Voice Clock vs Siri, Shortcuts and Apple Watch chimes

I make Voice Clock, so this comparison has an obvious bias. I’ve tried to be straight about where the free options are better.

	Siri	Shortcuts	Apple Watch chimes	Voice Clock
Speaks without being asked	No	Yes, at fixed times	Sound only, hourly	Yes, any interval
Setup time	None	5 to 30 minutes	1 minute	1 minute
Every few minutes	No	Painful (one automation per time)	No	Yes
Counts from when you start	No	No	No	Yes (Interval mode)
Cost	Free	Free	Free with the watch	Free download, some features paid

When Siri is enough

If you only want the time now and then, ask. “Hey Siri, what time is it?” works through AirPods with your phone in a bag. Nothing to install.

When Shortcuts is enough

If you want three or four fixed reminders, say 7:30, 8:00 and 8:10 on weekdays, three automations will do it, and you can make each one say something useful (“8:10, shoes on”). It gets painful when the list grows.

When Apple Watch chimes are enough

If an hourly sound on your wrist is all you want, turn on Settings › Clock › Chimes on the watch. It’s built in and costs nothing extra.

When an app makes sense

When you need the time every few minutes, or counted from a start point, or you want to change the interval during the day without rebuilding anything. That’s the gap Voice Clock fills.

Love the Customization

I love the ability to customize the different clocks. Helps make time management more fun!

★★★★★ App Store review, United States, 3 July 2025, med2211 · App Store

Where Voice Clock is the wrong choice

• If you want silence and only a vibration on the hour, the watch does it better.
• If you’re worried about battery on long days, a short interval costs power. A US reviewer measured 11% in under two hours at a short setting.
• If you want a big bedside clock display, other apps focus on that.

Read next: every way to make an iPhone announce the time with step-by-step instructions.