Best Retirement Countdown Apps for iPhone in 2027: 7 Compared
Checked 20 October 2026. Every competitor detail below comes from that app's US App Store page and Apple's public lookup data, fetched that day. Left details come from the app itself.
A retirement countdown turns a far-off date into a number you can watch shrink: days, weeks, months or, for the very keen, work days. Some apps are built only for retirement, with photos, quotes and sharing; others are general countdown or working-day apps that handle retirement well. Here are seven worth comparing on iPhone.
Disclosure: we make Left, so we have put it first. Here is why, and when another app suits you better.
Quick verdict
- Best for a retirement countdown on the Lock Screen and wallpaper, with free widgets and no ads: Left.
- Most-rated retirement countdown app: Retirement Countdown by Zaffles.
- Best for retirement extras such as a bucket list and calculators: Retirement Countdown App by Green Gecko.
- Best general countdown that can count only working days: Countdown by Find Appiness.
- Best for work days left, minus holidays: Working Days Counter & Widget.
- Best for progress-style widgets and Watch complications: Countdown - Pretty Progress.
- Best for a countdown plus a retirement-readiness check: Retirement Countdown: WorkEnd.
Comparison table
Ratings and counts are from the US App Store, checked 20 October 2026; Left's is its worldwide average. "Not stated" means the listing doesn't mention it, not that the feature is missing.
| App | Counts work days? | Lock Screen widget | Ads | Price model | Rating (US) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Left | No (calendar time) | Yes (free) | No | Free, 2 countdowns; Left Premium unlimited | 4.7 (worldwide) |
 Retirement Countdown (Zaffles) | Not stated; vacation days can be removed | Yes | Yes | Free; Supporter monthly, annual or lifetime | 4.8 (12,686) |
 Retirement Countdown App (Green Gecko) | Not stated | Not stated | Yes | Free; Premium monthly, yearly or lifetime | 4.8 (6,301) |
 Countdown (Find Appiness) | Yes ("Count only working days") | Yes (Premium) | Yes | Free; widget unlock purchase | 4.8 (189,110) |
 Working Days Counter & Widget | Yes, with holiday exclusions (Premium) | Yes | Not stated | Free; Premium in-app purchase | 4.7 (205) |
 Countdown - Pretty Progress | Not stated | Yes | Not stated | Free, 4 custom widgets; Pro weekly to lifetime | 4.7 (3,109) |
 Retirement Countdown: WorkEnd | Not stated | Not stated | Yes | Free; Premium monthly, yearly or lifetime | 4.8 (166) |
1. Left: retirement day where you'll see it every day
Left is a time awareness app for iPhone. A retirement date is one countdown in Ahead, next to the time left in the year and your life in Time Left.
- Set it up: tap Add a date ahead, name it and set Starts to your first day of retirement. Show as... counts it in hours, days, weeks, months or years, and you can add a photo from your library or Unsplash.
- Widgets: the Ahead widget on the Home Screen in small, medium and large, and as a circular or rectangular Lock Screen widget. It works in StandBy too.
- Left Wallpaper: the Special Date mode draws your retirement countdown as a grid on your Lock Screen wallpaper, with a legend such as days left, and a Shortcuts automation updates it every day. It's free.
- The big picture: Time Left shows how much of the year is left, and the Your life view shows your life in years, months or weeks, based on a default lifespan of 80 years. A custom lifespan is part of Left Premium.
- On the day: Get ready for the start shows a live countdown on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island in the final hours.
Best for: one big date you want to see every time you pick up your phone, without ads.
Price: free to download, with no ads. The free plan includes 2 countdowns (plus 2 habits, 2 streaks and 2 Aims), counted over every item you've ever created, so deleting one doesn't free a slot. One retirement date fits easily. Left Premium, a subscription or lifetime purchase, unlocks unlimited items. Prices are shown in the app before you buy.
Pros: free Lock Screen and Home Screen widgets; a retirement wallpaper that updates itself; counts in any unit from hours to years; no ads.
Cons: it counts calendar time, not work days, and can't exclude holidays or vacation; no retirement calculators or bucket list; needs an iPhone with iOS 26 or later.
2. Retirement Countdown by Zaffles
By Zaffles LLC. Its App Store page describes a countdown to your retirement day with daily notifications, sharing with friends and family, and a widget. Recent versions redesigned its widgets with "a big day count over your own photo", reworked its Lock Screen widgets, added StandBy support, a full-screen Big Countdown in days, weeks, months, seconds "or any combination", and the option to "remove vacation days from your countdown".
Best for: a dedicated retirement app with a photo widget.
Price: free with ads. Supporter purchases are listed monthly, annually and for life; the listing doesn't say what they unlock.
Pros: 4.8 from 12,686 ratings, the most of any retirement countdown app we found; Lock Screen and StandBy widgets; frequent updates.
Cons: what Supporter unlocks isn't stated; ads; its privacy label lists location, identifiers, usage data and diagnostics used to track you.
3. Retirement Countdown App by Green Gecko
By Green Gecko LLC. Its App Store page counts down "the months, days, hour, minutes and seconds" to retirement, down to the exact time, and adds retirement calculators, a bucket list, a quote of the day, ideas, book picks and sharing by email or social media.
Best for: people who want a retirement lifestyle app, not just a number.
Price: "You can use most of this app totally free of charge." Premium, with all themes, your own picture, the quote of the day and no ads, is offered monthly, yearly or as a lifetime purchase.
Pros: lots of retirement content; iPhone, iPad and Apple silicon Macs; runs on iOS 12 or later.
Cons: widgets aren't mentioned; ads in the free version; its privacy label lists location, identifiers, usage data and diagnostics used to track you.
4. Countdown by Find Appiness
By Find Appiness LLC. Its App Store page lists retirement among its event types and offers "Count only working days", unlimited events, reminders, tags, iCloud sync and an Apple Watch app. Lock Screen, StandBy and Home Screen widgets are marked "Premium feature".
Best for: a well-known countdown app that can count working days, on your Watch too.
Price: free with ads; widgets come with a Countdown Widget purchase.
Pros: 4.8 from 189,110 ratings; working-days counting; Apple Watch; iCloud sync.
Cons: widgets need the paid unlock; ads; its privacy label lists identifiers used to track you.
5. Working Days Counter & Widget
By Shayes Apps LLC. Its App Store page lets you set your own work schedule and count the work days left, with exclusion lists for "off days and holidays", holidays imported from your calendars, Home and Lock Screen widgets, an Apple Watch app with complications, iCloud sync and sharing.
Best for: counting the actual work days until you retire.
Price: free; a Premium in-app purchase, listed at $1.99 in the US, adds exclusion lists and calendar import.
Pros: your own work schedule, with off days and holidays excluded; Apple Watch; iCloud sync.
Cons: only 205 ratings; retirement isn't named in the listing, so it's a general work-days tool.
6. Countdown - Pretty Progress
By keinois OU. Its App Store page suggests "Days until retirement" and "Days until your financial independence" among its uses, with six widget templates for the Home Screen, Lock Screen, StandBy and Apple Watch complications, Calendar import and iCloud sync.
Best for: watching retirement approach as a progress bar or percentage.
Price: "The free version of Pretty Progress includes four custom countdown widgets with two designs". Pro is offered weekly, monthly, yearly or as a lifetime purchase.
Pros: widgets on the Home Screen, Lock Screen, StandBy and Watch; progress-style designs; its privacy label lists no data linked to you.
Cons: Pro is needed for more than four custom widgets.
7. Retirement Countdown: WorkEnd
By Tobias Feldmann. Its App Store page pairs a retirement countdown with money questions: Premium adds a retirement shortfall analysis, a check on whether you could retire earlier, and an assets and risk assessment.
Best for: people who want to know whether they're on track, not only how long is left.
Price: free with ads. "WorkEnd Premium can be activated via a monthly or yearly subscription or a one-time purchase for lifetime use."
Pros: financial readiness tools in the same app; its privacy label lists only data not linked to you.
Cons: 166 ratings; widgets aren't mentioned; recent release notes don't describe changes; ads.
How we chose
- Search first: we searched the US App Store for retirement countdown, work days left and pension countdown apps on 20 October 2026.
- Kept: apps updated in the last 12 months that name retirement or count work days, with at least about 150 ratings. Left is included because we make it.
- Also considered: RetirementTracker and Retirement Countdown+ Tracker, two 2026 apps with detailed work-day and holiday counting but only one rating each; Retirement Countdown - Days (21 ratings); TimeCount (a popular countdown app that lists retirement as one example, left out to keep the list to seven) and Countdown Star (whose listing doesn't mention retirement). Horizon Retirement Countdown was left out because it hasn't been updated since May 2025.
- Sources: each app's own App Store page, including release notes, privacy labels and age-rating notes, and Apple's lookup data. No paid placements, and no developer reviewed this page. This page compares countdown apps; it isn't financial advice.
Which one should you pick?
- You want retirement day on your Lock Screen and wallpaper, without ads: Left.
- You want the most-rated retirement countdown app: Retirement Countdown by Zaffles.
- You want a bucket list and calculators too: Green Gecko's Retirement Countdown App.
- You want working days and your Watch: Countdown by Find Appiness.
- You want exact work days minus holidays: Working Days Counter & Widget.
- You want a progress bar: Pretty Progress.
- You want a readiness check: WorkEnd.
To count the years left from your age, try the retirement countdown calculator. To count the days to a retirement date, use the date countdown calculator, and for weekdays before holidays, the business days calculator. To see your life in weeks on your iPhone, see the life calendar page. To keep the countdown on your bedside table, set up a countdown screensaver with StandBy.
See more examples on the Left countdown widget page and the days left wallpaper page.
Questions
What is the best retirement countdown app?
Retirement Countdown by Zaffles is the most-rated retirement countdown app we found, with Lock Screen and StandBy widgets. Left suits you if you want the countdown on your Lock Screen and wallpaper with free widgets and no ads. If you want to count work days and skip holidays, Working Days Counter & Widget fits better.
Can a retirement countdown count only work days?
Some can. Countdown by Find Appiness lists "Count only working days", and Working Days Counter & Widget lets you set your work schedule and exclude off days and holidays with Premium. Left counts calendar time, not work days.
How do I put a retirement countdown on my iPhone Lock Screen?
Use an app with Lock Screen widgets. In Left, add your retirement date in Ahead, then touch and hold the Lock Screen, tap Customize, choose the Lock Screen, tap Add Widgets, add Left's Ahead widget and tap it to pick your retirement date. Left Wallpaper's Special Date mode can also draw the countdown on your wallpaper.
Is there a free retirement countdown app?
Yes. Retirement Countdown by Zaffles and Green Gecko's Retirement Countdown App are free with ads. Left is free with no ads, and its free plan includes 2 countdowns, which covers a retirement date.
How many days until I retire?
Use our date countdown calculator with your retirement date to see the days left, or the retirement countdown calculator for the years, months and weeks left from your age. Then add the date to a countdown app so you can watch it shrink.
Start noticing what matters.
Download Left on your iPhone to see the time you have left, dates you are looking forward to, build the habits you want to keep, and become a better version of yourself.
Scan or search "Left" on the App Store.