Event Timer vs EventTimer.io: two free timers compared
Two free browser timers, near-identical names, and one of them is ours. This is going to be a confusing page to write, so we will start with the confusing part and then give you the answer.
EventTimer.io is a free timer at eventtimer.io. Event Timer is a free timer we built, at c4e.in/timer. We are not the same people, we are not related, and if you came here looking for them, they are over there.
Disclosure: C4E makes one of these two. It is not the one that wins most of this page.
The verdict first
For most single-room conferences, EventTimer.io is the better free tool. It has a remote and a separate controller view, and we do not. If that matters to you, the page you want is theirs, and you can stop reading here.
We are the better choice in exactly one situation, described at the bottom.
What EventTimer.io has that we do not
- Remote control. Pause the timer, adjust the remaining time and resume, from a different device. This is the big one. It means the person controlling the clock does not have to be standing at the laptop driving the stage screen.
- A shared timer with split views. A speaker view and a controller view, from one link. This is genuinely the right architecture for a stage, and we do not have it.
- Multiple timers for sequential agenda items. Ours is one duration at a time.
- Count-up and clock modes as well as countdown.
- Millisecond precision, per their own description, if that matters to you.
- Presets like an 18-minute TED slot, which is a nice touch for a conference.
Their terms, verbatim from their own page: “Free forever ยท No signup required.”
What we have that they do not
- Sound at zero, by default. EventTimer.io is silent by default. We buzz for three seconds at zero, and there is a button to fire the buzzer on demand so you can set levels through the venue PA at the tech check. In a 600-seat hall with a speaker in flow, sound is sometimes the only signal that lands.
- An overrun that shouts. At zero we flash TIME UP and count the overrun as a large negative number, alternating the whole screen red and black every second. It is deliberately hard to ignore from the back of a room.
- Fewer decisions. No modes, no timer list, no link to share. One clock, three keys.
That is an honest list and it is short.
Side by side
| EventTimer.io | C4E Event Timer | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free forever | Free |
| Signup | None | None |
| Remote control | Yes | No |
| Speaker/controller split view | Yes | No |
| Multiple timers | Yes | No, one at a time |
| Count-up / clock modes | Yes | Countdown only |
| Sound at zero | Silent by default | Buzzer, with a mute and a test button |
| Warning colours | Yellow at 1 min, red at 30 sec | Amber at 2 min, red at 30 sec |
| Overrun | Count-up mode available | TIME UP, flashing, counts negative |
Note the warning thresholds, because it is the one design disagreement worth having. They warn at one minute. We warn at two. We think one minute is not enough time for a speaker to land a plane, and that a warning you cannot act on is just an alarm. Reasonable people differ, and if you prefer one minute, that is another point for them.
The one situation where we are the better answer
A session starts in four minutes. Somebody hands you a laptop. You need a clock on that screen and you need it now, and you are also holding a radio and looking for the caterer.
Open the page, click 20m, press F. Done, no decisions. Everything EventTimer.io has that we do not is a thing you configure, and configuring is what you do not have time for in that specific moment.
That is a narrow claim, and we are not going to inflate it. If you have ten quiet minutes before the room fills, use theirs and enjoy the remote.
About the name
Ours is called Event Timer because that is what it is. Theirs is at eventtimer.io and got there first. We are not trying to catch their traffic, which is why this page tells you to use them if you want a remote. If you searched for one and found the other, now you know which is which.
Our timer: c4e.in/timer. Theirs: eventtimer.io. We compared the whole field, including paid tools, if you want the wider view.
C4E runs corporate events, conferences and MICE programmes across India, Dubai and South East Asia. If you would rather someone else ran the room, talk to us.