Comparison
RowTally vs Count That Now: Craft App or Plain Tally Counter?
These two apps are not really competitors — they are different answers to "what is a count for?"
Count That Now treats a count as a number. RowTally treats it as part of a project. Which one is right depends on whether you will still know what the number refers to in three weeks. We make RowTally; the facts below come from both App Store listings.
Short answer
RowTally or Count That Now?
Choose Count That Now if you want unlimited counters for free and do not need projects, yarn details or notes — it has every counting feature at no cost and 5,200+ ratings. Choose RowTally if you want each count tied to a project with its yarn, hook or needle size and notes, plus a session timer and progress ring, with no ads.
Side by side
| RowTally | Count That Now | |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | Fringelo Group | Jarig Duval |
| App Store rating | No ratings yet (new app) | 4.7 ★ (5,200+ ratings) |
| Built for crochet and knitting | Yes | No — general tally counter |
| Price | Free · Premium $3.99/mo or $24.99/yr | Free · $12.99 to remove ads |
| Ads | None | Yes |
| Counters | Row counter plus stitch counters per project | Unlimited independent counters |
| Free tier limits | 1 project, 1 extra stitch counter each | None on counting features |
| Projects with yarn, needle, pattern, notes | Yes | No |
| Progress ring toward a row target | Yes | Threshold alerts instead |
| Session timer | Yes | No |
| Undo last count | Yes | Count directly in the list |
| Haptic feedback | Yes | Yes |
| Count read aloud | No | Yes |
| Custom click sounds | No | Yes |
| Screen always on | Not advertised | Yes |
| Minimum iOS | 26.0 | 13.0 |
| Works fully offline | Yes | Yes |
From both apps' US App Store listings on 13 August 2026.
Where each one wins
Pick Count That Now if…
Counters, unlimited, free
Jarig Duval
You want as many counters as you like without paying, and you do not need them attached to anything. You would use the same app to count rows, laps, birds and inventory. You want the count read aloud, custom click sounds, threshold alerts when you reach a shaping row, or an ergonomic layout with a thumb rest. Your iPhone is old — it runs on iOS 13.
It also has 5,200+ ratings at 4.7 stars, which is a track record no new app can match.
Strengths
- Unlimited counters, no feature paywall
- Threshold alerts, read-aloud, custom sounds
- Ergonomic counter layouts
- iOS 13 and later
- Very large review base
Limitations
- Ads unless you pay $12.99
- No projects, notes or yarn details
- Nothing craft-specific
Bottom line: The better app if a count is just a number.
Pick RowTally if… Our app
Counts that belong to a project
Fringelo Group
You have more than one work-in-progress and need to know which count belongs to the cardigan and which to the baby blanket — together with the yarn you used, the hook or needle size, the pattern name and your own notes.
You want a target row count with a progress ring that fills as you go, a session timer that records how long you actually worked, and no ads anywhere in the app.
The limits are worth knowing: the free tier covers one project with one extra stitch counter, there is no read-aloud or custom sound, and there is no sync between devices.
Strengths
- Counts organised into projects with full details
- Progress ring and per-project session timer
- No ads at any tier
- Haptic confirmation and one-tap undo
- Data stays on the device, no account
Limitations
- One project on the free tier
- No count read-aloud or custom sounds
- No sync between devices
- No ratings yet
Bottom line: The better app when the count needs context.
The test that decides it
Answer one question: in three weeks, will you remember what the number 84 referred to?
If yes — because you only ever have one project on the go — a plain tally counter is not a compromise, it is the correct tool, and Count That Now is a very good one that costs nothing. If no, you do not need a better counter; you need a counter attached to a project, and that is the entire reason craft-specific apps exist.
Accessibility is worth a look
Count That Now's read-aloud counts and custom click sounds are genuinely useful accessibility features, not decoration — they let you confirm a count without looking at the screen at all. RowTally confirms with haptics only.
If audible confirmation matters to you, that alone may settle the choice regardless of everything else on this page.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use a general tally counter app for crochet?
Yes, and many people do. A tally counter handles rows perfectly well. What it cannot do is tell you which project a count belongs to, or store the yarn, hook size and notes with it — so it works best when you have one project at a time.
Is Count That Now free?
It is free with ads, and its listing states that all counting features are included at no cost. Removing ads is a one-off purchase of $12.99.
Does RowTally give me unlimited counters?
Not on the free tier — that covers one project with one extra stitch counter. Premium removes both limits. Count That Now offers unlimited counters for free, but without any project structure around them.
Which app runs on an older iPhone?
Count That Now, by a wide margin — it supports iOS 13 and later, while RowTally's current release requires iOS 26. On any iPhone that cannot run iOS 26, Count That Now is the option that still works.
Sources
- Count That Now — Tally counter on the App Store — retrieved 13 August 2026
- Crochet Row Counter — RowTally on the App Store — retrieved 13 August 2026