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Comparison · Events and stages

Stagetimer.io alternatives (2026): free, offline and one-time-price stage timers

By Blink Brief · Updated  · How pages are made

Stagetimer.io is free for up to 3 connected devices and costs $210 a year for Pro, with no monthly plan. The free alternatives are StageTime, which runs offline on a Mac or Windows PC with a phone remote, and Ontime, free and open source to run on your own computer. CueTimer costs $25 to $65 a year, OnCueTimer $12 a month or $19 for one event, and ProPresenter has timers built in if your church already pays for it.

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Quick picks

  • Free and offline

    StageTime

    Runs offline on a Mac or Windows PC in the booth, with a web remote on your phone and a PIN.

    Free

    stagetime.app

  • Free, run it yourself

    Ontime

    Open source on Windows, macOS or Linux, with timer, backstage and signage views in any browser.

    Free self-hosted

    getontime.no

  • Offline outputs, yearly

    CueTimer

    Desktop drives full-screen, NDI and Blackmagic outputs with no internet; Cloud adds browser control.

    $25 to $65/year

    cuetimer.com

Price and free tier

Tool Paid price Free tier or trial Runs on
Stagetimer.io Pro $210/year (5 connections); Premium $420/year (50); one event for 30 days: Pro $28, Premium $54; Enterprise from $630; desktop lifetime licence $980. No monthly plan. Free: 3 live connections and 3 timers per room, up to 3 rooms Any browser; desktop app for Mac, Windows and Linux
StageTime No paid tier Free, "with no account, license key, trial period or paid tier" macOS 13 or later, Windows 10 or later
Ontime Cloud Pro $20/month (3 stages at once); Cloud Studio $80/month (10) Free and open source, self-hosted, "Fully featured" Windows, macOS, Linux, Docker; views in any browser
CueTimer Desktop $50/year (1 machine at a time); Cloud $25/year (per cue list); both $65/year Cloud: a 20-minute trial in the browser, no sign-up; Desktop: free to try Desktop: Mac, Windows; Cloud: any browser
OnCueTimer Pro $12/month or $99/year; Team $29/month or $249/year; event licence $19 for 10 days Free: 1 saved rundown, 2 devices per session, OnCueTimer watermark Any browser
Show Countdown Not published A basic timer room: "No signup or credit card required" Any browser
ProPresenter $289/year for the first seat, $189 each for seats 2–4, $149 each for seats 5–10, price on request from 11 seats; or $29/month per seat 14-day free trial; ProPresenter Remote app free macOS, Windows

Prices in US dollars, read on each vendor's own page on 3 November 2026. "Not published" means the vendor's pages don't say.

Remote control, displays, offline use and messages

Tool Remote control Displays Without internet Speaker messages
Stagetimer.io Yes, a controller page in any browser By live connections: 3 free, 5 Pro, 50 Premium With the desktop app: a licence key comes with Pro and Premium, or the $980 lifetime licence Yes, and audience questions become messages
StageTime Yes, a web remote on your phone or a second laptop, with a PIN; Companion module and HTTP API Mirrors to "as many monitors as you have plugged in"; browser source for OBS and vMix Yes: "no internet connection is needed during a show" Yes, full screen or under the timer
Ontime Yes, browser views on the local network or through Ontime Cloud Timer, backstage, signage and operator views in any browser Runs locally on your own computer Not published
CueTimer Cloud: a link "so anyone can view or control"; Desktop: Stream Deck through Companion, or an API Desktop: full-screen, NDI, Blackmagic and presenter outputs; Cloud: "unlimited operators and displays" per cue list Desktop: "Runs with no internet at all" Yes
OnCueTimer Yes, your phone as the controller 2 devices free; unlimited on Pro Not published Yes, full screen on every display
Show Countdown Yes, separate controller, operator, viewer and moderator links You set the maximum number of viewer devices per room No: its help says to confirm "every device has internet access" Yes, private stage messages
ProPresenter Yes, the free ProPresenter Remote app over the local network "Multiple stage displays" Not published Yes, stage messages from the Remote app

Read on each vendor's own site on 3 November 2026. The full table with more columns is in stage timer apps compared.

Which one fits: 3 questions

Answer for your next event, and the list keeps the tools from the tables above that do it.

Find the stage timers that fit your event

To pick by hand:

  1. If the venue's internet can fail, keep StageTime, CueTimer Desktop, Ontime on your own computer, or Stagetimer.io's desktop app.
  2. If more than 3 screens show the timer, Stagetimer.io needs Pro and OnCueTimer needs Pro; the others above have no limit of 3.
  3. If one screen at the lectern is enough and nobody needs to control it from the booth, a browser timer does it for free.

Free and offline: StageTime and Ontime

StageTime is a desktop app for macOS 13 or later and Windows 10 or later. Its site says it is "free to download and use, with no account, license key, trial period or paid tier," and "works completely offline." The booth computer runs the timer, the display mirrors to the monitors plugged into it, and the web remote opens on a phone on the same network, protected by a PIN. It ships a Bitfocus Companion module for Stream Deck.

Ontime is open source and runs on Windows, macOS, Linux or Docker. It is built around a rundown: the cue sheet drives timer, backstage, signage and operator views, which open in any browser on the local network. That suits a conference or festival stage with a running order more than a single talk. Ontime Cloud ($20 a month for 3 stages at once) puts the same views online with no set-up.

Before the event, unplug the venue Wi-Fi during the soundcheck. If the timer and the remote keep working, you're set.

No yearly plan: per-event and one-time prices

  • Stagetimer.io itself sells single-event licences that "are billed once and remain active for 30 days": $28 for Pro, $54 for Premium. Its desktop lifetime licence is $980 once and promises "100% offline operation."
  • OnCueTimer has an event licence at $19 for 10 days of Pro, or $12 a month, cancel any time.
  • Ontime Cloud is billed monthly, at $20 for 3 stages at once.
  • CueTimer prices by the year: $25 for Cloud, $50 for Desktop, $65 for both.

Already have ProPresenter: its built-in timers

If your church runs ProPresenter, you don't need a second timer app. In ProPresenter's Timers, click the plus (+) button to add a countdown, a countdown to a time of day, or elapsed time. Turn on Overrun and the countdown runs "past the defined endpoint" into negative numbers. Put the timer on a stage screen layout, and run it from the booth or from the free ProPresenter Remote app, which can "Start and control Timers and show Stage Messages" and needs "a local network connection to the presentation computer."

ProPresenter costs $289 a year for the first seat, $189 a year for each of seats 2 to 4 and $149 for each of seats 5 to 10, or $29 a month per seat; from 11 seats, Renewed Vision prices it on request. It's a full presentation suite, not a timer you buy on its own. The booth setup guide has the stage screen steps.

One screen, no account: a browser timer

Some events don't need any of this: one speaker, one screen at the lectern, and someone next to it to press Start. Our free Stage Timer runs a full-screen countdown in the browser with no sign-up: 5 to 45 minutes or your own time, amber at 2:00, red at 0:00, then the overtime counting up, with an optional message under the time. Once the page has loaded it runs offline, and nothing is sent anywhere.

It is not a Stagetimer.io replacement. It runs on one screen, with no remote control, no second display and no run of show. For those, use one of the tools above.

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

Presenting from PowerPoint? Countdown timers in PowerPoint covers Presenter View's timer and a countdown for the speaker only.

Questions

Is there a free alternative to Stagetimer.io?

Yes. StageTime is free with no paid tier, runs offline on a Mac or Windows PC, and has a web remote for your phone on the same network. Ontime is free and open source to run on your own computer. OnCueTimer has a free tier for 2 devices with its watermark on the display.

Does Stagetimer.io work offline?

With its desktop app. Stagetimer.io's pricing page says you can "use Stagetimer offline on a Mac or Windows computer by downloading the desktop app". Pro and Premium include a desktop licence key, and a lifetime desktop licence costs $980 once.

Is there a stage timer with a one-time price?

Stagetimer.io sells a desktop lifetime licence for $980 and single-event licences for $28 or $54 that last 30 days. OnCueTimer's event licence is $19 for 10 days. StageTime is free.

What stage timer do churches use?

A church that already runs ProPresenter has timers and stage screens in it, with the free ProPresenter Remote app to run them from the booth. A church with no budget and a Mac or Windows PC in the booth can use StageTime for free.

Can I control a stage timer from my phone for free?

Yes. StageTime's web remote opens in your phone's browser on the same network, with a PIN. Stagetimer.io's free plan allows 3 live connections, and OnCueTimer's free tier 2 devices. The ProPresenter Remote app is free but needs ProPresenter on a computer on the same network.

Sources

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