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Comparison · Events and stages

Stage timer apps compared: price, remote control, multiple displays, and offline use (2026)

By Blink Brief · Published  · Updated  · How pages are made

StageTime is free and runs offline on Mac and Windows; Stagetimer.io is free for up to 3 connected devices and $210 a year for Pro; CueTimer costs $25 to $65 a year; Ontime is free to self-host; ProPresenter includes timers and stage messages in its $289-a-year seat; Show Countdown runs in a browser and opens a basic timer room without a credit card, but publishes no price. All six let a second device in the booth control what the speaker sees.

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Quick picks

  • Free and offline

    StageTime

    Runs offline on a Mac or Windows PC in the booth, with a phone remote on the same network.

    Free

    stagetime.app

  • One conference

    Stagetimer.io

    Control and follow one countdown from any browser; the 30-day licence needs no subscription.

    $28 for 30 days

    stagetimer.io

  • For AV crews

    CueTimer

    Desktop drives full-screen, NDI, and Blackmagic outputs from your machine, for venues with unreliable Wi-Fi.

    Desktop $50/year

    cuetimer.com

Stage timer software pricing

Tool Paid price Free tier or trial Platform
Stagetimer.io Pro $210/year (5 connections); Premium $420/year (50 connections); single event, 30 days: Pro $28, Premium $54; Enterprise from $630; desktop lifetime licence $980. No monthly plan. Free: up to 3 live connections and 3 timers per room, up to 3 rooms Any browser; desktop app for Windows, macOS, Linux
CueTimer Desktop $50/year (1 machine at a time); Cloud $25/year (1 cue list); both $65/year 20-minute free trial Mac, Windows, any browser (Cloud)
StageTime No paid tier Free, no account or licence key macOS 13 or later, Windows 10 or later
Ontime Cloud Pro $20/month (3 simultaneous stages); Cloud Studio $80/month (10) Free and open source, self-hosted, fully featured Windows, macOS, Linux, Docker, Raspberry Pi; views in any browser
Show Countdown Not published A basic timer room without a credit card Web browser
ProPresenter $289/year for the first seat, $189 each for seats 2–4 and $149 each for seats 5–10; from 11 seats, price on request ("Contact sales"). Or $29 per seat per month; ProPresenter Stage app $9.99 14-day free trial; ProPresenter Remote app free macOS, Windows; Remote and Stage apps for iPhone and iPad

Prices checked on 1 November 2026, in US dollars, on each vendor's own page. Stagetimer.io shows euros, excluding VAT, to some visitors outside the US; its US dollar single-event prices are in the page's price data.

Remote control, multiple displays, offline use, and speaker messages

Tool Remote control Multiple displays Offline Speaker messages
Stagetimer.io Yes, a controller link in any browser; API and Companion module Yes, by live connections: 3 free, 5 Pro, 50 Premium With the desktop app, on the local network Yes
CueTimer Yes: Cloud shares a link to view or control; Desktop takes Stream Deck through Companion, or an API Desktop: full-screen, NDI, Blackmagic, and presenter outputs; Cloud: unlimited displays on one cue list Desktop: yes; activation needs internet Yes
StageTime Yes, a web remote on the same network, with a PIN; Companion and HTTP API Mirrors to any number of extra monitors; browser source for OBS and vMix Yes, completely Yes
Ontime Yes, from any browser on the same network, or through Ontime Cloud Yes, timer and backstage views to any browser Runs on your own computer on the local network Yes, secondary messages
Show Countdown Yes, separate controller, operator, viewer, and moderator links Yes; you set the maximum number of viewer devices No, every device needs internet Yes, private stage messages
ProPresenter Yes, the ProPresenter Remote app on the local network starts and controls timers Up to 8 unique outputs; the Stage app shows the stage display on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV Not published Yes, stage messages

Read on each vendor's own site on 1 November 2026. "Not published" means the vendor's site doesn't say.

What each stage timer is best for

  • Stagetimer.io: a team that wants to control and follow one countdown from any browser. The free plan covers a small event; the 30-day licence covers a single conference without a subscription.
  • CueTimer: AV crews who drive outputs from their own machine. CueTimer describes the Desktop version as "Best when the show output runs through your machine", including "any venue you can't trust for Wi-Fi".
  • StageTime: churches and small events with no budget and a Mac or Windows PC in the booth. Free, offline, with a phone remote on the same network.
  • Ontime: productions that run a full rundown and want stage, backstage, and signage screens from one source, and can host it themselves.
  • Show Countdown: remote teams who want role links (controller, operator, viewer) in a browser and have reliable internet.
  • ProPresenter: churches that already run ProPresenter. Its timers, stage layouts, and stage messages do the job without a second app; it is a full presentation suite, not a timer you buy on its own.

A free stage timer in your browser

The free Stage Timer runs a full-screen countdown on one screen with no sign-up: amber with 2 minutes left, red at 0:00, then the overtime. It runs offline once loaded. The booth setup guide shows how to run it from the booth over a cable.

Our product · in development

Blink Timer: control the timer from another device, show it on several displays, and send the speaker messages. Planned price $210/year or $29 per event.

Join the early list

Sources

Prices checked on 1 November 2026. ProPresenter's seat prices read again on 4 November 2026.

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