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Comparison · Schengen calculators · 2026

Stretch vs Schengen Visa Tracker

Schengen Visa Tracker is a clean Schengen-only counter you buy once for $3.99. Stretch answers the same question free in your browser, then counts every other country too. Here is how I would choose.

By David Toniolo, Do a Stretch · Updated 2026-08-29 · Prices and facts checked 2026-08-29 · 8 min read

Who each one is for

Pick Schengen Visa Tracker if Schengen is your only number, you would rather pay $3.99 once than subscribe to anything, and you want nothing to leave your phone. Pick Stretch if you want the Schengen answer now, free, in any browser, or if you also go anywhere else with a day limit.

Start with Stretch's free Schengen calculator →. Neither app is the official check. That is the European Commission's own calculator, linked at the end.

TL;DR

Feature Stretch Schengen Visa Tracker Winner
What it counts Every country on your passports Schengen only, with a home-country exemption for EU residents Stretch
Schengen 90/180 Rolling 180-day window, whole area Same, citing the Borders Code Tie
Your last legal day Counts forward day by day and shows it Shows a "Next Available Day" and a maximum stay; does not say how Stretch
EES and ETIAS Says plainly it does not read EES ETIAS "info" in the app; EES only as news on the website Stretch
Price Calculator free; app counter free forever; Stretch+ $49.99/yr or $149 once 30-day trial, then $3.99 / £2.99 / €2.99 once Schengen Visa Tracker
Platforms Any browser; iPhone and Android app iPhone (not iPad), Android, and a free web check Tie
Privacy No account, no server, no analytics No account, offline, "Data Not Collected" Tie
Where the rules come from Source and checked date on every rule One rule, sourced to the Borders Code Stretch

Schengen Visa Tracker is a cheap, private way to keep one number, and at $3.99 once it is the best one-time price I have compared. Stretch gives you that number free in the browser, counted forward to the day you must leave, and the app counts every other country from the same log.

Quick verdict

If you want… Choose
A free Schengen answer right now, no account Stretch's calculator
The official check of your dates European Commission short-stay calculator
The cheapest Schengen-only app, bought once Schengen Visa Tracker
Home-country days left out because you hold EU residency Schengen Visa Tracker
Every country counted, free, with reminders Stretch
To see where every rule comes from Stretch

Schengen Visa Tracker at a glance

What it is. A Schengen 90/180 counter by Ian Bradbury in Bansko, Bulgaria. Enter your trips and it shows days used and left, a "Next Available Day", which past trip drops out of the window next, and a maximum stay. It takes planned trips up to four years ahead, can leave out days in the EU country where you hold residency, and tracks multiple-entry visa holders across the visa's validity. Version 1.9.8 shipped 12 August 2026.

Price. 30 days free, then $3.99 (US), £2.99 (UK) or €2.99 once. No subscription. In the Play description's words: "30-day free trial with all features • Then €2.99/£2.99 one-time purchase (no subscription)".

Platforms. iPhone (iOS 15.1 or later, "Only for iPhone", so no iPad), Android, and a free web check at schengenvisatracker.com/check/.

Rating. 5.0★ from 6 UK ratings and 1 US rating. Google Play shows "1K+ downloads" and no star figure I could read.

Stretch at a glance

The calculator. Free, in your browser. Type in your Schengen trips and it shows days used, days left and, if you are still inside, the last day you may stay. Nothing you type leaves your browser. It only covers the visa-free short stay, and it is not EU software.

The app. Counts every country on your passports from one log, sets your must-leave date when you log an entry, reminds you at 14, 7, 3 and 1 days, and keeps your e-visas on the stay they cover. All of that is free, forever. Every rule shows its source and the date it was last checked, and I publish them at doastretch.com/visa. Stretch+ ($49.99 a year or $149 once) adds the Visa Desk, GPS logging, tax-day tallies and planning. iPhone and Android.

Feature comparison

What gets counted

Schengen Visa Tracker counts one rule and does it carefully, with a sensible exemption for EU residents and a real feature for multiple-entry visa holders. One oddity: the App Store description says it covers 29 countries, the Play description says 27. I could not tell which the app uses, so check the country list before you trust a trip to a newer member. Stretch counts Schengen the same way and every other country's rule from the same log.

Winner Stretch — the same Schengen count, plus everywhere else.

Your last legal day

"Days remaining" is not the same as "when must I leave?". Old days drop out of the 180-day window while you spend new ones, so your real last day can be later than 90 minus days used. Schengen Visa Tracker does show a maximum stay and a "Next Available Day", which is more than a balance. What its listing does not say is whether that figure counts forward as old days age out. Stretch's calculator counts forward day by day and tells you.

Nor does the listing say whether the day you arrive and the day you leave both count. They do. 1 March to 10 March is 10 days, not nine. Enter that trip and check you see 10. Here is why.

Winner Stretch — the date, and how it got there.

EES and ETIAS

EES has recorded every external-border crossing since 10 April 2026. It does not change the 90/180 rule, and no app can read it. ETIAS is a travel permit, not a day counter, and has not started. Schengen Visa Tracker's listing offers "ETIAS travel authorization info (launching 2026)" and mentions EES only as news on its website. Nothing there is wrong, but nothing tells you the app's count and the border's record are two different things. Stretch says so on the calculator page and in the EES guide.

Winner Stretch — it says what the tool cannot know.

Reminders and documents

The listing claims no notifications, no export and no profiles. That is fine for a calculator you open when you wonder. Stretch's app reminds you at 14, 7, 3 and 1 days and keeps your documents on the stay they cover, free.

Winner Stretch — it finds you, rather than waiting to be opened.

Price

$3.99 once, after a 30-day trial, is the best one-time price on this shelf. "All the critical features for a very reasonable price," as one US reviewer put it in June. It undercuts Stretch+ by a mile. But the thing both do for a Schengen traveller, Stretch does for nothing, and Stretch+ buys things the rival does not sell at any price.

Winner Schengen Visa Tracker — with the free calculator as the honest footnote.

Where the rules come from

Schengen Visa Tracker names the Borders Code for its one rule, which is the right source. Stretch shows a source and checked date on every rule for every country, tells you when one is not yet verified, and publishes the lot.

Winner Stretch.

Choose Schengen Visa Tracker if you…

  • only ever need the Schengen count and want to pay $3.99 once;
  • hold EU residency and want home-country days left out automatically;
  • hold a multiple-entry visa and want it tracked across its validity;
  • want nothing to leave the phone and do not need reminders or export.

Choose Stretch if you…

  • want a free Schengen answer now — the calculator, no install;
  • go anywhere else with a day limit — Thailand, Japan, Mexico, Georgia;
  • want to see where every rule came from before you trust it;
  • want the must-leave date and the reminders free, forever.

How we evaluated

  • Whether the app shows a last legal day, and says how it gets there
  • What it says about EES and ETIAS, and whether that is true
  • Price by published tier, and what the free tier includes
  • Platforms, privacy labels, and whether any rule shows its source
  • Everything read from the App Store, Google Play and schengenvisatracker.com on 29 August 2026

Frequently asked questions

Is Stretch better than Schengen Visa Tracker?

Yes for a free Schengen answer counted forward to your last legal day, and for anyone who enters any other country with a limit. Schengen Visa Tracker wins on price for a paid Schengen-only app, and its EU-residency exemption and multiple-entry visa tracking are things Stretch's calculator does not offer.

Is Schengen Visa Tracker free?

For 30 days. Then it is a one-time $3.99 (US), £2.99 (UK and Google Play) or €2.99, no subscription (29 August 2026). Its web check is free. Stretch's calculator and the app's counter are free with no trial that ends.

What is the best Schengen Visa Tracker alternative?

Stretch, if you want the answer free in a browser or need other countries counted. Start with the calculator. I also compare DaysAbroad (two iPhone apps of that name, both subscription trackers with GPS) and Orbis (iPhone, iPad and Mac tracker with documents and tax-day tallies, Android on its roadmap). The wider list is in the best Schengen calculator apps.

Does Schengen Visa Tracker handle EES and ETIAS?

No app does. EES records your crossings at the border and nothing reads them back. Schengen Visa Tracker offers ETIAS information inside the app; ETIAS is a travel permit, not a counter, and has not started. Stretch does not read EES either, and says so.

Does Stretch calculate the Schengen 90/180 rule?

Yes. The free calculator counts both entry and exit days, shows days used and left across the whole area, and counts forward to the last day you may stay. The app does the same from your log, plus every other country.

Sources

Count it, don't carry it

Do a stretch. Don't snap.

The counter, the alerts and your documents are free, forever. Coming to the App Store and Google Play — one email when it lands.

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Prices, ratings and features are as published by each product on the date shown; they change — check the store listing before you buy. Stretch is a tracker, not legal advice.