We value your privacy

We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience, serve personalized ads or content, and analyze our traffic. By clicking "Accept All", you consent to our use of cookies.

Skip to content
Homepage

Resources

Best Countdown Timer Apps for Shopify, Compared in 2026

We compared 14 countdown timer apps on Shopify App Store reviews, timer types, placements and pricing. Updated October 2026.

Illustration of a team assembling Shopify apps around a laptop

Quick answer: which countdown timer app should you pick?

The most-reviewed dedicated countdown timer app is Essential Countdown Timer Bar: 5.0 stars from 1,740 reviews, with a free plan. The best fit depends on what you need:

  • Most reviews and a free plan: Essential Countdown Timer Bar (1,740 reviews).

  • Completely free: GSC Countdown Timer Bar (717 reviews), Countdown Timer Bar Samita (192) or Hoppy Cart Countdown Timer Bar (85).

  • Geo-targeted, scheduled store-wide bars: Hextom: Countdown Timer Bar (766 reviews).

  • Timers plus sales popups: ToastiBar (542 reviews).

  • Cart timers that empty the cart: Scarcity.AI (31 reviews).

  • Timer inside an all-in-one suite: Vitals (40+ tools, $29.99 per month).

Last updated October 20, 2026. Ratings, review counts and prices come from each app's Shopify App Store listing on that date. Essential Countdown Timer Bar is our own app, so we say so wherever it appears.

🥇 Best Countdown Timer For Shopify

Essential Countdown Timer Bar app icon.

Countdown Timer Bar

best app

Essential Countdown Timer Bar is the most-reviewed dedicated countdown timer app on the Shopify App Store: 5.0 stars from 1,740 reviews, with a free plan. You can add an unlimited number of timer bars to the homepage, product pages, cart or site-wide, start from 20+ ready-made styles or build one from scratch, and choose fixed, recurring, fixed-minute or session-based timers. It works with current Shopify themes.

Read more

🥈 Other top Shopify Countdown timer apps

Great app missing?

If you think there's an excellent app missing in this list, drop us an email and let us know!

Suggest app

Countdown timer app comparison table

App Reviews Rating Free plan Paid from Best for
Essential Countdown Timer Bar 1,740 5.0 Yes (1,000 views/month) $6.99/month Flash sales, product pages, cart, email timers
Hextom: Countdown Timer Bar 766 4.9 Yes $9.99/month Geo-targeted, scheduled store-wide bars
GSC Countdown Timer Bar 717 4.9 Free app Free Free bars and banners
ToastiBar Sales Popup & Proof 542 4.9 Yes $6.99/month Timers plus sales popups
Countdown Timer Bar Samita 192 5.0 Free app Free Cart timers, stock alerts, 19 languages
TicTac ‑ Timer, Bar & Upsell 147 4.9 Yes See listing Timers with shipping bar and upsell popups
Profy Banner & Countdown Timer 124 5.0 Yes See listing Coupon banners with timers
GA:Urgency Countdown Timer Bar 116 4.9 Free app Free Cart and checkout timers
Algoshop Promo Countdown Timer 101 5.0 Yes (1,000 views/month) $9.90/month Timers on product images and cart
Hoppy Cart Countdown Timer Bar 85 4.9 Free app Free Cart and checkout timers
KILATECH Countdown Timer 40 5.0 Yes $3.99/month Per-visitor timers on a budget
Scarcity.AI: Countdown Timer 31 4.7 Dev stores only $4.99/month Cart timers that empty the cart
Urgency+ | All‑in‑one FOMO App 155 4.3 No (14-day trial) $12.95/month All-in-one FOMO suite
POWR Countdown Timer Bar 95 4.1 Yes $7.04/month Basic timers if you already use POWR
Data from each app's Shopify App Store listing, October 20, 2026. Sorted by review count; apps rated below 4.5 are listed last.

Fixed vs evergreen timers: which one should you use?

A fixed timer counts down to a real date and time, such as the end of a sale. An evergreen (session-based) timer starts again for each visitor, which is how most per-visitor and recurring timers work.

Some vendors call evergreen timers fake urgency, and shoppers who notice a timer resetting can lose trust in the store. A safer rule: use a fixed timer whenever a deadline is real, and use an evergreen or recurring timer only when the offer behind it genuinely expires, for example a discount code that stops working or a daily shipping cut-off. Misleading urgency can also run into consumer-protection rules in some regions, so check the rules where you sell.

Best countdown timer app by use case

  • Free: GSC Countdown Timer Bar, Countdown Timer Bar Samita, Hoppy and GA:Urgency are free apps. Essential, Hextom and ToastiBar have free plans.

  • Product page timers: Essential, Algoshop and Samita. Here is a step-by-step guide to adding a timer to a product page.

  • Cart and checkout timers: Hoppy, GA:Urgency, Samita and Scarcity.AI. See how to set up a cart timer.

  • Popups and social proof: ToastiBar and Urgency+ pair timers with sales popups and social proof.

  • Black Friday and Cyber Monday: pick an app with date-range or fixed end date timers, schedule them ahead of time and test on mobile before the sale. Most apps above support this.

  • Password page and launches: see how to add a countdown to the password page.

What makes countdown timer apps effective?

Timers work best on limited-time promotions, particularly flash sales and seasonal events such as Black Friday. A countdown creates a sense of urgency and plays on the fear of missing out, which can lift interest in a promotion and nudge undecided shoppers to order before a deal ends. For design and placement tips, read our countdown timer best practices guide.

What to check before you install a timer app

Shopify has no built-in countdown timer, so you need a third-party app, and the apps differ in ways that are easy to miss:

  • Customization. Some apps allow very little control over style and placement.

  • Speed and compatibility. Test your pages on mobile and in different browsers after installing, and compare page speed before and after.

  • Clean removal. Some apps leave code behind after you uninstall them.

  • Billing. Check what counts as a timer or a view on each plan, because editing a timer during a trial can be counted as a second one.

All apps listed are available on the Shopify app store.

How we compared these apps

We took ratings, review counts, free plans and prices from each app's Shopify App Store listing on October 20, 2026. Apps are sorted by review count, with apps rated below 4.5 listed last. Essential Countdown Timer Bar is published by Essential Apps, the publisher of this page. Prices and ratings change, so check the listing before you install.

Essential Apps for Your Shopify Store

On the mission to build a suite of essential Shopify apps to help every merchant.

View all apps

FAQ

It depends on what you need. By Shopify App Store reviews, Essential Countdown Timer Bar leads the dedicated timer apps with 5.0 stars from 1,740 reviews and a free plan (Essential Apps publishes it). Hextom: Countdown Timer Bar suits geo-targeted, scheduled bars (4.9 stars, 766 reviews), and GSC Countdown Timer Bar is a fully free option (4.9 stars, 717 reviews). Compare all 14 in the table above.
It has 5.0 stars from 1,740 reviews on the Shopify App Store, more than any other dedicated countdown timer app (Hextom has 766, GSC 717). It has a free plan (1,000 views a month, unlimited product page and top-bar timers) and paid plans from $6.99 a month, with cart timers on the $9.99 Essential plan. It supports fixed, evergreen, scheduled and recurring timers on product pages, cart, landing pages, announcement bars and in emails, and lists integrations with Klaviyo, Omnisend, PageFly, Seguno and Yotpo. Where others fit better: GSC Countdown Timer Bar and Countdown Timer Bar Samita are fully free with no view limit listed, and Hextom is built around geo-targeted, scheduled bars. Essential Apps publishes Essential Countdown Timer Bar. See the full comparison table above.
You will need a Shopify app that provides the functionality. With Essential Countdown Timer you install the app, open Online Store → Customize, add the “Essential Countdown Timer” block to any page or section, adjust the timer style, end time and behaviour, then save and publish. No coding or theme edits needed.
1) Decide what the deadline is: a fixed end date for a real sale, a fixed-minute (evergreen) timer for a limited-time offer, or a daily recurring timer for a shipping cut-off. 2) Install a timer app. 3) In Online Store → Customize, open the product template and add the timer as an app block under the price or the add-to-cart button. 4) Set the end time, style and message, save, and check it on mobile. With Essential Countdown Timer Bar, product page timers are included on the free plan. Avoid timers that restart on every refresh unless the offer really expires. Step-by-step product page guide.
Yes. Essential Countdown Timer Bar offers evergreen (fixed-minute, session-based) timers on its free plan, along with to-date, scheduled and recurring timers. Other apps with per-visitor or session-based timers include GSC Countdown Timer Bar (reset per visit or per session), Hoppy Cart Countdown Timer Bar, Countdown Timer Bar Samita, KILATECH Countdown Timer (a fresh timer for each new visitor), ToastiBar and Urgency+.
Vitals has 4.9 stars from 2,976 reviews and includes a countdown timer among 40+ tools. It costs $29.99 a month with a 7-day free trial and no free plan. If you only need timers, a dedicated app such as Essential Countdown Timer Bar (free plan, paid from $6.99), GSC Countdown Timer Bar or Countdown Timer Bar Samita costs less and focuses on timer features. If you also want reviews, bundles and upsells, a suite can replace several apps.
As of October 20, 2026, Essential Countdown Timer Bar has the most reviews of any dedicated countdown timer app: 5.0 stars from 1,740 reviews. Hextom: Countdown Timer Bar has 766 and GSC Countdown Timer Bar has 717. All-in-one suites that include a timer, such as Vitals (2,976 reviews), are a different category.
Yes. GSC Countdown Timer Bar, Countdown Timer Bar Samita, Hoppy Cart Countdown Timer Bar and GA:Urgency Countdown Timer Bar are listed as free apps. Essential Countdown Timer Bar, Hextom, ToastiBar and Algoshop have free plans, with limits on views or features. Check each listing for the current limits.
Many are free or have free plans. Paid plans mostly start between $3.99 and $12.95 a month: KILATECH $3.99, Scarcity.AI $4.99, Essential Countdown Timer Bar $6.99, ToastiBar $6.99, POWR $7.04, Algoshop $9.90, Hextom $9.99 and Urgency+ $12.95. Top tiers reach $29.99 (Essential's Professional plan with unlimited views, and Vitals). Prices are from each app's Shopify listing on October 20, 2026.
Pick an app that can schedule a timer ahead of time with a fixed end date, and test it on mobile before the sale. Essential Countdown Timer Bar (to-date timers on the free plan, scheduling from the $6.99 Starter plan), GSC Countdown Timer Bar and Hoppy Cart Countdown Timer Bar (both free) support fixed end dates and date ranges, and Hextom suits store-wide bars with scheduling.
Essential Countdown Timer Bar lists integrations with PageFly, Seguno, Klaviyo, Omnisend and Yotpo, includes email timers on the $9.99 Essential plan, and supports 19 languages. TicTac lists PageFly, GemPages, Klaviyo and Omnisend. Check each app's listing for your page builder before you install.
A fixed timer counts down to a set date and time, such as the end of a sale. An evergreen timer starts again for each visitor or session. Use fixed timers for real deadlines and evergreen timers only when the offer really expires, so shoppers are not misled.
Any app adds some code to your pages, so the effect depends on the app and your theme. Run a page speed test before and after installing, check your mobile pages, and remove apps you stop using. Apps that use Shopify app blocks are easy to remove from the theme editor.
Most stores use recurring timers between 30 minutes and 6 hours. Shorter durations create stronger urgency; longer durations feel more natural for browsing. Essential Countdown Timer lets you choose the exact reset behaviour, so the timer feels consistent for each visitor.
Open Online Store → Customize, navigate to that product template, and add the Essential Countdown Timer block only to that page. If you use multiple product templates, you can assign timers to specific templates or variants.
Install Essential Countdown Timer, then go to Online Store → Customize → Password Page → Add block → Essential Countdown Timer. You can set it for product drops, launches, events or store openings. Read the full guide to adding a countdown timer on the password page.
Some apps support email timers. Essential Countdown Timer Bar includes email timers on its Essential plan, and Urgency+ offers urgency emails with embedded countdown timers. See Essential's email countdown timer.
If the timer was added using app blocks, go to Online Store → Customize, find the section holding the countdown timer, remove the block and save your changes. If the timer came from a different app that injected code, uninstalling that app usually removes it, though in rare cases you may need to delete leftover snippets it added.