Comparison
The Best Crochet Row Counter Apps for iPhone (2026)
A crochet row counter app has one job: to still be right when you pick your work back up three days later. That sounds trivial until you have frogged half a granny square because you could not remember whether you were on round 14 or round 15.
This page compares the five crochet and knitting counter apps most people end up choosing between on iPhone. We have kept it to things you can verify yourself: the price, the App Store rating and rating count, the minimum iOS version, which devices are supported, and which features the developer names in the store listing. Where an app does something RowTally cannot do, we say so.
Short answer
Which crochet row counter app should you use?
There is no single best app — it depends on how you crochet. Pick My Row Counter if you work from PDF patterns and want the most features. Pick KnitCounter if you need iCloud sync across iPhone and iPad. Pick RowTally if you want a fast, distraction-free counter that works fully offline and keeps your project data on your device. Pick Count That Now if you only need a plain tally counter and do not care about projects or patterns.
How we compared them
Five criteria decide whether a counter app actually survives a real project:
Does it work offline?
Crocheting happens on trains, on planes and in the garden. A counter that needs a connection to save a tap is a counter that will lose a round.
Can you count without looking?
The tap target should be large enough to hit with a hook in your hand, and there should be haptic or audible confirmation so you do not have to check the screen after every round.
Does it handle more than one count?
Most patterns need a round counter plus at least one repeat or increase counter. Apps differ a lot in how many secondary counters you get, and whether they cost money.
Can you undo a mistake?
Double taps happen. Without a one-tap undo, a misfire means retyping your count and losing trust in the app.
Where does your data live?
Some apps keep everything on the device, some sync through iCloud, some need an account. All three are reasonable — but you should know which one you are choosing.
Crochet row counter apps at a glance
| App | Best for | Price | App Store rating | Requires | Offline |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RowTally | Distraction-free offline counting | Free · Premium $3.99/mo or $24.99/yr | No ratings yet (new app) | iOS 26.0+, iPhone, iPad, Mac (M1+) | Yes, fully |
| My Row Counter | Working from PDF patterns | Free · Premium $2.99/mo, $9.99/yr · No Ads $2.99 | 4.8 ★ (3,700+ ratings) | iOS 15.6+, iPhone, iPad, Watch, Mac, Vision | Yes, after pattern import |
| KnitCounter | Syncing across iPhone and iPad | Free · optional tip $1.99–$9.99 | 4.9 ★ (14 ratings) | iOS 17.6+, iPhone, iPad, Watch, Mac, Vision | Yes, syncs when online |
| Count That Now | A plain, unlimited tally counter | Free · Ad Free $12.99 | 4.7 ★ (5,200+ ratings) | iOS 13.0+, iPhone, iPad, Vision | Yes, fully |
| Vivid Counter | The simplest possible tap counter | Free | 4.7 ★ (144 ratings) | iPhone, iPod touch | Yes, fully |
Prices, ratings and requirements taken from each app's US App Store listing on 13 August 2026. Ratings change constantly — check the store for current numbers.
The five apps in detail
RowTally Our app
Best for distraction-free offline counting
Fringelo Group
RowTally is a crochet and knitting counter with deliberately little in it. You create a project, optionally give it a target round count, and then tap a large area in the middle of the screen once per round. Every tap is confirmed with haptic feedback and written to storage immediately, so force-quitting the app or letting the battery die does not cost you your count.
Each project holds a main round counter plus additional stitch counters for pattern repeats, increases or colour changes. A session timer records how long you actually crocheted, and a progress ring fills as you approach your target. There is a one-tap undo for the inevitable double tap.
Everything is stored locally on the device using Core Data — there is no account, no login and no server holding your projects. The trade-off is the honest one: because nothing is uploaded, nothing syncs to a second device either. If you crochet on an iPhone and an iPad and want the same project on both, KnitCounter or My Row Counter will serve you better.
One more limitation to weigh before you download: the current release requires iOS 26 or later, which is the strictest requirement of any app on this page. If your iPhone is a few years old, every other option here will run on it and this one will not.
Strengths
- Works completely offline — no account, no sign-up
- Large tap area with haptic confirmation on every round
- One-tap undo and a per-project session timer
- Projects and counts never leave your device
- Free tier is usable, not a trial
Limitations
- Requires iOS 26 or later — the strictest requirement here
- No iCloud sync — projects stay on one device
- No PDF pattern import or chart view
- No Apple Watch app
- No Android version
- New app with no App Store ratings yet
Bottom line: Choose RowTally if you want to open an app, tap through a round and close it again without navigating anything — and if you would rather your project data stayed on your phone.
My Row Counter, Knit & Crochet
Best for working from PDF patterns
AnnapurnApp Technologies UG (haftungsbeschränkt)
This is the most established app in the category and the most feature-dense. Its store listing advertises pattern import from PDFs, web pages, Dropbox and Google Drive, the ability to create knitting and crochet charts, direct access to Ravelry, row reminders, voice control for hands-free counting, and multiple customisable counters for increases and colour changes. An Apple Watch app and PDF annotation are Premium features.
With 4.8 stars from more than 3,700 ratings it also has by far the most user feedback of any app here, and it is localised into 14 languages. It is available on Android as well as iOS, which matters if your household is mixed.
The cost of all that capability is complexity and size — the iOS download is around 152 MB, and there is a lot of interface to learn before you count your first round. Premium runs $2.99 per month or $9.99 per year, and removing ads separately costs $2.99.
Strengths
- Pattern import from PDF, web, Dropbox and Google Drive
- Ravelry integration and built-in chart creation
- Voice control for counting with your hands full
- Apple Watch app (Premium)
- Available on Android as well as iOS, in 14 languages
- By far the largest body of user reviews in the category
Limitations
- Considerably more to learn than a simple counter
- Ads unless you pay to remove them
- Around 152 MB download
- Some core conveniences sit behind Premium
Bottom line: If you crochet from bought PDF patterns, use Ravelry, or want to count from your wrist, this is the app to beat. It does more than RowTally does.
KnitCounter: Row Counter
Best for syncing across iPhone and iPad
Haley Jean Barlar
KnitCounter is a newer, ad-free counter built around iCloud sync. Its listing states that projects, photos, pattern PDFs and your yarn stash stay in sync across iPhone and iPad automatically — which is the one thing a device-local app like RowTally cannot offer.
Beyond counting rows and stitches with custom step sizes, it includes a yarn stash tracker (colour, brand, weight, yardage), PDF pattern viewing alongside the counter, a per-project session timer, project notes and finishing checklists. It is free with optional tip purchases from $1.99 to $9.99 rather than a subscription.
Two caveats: it requires iOS 17.6 or later, which rules out older iPhones, and at 14 ratings it has very little user feedback so far — a high average from a small sample tells you much less than it appears to.
Strengths
- iCloud sync for projects, PDFs, photos and yarn stash
- Built-in yarn stash tracking
- No ads, and tips instead of a subscription
- Session timer, notes and finishing checklists
- Runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Watch and Vision
Limitations
- Requires iOS 17.6 or later — excludes older devices
- Only 14 App Store ratings so far
- No Android version
Bottom line: The natural pick if syncing between devices is non-negotiable and your iPhone is recent enough to run it.
Count That Now — Tally counter
Best plain tally counter
Jarig Duval
Count That Now is not a crochet app — it is a general-purpose tally counter that a lot of crocheters use anyway, and with 4.7 stars from more than 5,200 ratings it is the most-reviewed app on this page. It gives you unlimited counters for free, several counter layouts including a big-plus-button and a thumb-rest ergonomic style, min/max thresholds with alerts, customisable click sounds, haptic feedback, count read-aloud and a screen-always-on mode.
What it does not have is any notion of a project. There are no yarn details, no pattern names, no notes, no progress targets and no PDF support — just counters in a list. For a simple scarf that is genuinely all you need. For tracking four works-in-progress with their own yarn and needle details, it is not enough.
It is free with ads; removing them is a one-off $12.99, which is the most expensive single purchase in this comparison.
Strengths
- Unlimited counters at no cost
- Several counter layouts, including thumb-rest ergonomics
- Threshold alerts, custom sounds, count read-aloud
- Runs on iOS 13 and later — works on old devices
- Largest number of App Store ratings here
Limitations
- No projects, notes, yarn details or patterns
- Not designed for crochet or knitting specifically
- Removing ads costs $12.99
Bottom line: Perfect if you want counters and nothing else. Choose something craft-specific once you are juggling several projects.
Vivid Counter
Best for the simplest possible tap counter
Mamoru Sato
Vivid Counter is the minimal end of the spectrum: a full-screen count-up button with reset and subtract, plus an animated, colour-changing background. It holds 4.7 stars from 144 ratings.
It is included here because a full-screen button is a genuinely good interaction for counting rounds without looking. But there is no project structure, no second counter and no craft-specific features at all, and it is limited to iPhone and iPod touch.
Strengths
- Full-screen tap target — easy to hit without looking
- Free
- Almost nothing to learn
Limitations
- One counter at a time, no projects
- No craft-specific features
- iPhone and iPod touch only
Bottom line: A fine free stopgap for a single simple project.
Do you need a crochet-specific app at all?
If you work one simple project at a time and never need to remember which yarn you used, a general tally counter like Count That Now will do the job for free, forever. Be honest about which of the two you are.
A craft-specific app starts paying off at the point where you have more than one work-in-progress. Then you need each count attached to a project — with the yarn, the hook size, the pattern name and your own notes — because the count on its own is not enough to pick the work back up weeks later. That is the actual difference between the two halves of this list.
Free versus paid: what you really give up
Every app here is free to download, and all but Vivid Counter monetise somehow. The models differ more than the prices:
- Count That Now gives you every counting feature for free and charges $12.99 once to remove ads.
- My Row Counter shows ads and puts the Apple Watch app and PDF annotation behind a $2.99/month or $9.99/year subscription.
- KnitCounter has no ads and asks for optional tips between $1.99 and $9.99.
- RowTally shows no ads and caps the free tier at one project with one stitch counter; Premium lifts both limits for $3.99 a month or $24.99 a year — the priciest subscription of the group.
What to check before you commit to one
Counter apps are cheap to try and expensive to abandon — once forty rounds of a blanket live in one app, moving is painful. Two things are worth five minutes up front.
First, check where your data lives and whether you can get it out. Device-local storage means one device but no dependency on anyone's servers; iCloud sync means several devices but a dependency on the app's continued existence. Second, count ten rounds and then force-quit the app. If the count survives, the app writes every tap to storage. If it does not, walk away — that is the failure mode that costs you a project.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free crochet row counter app?
For unlimited free counters with no project features, Count That Now — it gives every counting feature away and only charges to remove ads. For a free app that organises counts into projects with yarn and hook details, RowTally's free tier covers one project, and KnitCounter is free with optional tips if you can run iOS 17.6.
Do crochet row counter apps work offline?
All five apps on this page count offline. RowTally, Count That Now and Vivid Counter store everything on the device, so they never need a connection. KnitCounter counts offline and syncs when a connection returns. My Row Counter needs a connection only to import a pattern, not to count.
Can one app track several crochet projects at once?
Yes, but not all of them. My Row Counter, KnitCounter and RowTally are built around projects, so each work-in-progress keeps its own counters, yarn details and notes. Count That Now and Vivid Counter only manage loose counters with no project structure. RowTally's free tier is limited to one project.
Is a phone app better than a mechanical row counter?
A mechanical clicker never runs out of battery and needs no attention, which is why many crocheters still use one. An app wins when you need more than one count, a record of which project the count belongs to, or an undo button. Many people use both — a clicker for the round in progress, an app for the project as a whole.
Does RowTally work for knitting as well as crochet?
Yes. Rows and rounds are counted identically, and the project fields cover both needle and hook sizes. The app is listed under crochet on the App Store because that is where most of its users come from, but nothing in it is crochet-only.
Sources
- My Row Counter, Knit & Crochet on the App Store — retrieved 13 August 2026
- KnitCounter: Row Counter on the App Store — retrieved 13 August 2026
- Count That Now — Tally counter on the App Store — retrieved 13 August 2026
- Vivid Counter on the App Store — retrieved 13 August 2026