Step by step
How to switch from MotionMail to flashtimer
Recreate the timer
Describe your deadline and Create with AI drafts the timer (Basic and up), or set it in the editor. A MotionMail timer that uses the Rep parameter to repeat every 24 hours maps to a flashtimer recurring timer; an evergreen timer maps to a starts-on-open evergreen timer.
Replace the embed
Swap the MotionMail image URL (s.mmgo.io links) for the flashtimer URL or HTML snippet in each template and flow. Pick your email platform in the Embed dialog so evergreen timers get its per-recipient merge tag, where the platform has one.
Decide what late readers see
Write the expiry message, or upload a fallback image on Basic and up.
Test, then let old campaigns finish
Send a test to Gmail, Apple Mail and Outlook. Keep your MotionMail account active until emails already delivered have passed their deadline, since those emails still load the old timer.
Where MotionMail is a good fit
MotionMail keeps things simple. Its home page offers four timer designs with your colors and font, timers you can edit after the email is sent, and a countdown that shows the same deadline whatever the reader's time zone. Its free plan includes 20,000 views a month and unlimited timers, and paid plans translate labels into each reader's preferred language.
It is also easy to repeat a timer on any plan: MotionMail's help center explains adding a Rep value to the timer URL, such as 24 to count down to the same time every day or 168 for every week. Its help center has setup guides for platforms including Mailchimp, Klaviyo, Constant Contact, Campaign Monitor, ConvertKit, Brevo, GetResponse, MailerLite and AWeber.
MotionMail vs flashtimer: where flashtimer is different
The biggest gap is evergreen timers. MotionMail's help center says evergreen timers are supported on Startup ($60 a month) and Enterprise ($200), not on Free or Bootstrap. flashtimer includes evergreen countdown timers, starting on open or on send, from the $9 Basic plan.
flashtimer also adds ways to create and place timers. Create with AI drafts a timer from a sentence, and Pro connects to 20 email platforms to insert it straight into a draft campaign or template, syncs Shopify and WooCommerce promotions, and offers a REST API and MCP server. Pro also adds dynamic timers that count to a date carried in each reader's email, and Business plans can A/B test timer designs.
flashtimer's recurring countdown timers follow a clock rule in a chosen time zone (every weekday at 2pm, every Friday at noon), which is an alternative to MotionMail's hours-based Rep parameter.
MotionMail pricing vs flashtimer
MotionMail lists Free (20,000 views), Bootstrap at $10 a month (100,000 views), Startup at $60 (700,000) and Enterprise at $200 (2.8 million), with 20% off on annual billing; Startup and Enterprise roll unused credits over. Paid plans bill overage per view, from $0.0001 down to $0.000085, with a $1 minimum.
flashtimer's plans are Free (20,000 views), Basic $9 (150,000), Pro $35 (1,000,000) and Business $69 (3,000,000). Both free plans stop showing a live countdown once the allowance is used (on flashtimer, once it is passed by 4%) rather than charging you. flashtimer's paid plans do the same unless you buy a top-up pack, by hand or automatically if you switch automatic top-ups on; they never bill per view. Both tools count a view each time the image loads in an opened email, so reopens count on both.
Outlook and other inboxes
MotionMail's help center says its timer has been tested in the major email clients, with Outlook versions that don't support animated GIFs showing the first frame instead. flashtimer behaves the same way: classic Outlook on Windows shows the correct time left at the moment of opening without ticking, so write the deadline in text as well. flashtimer Pro adds an Apple Mail fallback for Apple Mail Privacy Protection.
flashtimer vs MotionMail at a glance
| Feature | flashtimer | MotionMail |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest paid plan | Basic, $9/month excl. VAT, 150,000 views | Bootstrap, $10/month ($96/year on annual), 100,000 views |
| Free plan | 20,000 views/month, 3 active timers, small flashtimer mark | 20,000 views/month, unlimited timers, MotionMail branding |
| What counts as a view | One load of the timer image | Each time an email containing the timer is opened, reopens included |
| Running out of views | Every plan switches to a static image past its views plus 4%; paid plans can top up, by hand or automatically if you switch that on | Free: timer stops rendering; paid: overage billed per view ($1 minimum) |
| Evergreen timer per reader | Basic and up ($9) | Startup ($60) and Enterprise ($200) |
| Repeating timer | Recurring on a daily/weekly/monthly rule in a time zone, Basic and up | Repeat every N hours with the Rep URL parameter, all plans |
| AI timer creation | Create with AI, Basic and up | Not listed |
| Label languages | 7, or auto per reader, every plan | Dynamic translation by recipient's language, paid plans |
| Designs | Multiple layouts, brand kit, custom fonts on paid plans | Four timer designs, custom color and font |
| Insert into your email platform | Copy-paste on every plan; one-click draft insert on Pro and up | Copy-paste code snippet; help guides for 11 platforms |
| API, store sync and A/B tests | API + MCP and Shopify/WooCommerce sync (Pro); A/B tests (Business) | API documented in help center; store sync and A/B tests not listed |
Competitor details from motionmailapp.com (home page and plans) and MotionMail's help center at motionmail.freshdesk.com, checked October 2026. “Not listed” means we didn't find it on their site, not that they lack it. Plans change — check their site for current terms.
Questions
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