Best countdown widget apps for iPhone (2026)
Compare seven iPhone apps that count down to a calendar date, with a quick check of which Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets are free. Ratings, rating counts, versions and release dates below come from the November 8, 2026 US App Store snapshot. Our app is marked and compared on the same terms.
Key takeaways
- All seven apps are free to download from the US App Store. What differs is which widgets you can use without paying.
- Every widget size free, with no event limit: Countdown Widget: Any Event (ours) lists all four of its standard widgets as free in every size on both the Home Screen and the Lock Screen. Your own photos, the Photo Roll widget and the Live Activity are Pro. It has 35 US ratings, which is still a small sample.
- A free Lock Screen glance: Countdown by Find Appiness offers free circular and inline Lock Screen widgets; its Home Screen widgets and the rectangular Lock Screen widget are Premium.
- Apple Watch, time zones and the most ratings: Countdown Star, on the App Store since 2012, has the most US ratings of the seven, lists a time zone per event and an Apple Watch app, and shows ads in its free edition.
The other four apps are covered in Choose by what you need below.
The comparison
| App | Free tier | Widgets | Repeats | Sync | US rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Countdown Widget: Any Event (ours) | Unlimited events, every size of the four standard widgets on Home Screen and Lock Screen, reminders, repeats, iCloud sync — all free. Pro adds the Pro backdrops, your own photos, the Photo Roll widget, typefaces, the Live Activity and counting down with someone you invite. | Four standard widgets on Home Screen + Lock Screen, all sizes free | Yearly, monthly, weekly, every N days | iCloud, no account | ★ 4.6 · 35 ratings |
| Countdown Star | Free version with ads and an optional Remove Ads purchase (there is also a paid ad-free version); add as many events as you like, with iCloud sync, repeating events and Home Screen widgets listed as features. | Home Screen (small, medium, large) + Apple Watch | Annual events advance automatically | iCloud across iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | ★ 4.8 · 216,708 ratings |
| Countdown | Unlimited events, count-up, iCloud sync, reminders on the day and the day before, plus circular and inline Lock Screen widgets are free. Home Screen widgets, the rectangular Lock Screen widget, StandBy and calendar Auto Import are Premium. | Circular/inline Lock Screen free; Home Screen, rectangular Lock Screen and StandBy Premium | Yearly, monthly, weekly, daily | iCloud | ★ 4.8 · 191,197 ratings |
| Countdown: Event Countdown | Unlimited countdowns, counting up or down, and a Next Event Home Screen widget are free; the ticking, multi-event, Lock Screen and StandBy widgets, repeats and sync are Premium. | Next Event widget free; live, multi-event, Lock Screen, StandBy paid | Premium (shows ages on birthdays) | Premium, across Apple devices | ★ 4.7 · 23,947 ratings |
| DayCount | The listing describes counters, streaks and configurable widgets, but does not assign them to a free tier. Premium has an annual subscription with a seven-day trial or a lifetime purchase. | Home Screen + Lock Screen, custom filters and textures | Daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly, yearly, custom | Backup and sync across iPhone, iPad and Mac | ★ 4.7 · 26,270 ratings |
| Countdown Buddy | One countdown widget with the basic design. The description lists 11 styles but does not specify the price or purchase terms for the other designs. | Home Screen + Lock Screen, small and medium, 11 styles | Not stated; weekend exclusion for deadlines | Not stated | ★ 4.6 · 26,392 ratings |
| Days • Countdown & Widgets | Free download. The description lists full-screen photos, widgets and recurring events but does not specify which features are free or the free-tier limits. | Home Screen + Lock Screen | Yearly, monthly, weekly | Not stated | ★ 4.8 · 12,773 ratings |
Choose by what you need
Start with where you want to see the countdown, then check the exact widget and payment model. These choices follow the descriptions linked in each app entry; they are not results of hands-on tests.
- A birthday widget that repeats every year: Countdown Widget: Any Event (ours) lets you add unlimited birthdays, set them to repeat yearly and use any size of its four standard Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets for free. Your own photo as the widget background requires Pro. Find Appiness makes two separate apps: Countdown includes free circular and inline Lock Screen widgets, while Birthday Countdown lets you add unlimited birthdays for free but requires Premium for its widgets. See the birthday widget setup guide.
- A free glance without unlocking: our Countdown Widget: Any Event lists all sizes of its four standard widgets as free. Countdown by Find Appiness offers free circular and inline Lock Screen widgets; its rectangular widget is Premium. If a small indicator is enough, both deserve a look.
- A free Home Screen widget: our app includes all four standard widget types and sizes; Event Countdown explicitly includes a free Next Event widget. Event Countdown’s multi-event and choose-your-event widgets are Premium, so decide whether the next date alone is enough.
- Multiple time zones or Apple Watch: Countdown Star lists a time zone per event, Home Screen widgets and sync across iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. Its free edition has ads, with an optional removal purchase. Its description does not promise a Lock Screen widget.
- Habits alongside dates: DayCount puts daily streaks beside event counters and supports reminders before or after a date. Its description does not identify which features remain free, so check the purchase screen before relying on a free workflow.
- A month grid and Live Activities: Event Countdown lists both under Premium, available monthly, yearly or as a lifetime purchase. Choose it for that calendar workflow only if that paid tier fits your budget; a free Next Event widget does not include the calendar view.
- One widget you can style: Countdown Buddy lists 11 designs, photos, fonts and weekend exclusion, but explicitly limits the free edition to one basic widget. Check which design is available before building your Home Screen around it.
- Photo-led event browsing: Days describes swiping between full-screen event photos, recurring dates and widgets on both screens. Free-feature limits are not stated. In our app, personal photo backgrounds and Photo Roll are Pro features even though the four standard widgets are free.
- Calendar import without a recurring subscription: Find Appiness lists calendar import and a one-time Premium purchase; automatic import of new calendar events is Premium. Our app lists calendar and spreadsheet import plus export in its free feature section, while Pro offers subscriptions and a one-time Lifetime option. Manual import and automatic import are different needs.
Before choosing a paid tier
Confirm three things in the app: the widget shape you want, whether the purchase renews, and whether your dates can be imported or exported. Start with a single event and the intended widget before adding a long list. The descriptions do not establish delivery timing, battery use or backup recovery reliability, and we have not tested those here. A high rating or a recent update cannot answer those questions.
If you go with ours, the Home Screen and Lock Screen steps are in how to put a countdown on your iPhone Lock Screen, and the Christmas countdown widget guide covers a holiday setup.
The seven apps
1. Countdown Widget: Any Event — go ka (that's us)
All sizes of the four standard widgets, unlimited events, recurring dates, reminders and iCloud sync are free. Pro, available by subscription or Lifetime purchase, adds the Pro backdrops, your own photos behind a countdown, the Photo Roll widget, the Pro typefaces, the Lock Screen Live Activity and inviting someone to count down with you. The app keeps up to 30 routine snapshots on this device, not a guaranteed 30 days of history or an off-device backup. These snapshots do not guarantee recovery after uninstalling the app or replacing the device. Before either, verify a synced copy and save an export outside the app. Calendar and spreadsheet import and export are also available. Its 35 US ratings are a small sample; this is not evidence that it is more reliable than the other apps.
Free tier: Unlimited events, every size of the four standard widgets on Home Screen and Lock Screen, reminders, repeats, iCloud sync — all free. Pro adds the Pro backdrops, your own photos, the Photo Roll widget, typefaces, the Live Activity and counting down with someone you invite.
Widgets: Four standard widgets on Home Screen + Lock Screen, all sizes free · Repeats: Yearly, monthly, weekly, every N days · Sync: iCloud, no account
2. Countdown Star — Joseph Merrill
The veteran: on the App Store since 2012 with over 200,000 ratings. Strong on the countdown itself — time-zone support, a slider that flips between seconds and years, celebration animations at zero, and an Apple Watch app. The listing does not describe Lock Screen widgets.
Free tier: Free version with ads and an optional Remove Ads purchase (there is also a paid ad-free version); add as many events as you like, with iCloud sync, repeating events and Home Screen widgets listed as features.
Widgets: Home Screen (small, medium, large) + Apple Watch · Repeats: Annual events advance automatically · Sync: iCloud across iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
3. Countdown — Find Appiness LLC
A useful option when a small Lock Screen countdown is enough: circular and inline widgets are free. Larger Home Screen and rectangular Lock Screen widgets require Premium. The listing describes Premium as a one-time purchase without a subscription; custom reminders, alarms and automatic calendar import also require Premium.
Free tier: Unlimited events, count-up, iCloud sync, reminders on the day and the day before, plus circular and inline Lock Screen widgets are free. Home Screen widgets, the rectangular Lock Screen widget, StandBy and calendar Auto Import are Premium.
Widgets: Circular/inline Lock Screen free; Home Screen, rectangular Lock Screen and StandBy Premium · Repeats: Yearly, monthly, weekly, daily · Sync: iCloud
4. Countdown: Event Countdown — ROOT38 LIMITED
For a calendar view: every event on a month grid, color-coded, with Live Activities in the Dynamic Island as the moment approaches and countdowns you can export as a video — the listing puts the calendar view and Live Activities under Premium. Unlimited events and the Next Event widget are free; the full widget collection is Premium.
Free tier: Unlimited countdowns, counting up or down, and a Next Event Home Screen widget are free; the ticking, multi-event, Lock Screen and StandBy widgets, repeats and sync are Premium.
Widgets: Next Event widget free; live, multi-event, Lock Screen, StandBy paid · Repeats: Premium (shows ages on birthdays) · Sync: Premium, across Apple devices
5. DayCount — Zaminiti Pty Ltd
For people who count in both directions: counters track time before and after the date, streaks sit next to events, and reminders can fire minutes to years before or after. Widgets are unusually configurable — filters, fonts, textures, borders — on both Home and Lock Screen, and events can be imported from your calendar.
Free tier: The listing describes counters, streaks and configurable widgets, but does not assign them to a free tier. Premium has an annual subscription with a seven-day trial or a lifetime purchase.
Widgets: Home Screen + Lock Screen, custom filters and textures · Repeats: Daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly, yearly, custom · Sync: Backup and sync across iPhone, iPad and Mac
6. Countdown Buddy — Taptics Ltd.
A widget designer more than an event list: you build a countdown or count-up widget from 11 styles and drop it on the Home or Lock Screen, and work deadlines can skip weekends. The free version is one basic widget, so it is best if you only ever need one countdown.
Free tier: One countdown widget with the basic design. The description lists 11 styles but does not specify the price or purchase terms for the other designs.
Widgets: Home Screen + Lock Screen, small and medium, 11 styles · Repeats: Not stated; weekend exclusion for deadlines · Sync: Not stated
7. Days • Countdown & Widgets — MD Apps LTD
The photo-first option: each event is a full-screen picture you swipe through, with subtle animations. Recurring birthdays and anniversaries, count-up for past events, and widgets on both screens.
Free tier: Free download. The description lists full-screen photos, widgets and recurring events but does not specify which features are free or the free-tier limits.
Widgets: Home Screen + Lock Screen · Repeats: Yearly, monthly, weekly · Sync: Not stated
How we chose
We searched the US App Store for "countdown widget", "days until countdown" and "countdown app", took the countdown-specific apps with the most ratings, and read each listing for what it says about the free tier, widgets, repeats, reminders and sync. Apps that are general widget makers (Widgetsmith) or visual timers for kids were left out. We did not test paid tiers, and we did not rank by rating — the list is grouped by what each app is best at. We make one of these apps; it is included because it is a countdown widget app for iPhone, and it is described with the same fields as everyone else.
We corrected our app's local-snapshot limits on November 6, 2026 after checking its implementation and current product guidance. This was a source review, not a device-recovery test. On November 8, 2026 we rechecked every app’s rating, version and description; the only description change was Countdown Star adding support for iPhone Duo, which does not change this comparison.
Not ready to install an app? Make a free Lock Screen countdown wallpaper from your own photo in your browser. The saved image is a still picture; its number does not update by itself.