CountLink
The short answer
If you want one board on the projector with a timer, a noise meter, a name picker, polls and backgrounds, Classroomscreen is the better tool and its free Basic plan already includes all 26 widgets. If students also need to see the timer on their own Chromebooks or phones, counting down together with the projector (in a lab, a hybrid lesson, or an exam where the back row can't read the board), that is what CountLink is built for, free and with no student accounts.
Side by side
| CountLink | Classroomscreen | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, permanently. No paid tier exists. | Basic free; Pro $3/month billed $36/year; schools $525/year for 25 licences |
| What it is | A shared timer: countdowns, agendas, intervals | A classroom display with 26 widgets, one of them a timer |
| Timer on students' own devices, live | Yes, one link, every device lands on zero together | Sharing a screen is a Pro feature, and a shared screen opens as a saved, view-only copy with no live sync described |
| Student accounts | None needed | None needed to open a shared screen |
| Teacher account | None | Basic can be started without one; saving screens needs Pro |
| Other classroom widgets (noise meter, name picker, polls, traffic light) | No | Yes, 26 widgets on the free plan |
| Backgrounds and templates | Six board looks | Template library on Basic; custom and Pro backgrounds on Pro |
| Pause or add time from your phone | Yes, free (tick phone control before starting) | Not described on their pricing or sharing pages |
| Join code to read out, QR code | Both, free | QR code widget |
| Agenda of named segments for a lesson | Free, every device advances together | Not described |
| School licensing | Not needed | Organisation plan with reassignable licences |
Classroomscreen figures verified against their own pricing page on 27 October 2026. Prices and limits change, so check theirs before deciding.
What Classroomscreen does better
It is a whole classroom display. Twenty-six widgets on the free plan: a noise meter, random name picker, group maker, traffic light, polls students can vote in remotely, text, drawing, images, a clock and more, all arranged on one projected screen. CountLink is only the timer part of that, and a teacher who wants the rest should use Classroomscreen.
Templates, backgrounds and a saved library of screens, so a whole lesson's display can be prepared once and reused. CountLink keeps a short list of recent timers on the device and nothing else.
School and district licensing with reassignable licences, which matters when an IT department is buying for a building.
What CountLink does better
The timer reaches every device, live. One CountLink link puts the same countdown on the projector and on thirty Chromebooks, all hitting zero together. On Classroomscreen, sharing a screen is a Pro feature and the shared link opens a saved, view-only copy; its help centre describes refreshing to see changes, not a timer running in step.
Control from your phone. Pause, add a minute or flash "two minutes left" to every screen from the phone in your pocket while you walk the room.
Free, with nothing to sign up for. No teacher account, no student accounts, no Pro tier.
Lesson agendas. Set "starter 5, main task 25, plenary 10" once and every device advances through the segments together.
Which one should you use?
Pick Classroomscreen if you want one projected board with many classroom tools on it, and the timer only needs to be on that board.
Pick CountLink if students need the timer on their own devices, counting down in step with the projector, or you want to run the timer from your phone. Plenty of teachers use both: Classroomscreen on the projector, a CountLink link posted in Google Classroom.
Common questions
Can students see a Classroomscreen timer on their own Chromebooks?
Classroomscreen can share a screen by link, but sharing is a Pro feature and the link opens a saved, view-only copy; its help centre describes refreshing for changes rather than a live, running timer. A CountLink link shows students the same live countdown as the projector on their own devices, free.
Is CountLink a replacement for Classroomscreen?
Not for the whole display. Classroomscreen has 26 widgets, including a noise meter, name picker and polls; CountLink is only a timer. It replaces Classroomscreen's timer when the countdown has to be on every device rather than one projector.
Do students need an account to see a CountLink timer?
No. They open the link or type the five-character join code, and the countdown appears. There are no accounts of any kind.
Can I use both together?
Yes, and it is a common setup: Classroomscreen on the projector for the board, and a CountLink link in Google Classroom or on a QR code so the countdown is also on every desk.