How do I put a countdown widget on my Home Screen?

Add the event in a countdown app, then add the app's widget: on iPhone, touch and hold the Home Screen, tap Edit then Add Widget, search for Countdown and pick a size. On Android, long-press the home screen and choose Widgets. The days tick down right on your Home Screen from then on.

On iPhone

In Event Countdown, tap + and add the date you are counting down to.
Touch and hold an empty area of the Home Screen until the apps jiggle.
Tap Edit (top left), then Add Widget, and search for Countdown.
Swipe through the sizes, tap Add Widget, then tap the widget while the apps are still jiggling to choose your event.

The Next Event widget is free and always shows your soonest countdown. The full collection adds a widget that ticks in real time, one pinned to a single event, a four-event grid and a calendar-driven one: see Widgets: every type at a glance.

On Android

Add your event in the app, long-press the home screen, choose Widgets, then drag the Event Countdown widget into place and pick the event.

Beyond the Home Screen

On iPhone the countdown can also live below the clock on your Lock Screen and in StandBy, and in the final hours before an event a Live Activity counts through the last stretch on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island automatically.

If the widget looks blank

Newly added widgets sometimes take a moment to load their first event; if one stays empty, see Widget not appearing or blank.

Popular first widgets

Most people's first countdown widget is a big date: see how long until Christmas, Halloween or New Year's Eve, then keep it on your Home Screen with one tap.