Step 01
Create the timer
Open the builder, set the end date, time and time zone, then pick a template and match the colors, fonts and labels to your brand.
No watermark on the free plan
Email Countdown Timer: Add a Live Countdown to Any Email
An email countdown timer shows subscribers exactly how long they have left on a real deadline. With Countdown Builder you design a countdown timer for email in a visual editor, copy one snippet, and paste it into Mailchimp, Klaviyo, HubSpot or any other platform that accepts HTML or an image URL — no coding needed.
How it works
How an Email Countdown Timer Works
Email clients don't run JavaScript, so a countdown can't tick the way it does on a web page. Instead, your timer is an image hosted by Countdown Builder. Each time someone opens the email, their email client requests that image, the server calculates the time left at that moment, and the animated GIF it returns shows the current countdown.
That means the same email always shows accurate time remaining — whether it's opened an hour or three days after sending. When the deadline passes, the timer can switch to an expired message you define in the expiry settings.
A timer helps when the deadline is real. If the offer doesn't actually end, a countdown reads as pressure and costs trust — so use it for sales, launches, webinars and trials that genuinely expire.
Embed example
What You Paste Into Your Email
The builder generates a short HTML snippet like this one. Replace the alt text with your own deadline so it still reads when images are blocked.
<div style="text-align: center">
<img
style="display: inline-block; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-top: 5px; max-width: 100%"
src="https://app.countdownbuilder.com/countdowns/<timer-id>/display.gif"
alt="Sale ends Sunday at midnight"
/>
</div>
Platforms that only accept an image URL can use the plain display.gif link from Copy Image URL instead. For per-recipient deadlines, the same URL takes an end time from a merge tag — see dynamic timers.
Three steps
How to Add a Countdown Timer to an Email
Step 02
Copy the embed code
Preview the timer, then click Copy HTML (or Copy Image URL if your email editor has an image block with a URL field).
Step 03
Paste it into your email
Add a code, HTML or image block in your email platform, paste the snippet near your call to action, send yourself a test, and schedule the campaign.
Not sure where the block lives in your email editor? Pick your platform below for the exact menu path.
Supported platforms
Email Platforms With Step-by-Step Guides
If your platform can add custom HTML or an image by URL, the timer will work. These guides cover the exact steps for each one.
- Mailchimp
- Klaviyo
- HubSpot
- Brevo
- ActiveCampaign
- Shopify Email
- SendGrid
- Braze
- Customer.io
- Iterable
- MailerLite
- Constant Contact
- Kit
- GetResponse
- AWeber
- Campaign Monitor
- Drip
- Omnisend
- Mailjet
- Keap
- Zoho Campaigns
- Salesforce Marketing Cloud
- Manago AI
- Gmail
Compare them all on the email countdown timer integrations page.
Timer types
Choose the Right Countdown for the Campaign
| Type | Deadline | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | One fixed date and time for every recipient | Flash sales, launches, webinar registration cutoffs |
| Evergreen | A fixed duration that starts when each person first opens the email | Welcome, onboarding and abandoned-cart automations |
| Dynamic | An exact end time per person, passed from your ESP or CRM | Trial expiry, coupon expiry, renewal reminders |
Whichever type you pick, use a deadline that is real and make sure the offer ends when the timer does.
Go deeper
Guides for Email Countdown Timers
How to create an email countdown timer
The full written tutorial: when a timer helps, the build steps, customization options and how to measure results.
Read the guideAdd a countdown timer to your emails
How timers work under the hood, plus testing and fallbacks for Outlook and Apple Mail.
Read the guideFree email countdown timer guide
What the free plan includes and how to get a no-watermark timer into a campaign without paying.
Read the guideVideo tutorial
A short screen recording of the build and embed process, start to finish.
Read the guideEmail countdown timer examples
Designs and placements for sales, launches, webinars and re-engagement emails.
Read the guideTimer not working?
A checklist for timers that show a static image, the wrong time or nothing at all.
Read the guide FAQ
Email Countdown Timer FAQs
An email countdown timer is an image that shows how much time is left until a deadline, such as the end of a sale or a registration cutoff. Email clients do not run JavaScript, so the timer is delivered as an animated GIF that Countdown Builder's server generates each time the email is opened. See how email countdown GIFs work for the details.
Create the timer in Countdown Builder, copy the HTML or image URL, and paste it into a code, HTML or image block in your email platform. The three steps above apply to every provider; the integration guides show the exact block name and menu path for each one.
Any platform that lets you add custom HTML or an image by URL. There are step-by-step guides for Mailchimp, Klaviyo, HubSpot, Brevo, ActiveCampaign, Shopify Email, SendGrid, Braze, Customer.io, Iterable and more — all listed on the integrations page.
Gmail and Apple Mail display the animated timer. Classic Outlook on Windows shows only the first frame, so plan a fallback and state the deadline in text too — see countdown timers in Outlook. Apple Mail Privacy Protection pre-fetches images, which is why the MPP settings let you keep the animation, show a static image, or hide the timer.
Yes. The free plan costs $0, needs no credit card, and does not add a watermark to your timer. Limits and paid plans are listed on the pricing page.
You choose. After the deadline the timer can show a custom expired image or message instead of a frozen countdown — see the expiry settings. Make sure the offer actually ends when the timer does.
Yes, in two ways. An evergreen timer starts a fixed window (for example 48 hours) at each recipient's first open. A dynamic timer counts down to an exact end time that you pass in from your ESP or CRM.
No. You design the timer visually and copy a ready-made snippet. The only step outside the builder is pasting it into your email editor.
Build your email countdown timer
Start on the free plan — no credit card and no watermark. See the pricing page for plan details.
Create Your Timer Free