fliqlo still wins
Credit first. Fliqlo (4.8, 2,300+ ratings on iPhone) from Yuji Adachi has been the flip clock screensaver on Macs for more than 20 years, and its design hasn't changed since the first release in 2002. That restraint is the point: matte black, big white numerals, nothing else, which is why it turns up in desk-setup and room photos rather than in screenshots. On macOS and Windows the screensaver is a free download, and it can show on every connected display. The iPhone and iPad app costs $0.99 and uses exactly the same design, with 12/24-hour time, portrait or landscape, seconds on a tap, dimming and a smaller display size. If you want that one look on a computer, you probably don't need an alternative at all.
1. DuePal — when you want the flip clock to count down to your next thing
DuePal keeps the big, readable clock and changes what it counts. Fliqlo shows the time of day, and you still do the arithmetic: it's 9:12, stand-up is at 9:30, so that's... eighteen minutes. DuePal does that sum for you. You set the fixed points of your day once: stand-up at 9:30, lunch at 12:00, a focus block at 14:00, pickup at 18:30. The clock then shows the time left until the next one, and when that time arrives it hands over to the following one by itself. Nothing to start, nothing to reset.
The countdown comes in a choice of clock faces, and a flip clock is one of them. There are also Nixie tubes, a seven-segment LED readout, neon, a dot-matrix pixel face, a progress ring, a face that reads like a sentence ("3 hours 12 minutes left"), and stacked digits sized to read from across a room. Turn the iPhone on its side and the screen becomes a desk clock: one big countdown, a progress bar for the current block and the time it ends. iPad does the same with more room.
This is also where DuePal goes somewhere Fliqlo can't. Fliqlo's own FAQ says an iPhone app can't replace the Lock Screen, so its clock disappears the moment you leave the app. DuePal puts the countdown on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island as a Live Activity, and in Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets, so it's still there when the phone is in your pocket. A heads-up arrives a few minutes before each switch, and on iOS 26 a due can ring as a real alarm, even in Silent mode.
DuePal is free to download with two dues, two countdowns of your own, the Current Due widget and the digital clock face, with no ads and no account. The flip clock and the other faces, the landscape desk clock, the Lock Screen Live Activity, alarms, public-holiday skipping and the Apple Watch app come with Premium, as a weekly or yearly subscription (the yearly plan starts with a 3-day free trial) or a one-time lifetime purchase.
Skip it if all you want is the time of day in Fliqlo's exact look. DuePal is built around what's next, not what time it is.
2. Flip Clock: Digital Desk Widget — a free full-screen flip clock that starts when you charge
Flip Clock: Digital Desk Widget (4.6, 71,000+ ratings) from its developer is the most-rated flip clock on the App Store. It runs full screen with a flip animation and themes you can change, and it can open by itself as a screensaver when you plug the phone in. For long always-on sessions it shifts pixels to protect OLED screens from burn-in. Seconds can show on the Home Screen, Lock Screen, Dynamic Island and in StandBy, and the widgets can carry your own text. Around the clock it adds count-up and countdown timers, Pomodoro, event countdowns, white noise and alarms with an hourly chime.
Skip it if you liked Fliqlo for having nothing on it. This one is a whole toolbox around the clock.
3. StandBy — free and already on your iPhone
Before downloading anything, try what the iPhone already does. Turn StandBy on in Settings, put the phone on a charger on its side and keep it still, and it shows a large full-screen clock. Swipe left or right to move between clocks, widgets and photos; there are several clock styles, and you can choose whether the display goes off in a dark room. Because it's part of iOS, it's the one option here that works from the Lock Screen without an app open, which is exactly what Fliqlo's own notes say it can't do. Apple's guide to using StandBy has the steps.
Skip it if you want the clock on an iPad, or while the phone is off the charger. StandBy is an iPhone feature that only appears while it's charging.
4. DClock — a flip clock you can theme, with Pomodoro and white noise
DClock - Digital Flip Clock (4.6, 8,000+ ratings) from Xiamen ShenZhuo is a flip clock with an animation on every change, built to be read from across the room. You can design your own themes, add quotes, float a small clock over the screen, and use Home Screen widgets. It also has a Pomodoro timer, white noise and an alarm clock, and some themes can show your step count from Apple Health if you allow it. It runs on iPhone and iPad.
Skip it if you want a single look you never have to set up. DClock rewards people who enjoy customising.
5. ClockPhone — big digits and a serious alarm clock
ClockPhone big digital clocks (4.6, 30,000+ ratings) from Evgenii Kostin isn't a flip clock, but it's built for the same spot on the bedside table or charging dock. The digits are large and animate smoothly, you can change their color, thickness and size, and it looks right in both portrait and landscape, with burn-in protection and gestures for brightness and size. The alarm is the stronger half: repeats by weekday, shift schedule or date, gradual volume, and dismiss methods like scanning an NFC tag or a barcode, or solving maths problems. There are also interval timers for Tabata, Pomodoro and more.
Skip it if the flip animation is the thing you love about Fliqlo. ClockPhone's digits slide rather than flip.
How they compare
| App | What the big numbers show | Works without the app open | iPad | Price model |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fliqlo | Time of day, one fixed flip design | No (app must stay open) | Yes | $0.99 on iPhone/iPad; Sleep Timer by subscription; free on Mac and Windows |
| DuePal | Time left until your next due, in a flip or other clock face | Yes: Lock Screen Live Activity, Dynamic Island, widgets | Yes | Free, 2 dues; Premium by subscription or once |
| Flip Clock: Digital Desk Widget | Time of day, flip with themes | Widgets, including StandBy and Lock Screen | Yes | Free to download |
| StandBy (built in) | Time of day, several clock styles | Yes, while charging on its side | — | Built into iPhone |
| DClock | Time of day, flip with custom themes | Home Screen widgets | Yes | Free to download |
| ClockPhone | Time of day, large sliding digits | Home Screen widgets | Yes | Free to download |
A dash means it isn't available there. Details come from each app's App Store listing, Fliqlo's own site and Apple's StandBy guide as of November 2026. Free versions change, so check the store page if price is what decides it.
Which Fliqlo alternative should you pick?
- For a free flip clock on the iPhone you already have: start with StandBy, then try Flip Clock: Digital Desk Widget if you want it to look more like Fliqlo.
- For a flip clock you can make your own: DClock.
- For a bedside clock that actually gets you up: ClockPhone.
- For a desk clock that tells you how long until the next meeting, class or pickup: DuePal. If you often look at a clock and still lose track, our guide to dealing with time blindness explains why a countdown helps more than the time of day.
- For the original look on a Mac or Windows PC: Fliqlo itself, which is free there.
Frequently asked questions
Is Fliqlo free?
On a computer, yes. Fliqlo's own site lists the macOS and Windows screensavers as free downloads, with an optional donation. On iPhone and iPad, Fliqlo is a $0.99 app, and its Sleep Timer, which lets the device lock itself after a set time, needs a subscription.
What is the best free Fliqlo alternative for iPhone?
If you don't want to download anything, StandBy is built into iPhone: put it on a charger on its side and it shows a large clock, with several clock styles to swipe through. For a free flip clock app, Flip Clock: Digital Desk Widget is free to download, runs full screen with a flip animation and can open by itself when you start charging. DClock and ClockPhone are free to download too.
Can Fliqlo be a screensaver on iPhone?
No. Fliqlo's own FAQ says iOS and iPadOS don't let apps work as screensavers or replace the Lock Screen, so the app only shows the clock while it's open in the foreground, and it keeps the screen from locking while it does. The closest thing iPhone has to a clock screensaver is StandBy, which appears when the phone is charging on its side.
Is there a flip clock app that counts down instead of showing the time?
Yes. DuePal shows the time left until the next fixed point of your day, such as a meeting at 9:30 or school pickup at 18:30, and with Premium it can show that countdown as a flip clock. When one time arrives it moves on to the next by itself. Flip Clock: Digital Desk Widget and DClock also include countdown or Pomodoro timers alongside their time-of-day clock.
A desk clock that counts down to what's next
Set the times of your day once. DuePal shows how long until each one and moves on to the next by itself.
Download DuePal on the App Store →Related: Best Countdown Apps for iPhone · How to Put a Countdown on Your iPhone Lock Screen. Questions? Email us.
