Stagetimer.io alternative
Control the timer from one screen. Show it on another.
Share a clean countdown with the speaker while the operator keeps the controls and cue card — hosted, with no connection cap to plan around and no server to run yourself.
Product Demo
RunCue
Why teams pay for RunCue instead of using a free timer.
The free stage timers in this category work — until you hit their limits. Stagetimer.io's free Starter plan caps you at 3 live connections and 3 timers per room; Ontime is free only if you host and maintain the server yourself. RunCue is a flat $19–$49 a month, hosted, with private producer cue cards neither free tier includes.
Compare timers
Choose the setup that matches who needs to see and control the timer.
| Timer | Price | Speaker visibility | Producer control | Cue context | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stagetimer.io (Starter, free) | Free — Pro is $17.50/mo billed yearly | Capped at 3 live connections and 3 timers per room | Full controller, but no private cue notes for the operator | Audio chimes and up to 3 audience questions, no cue board | A single small meeting under the free connection cap |
| Stagetimer.io (Single Event License) | One-time payment, 30 days of access, no subscription — exact price shown at checkout | Same connection and timer caps as the plan tier you buy the license for | Full controller for the 30-day window, then access ends on its own | No private producer cue board, same as stagetimer.io's subscription tiers | One event where you don't want any subscription on your card at all |
| Ontime (free, open-source) | Free if self-hosted — Cloud starts at $20/mo | No connection limit, but you run and maintain the server | Full rundown control once it's set up and hosted | Rundown notes, not a dedicated producer cue board | Teams with the time and skill to self-host their own instance |
| CueTimer (per-license) | CueTimer Cloud $25/yr, Desktop $50/yr — free trial capped at 20 or 10 minutes | Desktop, web, and cloud display outputs | Full timer control once licensed; extra licenses are billed per device | Cue list and run-of-show, not a private producer cue board | A single operator who wants a per-license timer, not a per-room subscription |
| CueTime (hardware-integrated) | Free single-screen plan — Core $19/mo, Pro $29/mo, Elite $45/mo | Confidence-monitor screens wired in over HDMI, SDI, or NDI | App control, but built around CueTime's own patch-panel hardware | Presets and on-stage messaging, no private producer cue board | Teams buying into a confidence-monitor hardware setup, not a browser-only tool |
| TimedFlow | Free tier — Pro is $10/mo billed monthly | Controller, viewer, speaker, and moderator views | Flash messages to presenters are a Pro-only add-on, not a persistent cue board | One-off flash messages to the presenter, not a private producer notes board | A single operator who wants cheap, multilingual timing without RunCue's role links |
| StageTick | Free tier (3 rooms, 6 timers, 5 connections) — Pro is €19/mo or €149/yr | Seven output views, but cue messages broadcast to every connected view | Full controller once set up; Pro adds an API, webhooks, and 10 team members | Cue messages appear on all output views — nothing stays private to the operator | Teams that want a generous free tier and don't need a hidden producer note |
| CueFlow | Free tier (2 rooms, 1 operator) — Pro is €19/mo, Studio is €49/mo | Synced countdown plus discreet "wrap up"-style messages pushed to the speaker's own screen | Full timer and messaging control once set up; Studio adds API access | One-off messages sent to the speaker, not a persistent private producer cue board | Teams that want a free starter tier and don't need a per-segment cue history the operator keeps to themselves |
| EventTimer.co | Free (3 devices, 2 events/mo) — Pro $9.99/mo (25 devices, unlimited events) — Premium $19.99/mo (unlimited everything) | Multi-device sync plus a presenter confidence monitor view | Speaker messaging and rundown management once set up | Text messages sent straight to the speaker's own display, not a private producer-only board | Teams that want a generous free tier for occasional, low-volume events |
| Screenlix | Free tier included — Pro is €15/mo for 100 rooms, 10 concurrent viewers per room | Countdown and count-up timers with 7 font styles and color warnings | Full controller with instant text alerts, icons, and animations to connected viewers | Messages, icons, and animations broadcast to viewer screens, not kept private to the operator | Teams that want a free tier plus richer on-screen alerts than a plain countdown |
| Cue Clock (free, open-source) | Always free, no paid tier — "no ads, no subscriptions, no in-app purchases, and it always will be" | Single on-air display per device — no separate speaker or stage link | Full local control, but no cross-device sync and not built for multi-user remote control | No producer cue board — a local timer only, settings stay on the one device | A solo operator running one device who never needs remote or multi-role control |
| RunCue | $19/mo Pro, $49/mo Team | Separate stage and audience links, hosted for you | Separate control link, nothing to install or host | Private producer cue cards on every plan | Producer-led shows that want it working without setup or caps |
Sources: stagetimer.io pricing and Ontime (getontime.no) and CueTimer pricing (presentationtools.com) and CueTime pricing and TimedFlow vs stagetimer.io and StageTick and CueFlow and EventTimer.co pricing and Screenlix vs stagetimer.io and Cue Clock.
Included
The live timing tools you need for a simple show.
Built for
Small event teams that need remote timing and straightforward cues.
Pricing
Try the live workflow for 15 minutes.
Keep the room active with every template and custom branding
$19/moPro plus white-label displays
$49/moMonth-to-month, no minimum term — cancel anytime from your secure purchase library, so subscribing for a single event is a normal way to use RunCue. Review the Terms, Privacy Policy, and Refund Policy.
FAQ
Choosing between RunCue, stagetimer.io, CueTimer, and Ontime
Isn't stagetimer.io free?
Its Starter plan is free, but it caps you at 3 live connections and 3 timers per room and does not include a producer cue board. Pro starts at $17.50/mo billed yearly for higher limits.
Doesn't stagetimer.io offer a one-time, no-subscription price for a single event?
Yes — its Single Event License is a one-time payment for 30 days of access, then it lapses on its own. If you don't want a subscription on your card at all, that's a real reason to pick it. RunCue's month-to-month plan costs about the same either way to cancel after your event from your Gumroad library, and it keeps your exact setup — segments, branding, cue cards — in place in case you run another one later.
Isn't Ontime free and open-source?
Yes — Ontime is free if you self-host it, which means running and maintaining your own server. Its Cloud option, which removes that setup work, starts at $20/mo.
How is CueTimer different from RunCue?
CueTimer sells per-license annual pricing — CueTimer Cloud is $25/yr and CueTimer Desktop is $50/yr, each with a free trial capped at 20 or 10 minutes per session. RunCue is a per-room monthly subscription with no per-device license to track and a private producer cue board built in.
Is CueTime the same as CueTimer?
No — they're different products despite the similar name. CueTime is a confidence-monitor system built around its own hardware, wired in over HDMI, SDI, or NDI, with a free single-screen plan and paid tiers at $19, $29, and $45/mo. RunCue is a browser-only timer with no hardware to wire in and no free tier — everything runs from a link.
How does RunCue compare to TimedFlow?
TimedFlow is cheaper at $10/mo and adds AI-generated rundowns and 14 languages, but its "flash messages to presenters" are one-off pushes, not a persistent private cue board the operator can build out and reference through the show. RunCue keeps a producer cue card per segment on every plan.
How does RunCue compare to StageTick?
StageTick's free tier is genuinely generous (3 rooms, 6 timers, 5 connections) and its Pro plan is priced close to RunCue's. The difference is privacy: StageTick's cue messages broadcast to every connected output view, while RunCue's producer cue cards are visible only on the control link, never on the stage or audience screens.
How does RunCue compare to CueFlow?
CueFlow has a free tier (2 rooms, 1 operator) and matches RunCue's paid pricing almost exactly (Pro €19/mo, Studio €49/mo). Its "discreet messages" go to the speaker's own screen as one-off pushes — useful, but not the same as RunCue's persistent producer cue card, which stays on the control link only and is never sent to the stage or audience at all.
How does RunCue compare to EventTimer.co?
EventTimer.co's free plan is real (3 devices, 2 events a month), and Pro is $9.99/mo for 25 devices with unlimited events. Its speaker messaging sends text straight to the presenter's own display — useful, but visible to whoever's watching that screen, not a private note the operator keeps to themselves. RunCue's producer cue cards never leave the control link.
How does RunCue compare to Screenlix?
Screenlix has a genuine free tier and Pro is €15/mo for 100 rooms and 10 concurrent viewers per room — competitive pricing with extras like icons and animations on top of the countdown. Those alerts broadcast to whoever's connected, the same as most timers in this list; RunCue is the one that keeps a private producer cue board off the stage and audience screens entirely.
Isn't Cue Clock completely free, with no catch?
Correct — Cue Clock is genuinely free, always, open-source, with no ads or subscriptions ever. The tradeoff is that it's single-device by design: no cross-device sync, and no separate control, speaker, or audience links, so it's not built for a producer running a show remotely from a different screen than the speaker. RunCue is the hosted, multi-role option for when you need that split.
Why would I pay for RunCue instead of using a free timer?
RunCue is hosted for you with no server to run and no connection cap to plan around, and every plan includes private producer cue cards the free tiers above don't offer.
Is there a trial?
Yes — and there's no rush to set it up. You get up to 7 days to build the run of show before any clock starts; the 15-minute live trial begins only once you press Start, and it includes the live timer, separate role links, cues, Reset, and segment editing before the room locks — no card required.
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