In short: Kounts adds countdown widgets to your iPhone Home Screen and Lock Screen in multiple styles and sizes. Each widget can show a specific event or auto-follow your next one, the day count updates on its own, and a tap opens straight to that countdown. It's free, with no ads.
Countdowns, glanceable everywhere
Home Screen widgets
Eight widgets, all free: a cinematic Poster, a photo Grid, a Featured hero, a Year Ring, a split-flap Departure Board, a stripped-back Minimal, Up Next and the classic Countdown, each dressed in your event's photo or gradient artwork. On iOS 27, four of them come in a size that fills a whole page.
Lock Screen widgets
Add a compact countdown under the clock so the days until your next event are the first thing you see, no need to even unlock your phone.
Pin one, or follow what's next
Lock a widget to one specific countdown, or let it auto-follow your nearest upcoming event so it's always showing what matters right now. Pin an event to the top of your list in the app and it leads the list widgets too.
Tap to open the event
Every widget deep-links into Kounts. Tap and you land directly on that event's full-screen countdown, photos and details, not on the app's home.
Always up to date
The day count refreshes on its own, and recurring events roll the widget forward to the next occurrence automatically.
Live on the day
When the event arrives, the widgets are joined by a self-ticking Live Activity and Dynamic Island countdown for the final hours.
Multi-day events, day by day
While a trip or festival is running, the small widget trades its ring for a “Now” badge and the days left, and the medium poster adds the date range, “Day 3 of 10” and a slim elapsed bar. Both flip at midnight, on their own.
In your font, in your colour
Widgets follow the font you pick in Settings (Cabinet Grotesk, Satoshi, Chillax, Melodrama or Telma) and colour their day counts by the event's category, so your Home Screen matches the app.
Photos stay photos, even tinted
If your Home Screen runs the tinted (or, on iOS 27, clear) rendering style, Kounts widgets keep your event photo in full colour instead of flattening it into one accent. The Poster also gains the new tall extra-large size on iOS 27.
A guide inside the app
Never added a widget before? Settings → Support → Add a Widget walks you through the Home Screen, the Lock Screen and StandBy on a phone you can actually tap, drawn with the real widgets and your own next event.
Depth on the Poster
With Premium, the Poster and Featured widgets can tuck the day count behind the people and pets in your photo, like the clock on the Lock Screen. Follow a countdown pack and the next full moon or episode can sit on your Home Screen too.
Holidays land on the Home Screen too
A holiday countdown brings its theme onto the widget: its own gradient, its own decorations and its own colour on the ring and the numerals, so December looks like December on your Home Screen.
Home Screen widgets, the Add a Widget guide, and the Dynamic Island on event day.
How to add a countdown widget
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1
Add an event
Download Kounts free and create the countdown you want on your screen, whether that's a birthday, a trip or a deadline.
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2
Touch and hold the Home Screen
Press an empty spot until the icons jiggle, tap the plus in the corner, then search for Kounts and pick a widget and a size. Kounts can show you how, too: Settings → Support → Add a Widget.
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3
Choose the event
Long-press the new widget and tap Edit Widget to pin a specific countdown, or leave it on "next event" to follow whatever's coming up.
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4
Add it to the Lock Screen too
Touch and hold the Lock Screen, tap Customize, then add a Kounts widget under the clock for an at-a-glance countdown.
Frequently asked questions
How do I add a countdown widget to my iPhone?
Install Kounts free and create an event, then touch and hold an empty area of your Home Screen, tap the plus button, search for Kounts and choose a widget size. You can also add a Kounts widget to the Lock Screen by customizing it directly. Each widget can show a specific event or automatically follow whatever is next. Inside the app, Settings → Support → Add a Widget walks you through it step by step, using your own next event.
Does Kounts have a Lock Screen countdown widget?
Yes. Kounts offers Lock Screen widgets as well as Home Screen widgets, so the days until your next event sit right under the clock. On event day, a self-ticking Live Activity and Dynamic Island countdown take over for the final hours.
Can the countdown widget update automatically?
Yes. A Kounts widget can be pinned to one specific event, or set to auto-follow your next upcoming event so it always shows what matters now. The day count refreshes on its own, and recurring events roll forward automatically.
Is the countdown widget free?
Yes. Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets are part of the free Kounts experience, with no ads. An optional Kounts Premium unlocks extra card styles, accent colours and customization, as a yearly subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase.
What sizes do the countdown widgets come in?
Kounts has eight Home Screen widgets, all free: Countdown and Minimal (small), Poster and Up Next (medium), Grid (medium or large, four or six events as photo tiles), Featured (large), Year Ring (small, medium or large) and Departure Board (medium or large, your next events on split-flap tiles). On iOS 27, Poster, Featured, Grid and Year Ring also come in a size that fills a whole Home Screen page, where the Grid holds twelve events. Lock Screen widgets come in inline, rectangular and circular shapes.
Put a countdown on your screen
Free, ad-free countdown widgets for your Home Screen, Lock Screen and Apple Watch.
See also: Live Activity countdown · Apple Watch countdown · Recurring countdowns