Timeshifter is a jet lag app that tells you when to seek light, when to avoid it, when to sleep, when to nap and when to have a coffee, starting a few days before you fly. We like it for two reasons: it is built on a circadian model developed by its co-founder, the sleep scientist Dr Steven Lockley, and your first plan is free with no card details, so you can try it on a real trip before paying anything.
The catch is discipline: the plan only works if you follow it. Here is our Timeshifter review: what it does, what it costs in pounds, how the airline freebies work and how it compares with free jet lag advice.
Timeshifter Promo Code: None needed
Best deal: first jet lag plan free, then £9.99 a plan or £21.99 for unlimited plans (UK App Store)
| Offer detail | What you get |
|---|---|
| Promo Code | None needed. Timeshifter does not publish promo codes for the public app |
| Welcome offer | Your first jet lag plan is free, with no payment details required |
| Who qualifies | New users; Timeshifter says the app is meant for healthy adults aged 18 and over |
| Key terms | After the free plan, pay per plan or subscribe for unlimited plans; subscriptions renew until cancelled |
| How to claim | Download the app, enter your flights and preferences, and your first plan is generated free |
Timeshifter: key facts
- Official website: timeshifter.com
- Owner: Timeshifter Inc.
- Headquarters: New York, USA (R&D office in Copenhagen)
- Founded: 2018
- Ratings: App Store 4.7 (413 ratings, UK App Store); Google Play 4.4 (1.87k reviews, Google Play)
- Headline offer: First jet lag plan free, no payment details required
- Promo Code: None needed (no public promo codes)
- Price from: £9.99 a plan; £21.99 for unlimited plans (UK App Store)
- Free plan or trial: Yes: first jet lag plan free
- Payment methods: Apple App Store, Google Play
- Best features: Plans personalised to chronotype, sleep pattern and itinerary; Light, sleep and nap timing with optional caffeine and melatonin advice; Free for United Premier 1K members; miles offers with MileagePlus and Miles & More
Timeshifter at a glance
- Owner: Timeshifter Inc., New York, with an R&D office in Copenhagen
- Launched: 2018, by Mickey Beyer-Clausen, Jacob Ravn and Dr Steven W. Lockley
- Platforms: iPhone and Android
- Free plan: yes; your first jet lag plan is free
- Paid from: £9.99 a plan, or £21.99 for unlimited plans (UK App Store)
- Offline use: not stated by Timeshifter; build your plan before you fly
- Ratings: App Store (UK) 4.7/5 from 413 ratings; Google Play 4.4/5 from 1.87k reviews
Our verdict
Timeshifter is the most polished jet lag tool you can buy, and the free first plan makes it an easy thing to try before a long-haul trip. Its advice rests on real circadian science, not vague tips about drinking water. It is not magic: the schedules can clash with real life, and the value depends on whether you travel often enough to justify the annual fee. For one big trip a year, buy a single plan.
Pros
- First plan free, no card details required
- Personalised to your chronotype, sleep pattern and exact flights
- Caffeine and melatonin advice are optional, so you can switch them off
- Airline perks: free for United Premier 1K members, miles for MileagePlus and Miles & More
- Google Play data safety section says no data is shared with third parties
Cons
- Plans demand commitment: light, darkness and sleep at set times, sometimes awkward ones
- Advice is rounded to the nearest hour, which can feel blunt around flight times
- Effectiveness figures come from the company’s own surveys, not published trials
- No iPad or Apple Watch app listed
- Annual plan is poor value if you fly long haul once a year
What Timeshifter does and who it is for
Jet lag happens because your body clock cannot jump time zones as fast as a plane. Timeshifter builds a day-by-day plan to shift that clock in the right direction, mainly by timing light exposure and light avoidance, with sleep, naps and optional caffeine and melatonin layered on top. You enter your flights, your usual sleep times, your chronotype (whether you are a lark or an owl) and which tools you are happy to use.
A few trips where it earns its place:
- You fly London to Sydney for a wedding and have two days to be presentable. Timeshifter starts adjusting you before you leave, so you are not wide awake at 3am on the morning of the speeches.
- You have a sales meeting in New York the day after landing. The plan tells you when to get outside for daylight and when to stay up, rather than letting you nap through the afternoon.
- You land back at Heathrow from Singapore on Sunday morning and are due at your desk on Monday. A plan for the return leg tells you whether to stay up, when to get outside and when to sleep.
It suits frequent long-haul flyers, business travellers and anyone who has lost the first three days of a holiday to a fog.
Is Timeshifter free? Free vs paid features
Your first jet lag plan is free and complete, with no payment details needed. After that you either pay for each new plan or subscribe for unlimited plans.
There are also some free routes worth knowing. United Airlines lets MileagePlus Premier 1K members use Timeshifter free by signing in with their MileagePlus details, and other MileagePlus members earn 500 miles for buying a year’s subscription. Lufthansa Group, which includes SWISS, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines, offered Miles & More members 500 miles for downloading the app, or 1,000 miles for Senator and HON Circle members, according to its 2024 announcement.
Timeshifter price: plans and the cheapest way to pay
The UK App Store lists three in-app purchases. Timeshifter’s own pricing is quoted in dollars: $9.99 a plan or $24.99 a year for unlimited plans.
| Plan | UK price | US$ | € |
|---|---|---|---|
| First jet lag plan | Free | Free | Free |
| Single jet lag plan | £9.99 | $13.31 | €11.86 |
| Discounted jet lag plan (offered in the app) | £4.99 | $6.65 | €5.92 |
| Unlimited plans, yearly | £21.99 | $29.30 | €26.10 |
Dollar and euro figures are conversions from the UK prices. Bought in the US, the same plans cost $9.99 and $24.99, and Lufthansa Group quoted €25 a year for the subscription.
The cheapest way to pay: use the free plan for your first trip. After that, the maths is simple. Two or fewer long-haul trips a year, buy single plans at £9.99. Three or more, the £21.99 yearly subscription wins. If you fly United or Lufthansa Group regularly, check your frequent flyer account first: a 1K member pays nothing at all.
Timeshifter features that matter
Personalisation. Plans account for your chronotype, normal sleep pattern, itinerary and preferences, and reminders nudge you through each step.
Light advice. The core of the method. You are told when to see bright light and when to avoid it, which may mean sunglasses outdoors or dim lights indoors.
Melatonin. Also optional. Worth knowing for UK readers: melatonin is prescription-only in the UK, so most people will leave this switched off.
Offline. Timeshifter does not say how much of a plan works without signal, so build it and check it before you board. A travel eSIM avoids roaming bills when you need to make changes on arrival.
Results. Timeshifter says that in about 130,000 post-flight surveys, 96.4% of travellers who followed its advice did not have severe or very severe jet lag, and that skipping the advice was linked to a 6.2 times higher rate of severe or very severe jet lag. These are company survey figures, not a published trial.
Is Timeshifter safe? Privacy and health
Timeshifter Inc. is a private company with headquarters in New York and an R&D office in Copenhagen. Its science lead, Dr Steven Lockley, is a well-known circadian and sleep researcher who developed the model behind the app. The company says the app is used by astronauts, including Axiom Space crews.
On privacy, the UK App Store label lists contact info, user content, identifiers, usage data and diagnostics as linked to you. On Google Play, the developer states that no data is collected or shared with third parties, that data is encrypted in transit and that you can request deletion. When DailyStoke checked, we found no published regulator action against the company.
On health, Timeshifter is clear that its statements have not been evaluated by the US Food and Drug Administration, that the app is not meant to diagnose or treat any condition and that it is intended for healthy adults. If you have a sleep disorder, are pregnant or take medication that affects sleep, speak to your GP before following a plan, especially the melatonin part.
What users say about Timeshifter
Ratings are strong: 4.7 out of 5 from 413 ratings on the UK App Store and 4.4 from about 1,870 reviews on Google Play. There are no Trustpilot reviews.
On Google Play in August 2026, Katharine M said the app helped on a trip to New Zealand: “I felt fantastic.” On the UK App Store, Tredders was even more taken in October 2021: “it’s nothing short of a miracle!”
Lisa B on Google Play in June 2026 was positive about the results (“It really worked for me! Slight jet lag, but no where near as bad as usual.”) but knocked off a star because she travels once a year and did not want a yearly subscription. Timeshifter replied that single plans are available.
The sharpest criticism came from Ivan K, also on Google Play in June 2026, who said following the schedule would have made him miss his flight: “I had a 9hr flight to Canada. the app recommended I slept until 10am on the day of the flight.” Timeshifter replied that its advice is rounded to the nearest hour.
How to get started with Timeshifter
- Download Timeshifter from the App Store or Google Play.
- Answer the questions on your sleep pattern, chronotype and age.
- Add your flights, including connections and the return leg if you want it planned.
- Choose your tools: light advice is core; caffeine, naps and melatonin are optional.
- Start the plan on the day it suggests, which may be before you fly, and turn on reminders.
To cancel the subscription: on iPhone, open Settings, tap your name, then Subscriptions, choose Timeshifter and cancel. On Android, open Google Play, Payments and subscriptions, Subscriptions. Deleting the app does not cancel it. Single plans are one-off purchases with nothing to cancel. Refunds for store purchases are handled by Apple or Google.
Timeshifter vs Jet Lag Rooster vs NHS advice
| Timeshifter | Jet Lag Rooster | NHS jet lag advice | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free plan | First plan free | Free website | Free |
| Paid from | £9.99 a plan | Free | Free |
| Best for | Personalised, tracked plans with reminders | A quick light and sleep timetable | General tips for short trips |
| Offline | Not stated; set up before you fly | Print or screenshot it | Read before you go |
| App Store rating (UK) | 4.7 (413) | No app; website only | No app |
Pick Timeshifter for long-haul trips that matter, where you want reminders and a plan that adjusts to your sleep habits.
Pick Jet Lag Rooster if you are happy with a simpler printed timetable and want to pay nothing.
Pick the NHS advice for short trips across a few time zones: daylight on arrival, local mealtimes and no long naps go a long way.
Timeshifter alternatives
- Jet Lag Rooster: a free website that builds a sleep and light timetable from your flights.
- Your airline’s perks: United and Lufthansa Group frequent flyers can get Timeshifter itself free or with miles.
- Flightradar24: not for sleep, but handy for tracking your flight on the day. See our Flightradar24 review.
Timeshifter FAQs
Is Timeshifter free?
Your first jet lag plan is free with no card details. After that it costs £9.99 a plan or £21.99 for a year of unlimited plans on the UK App Store.
Does Timeshifter actually work?
Timeshifter says 96.4% of travellers who followed its advice avoided severe jet lag, across about 130,000 surveys. Results depend on sticking to the plan.
Is Timeshifter worth paying for?
For frequent long-haul flyers, yes. For one trip a year, buy a single plan rather than the subscription.
Can I get Timeshifter free with United or Lufthansa?
United Premier 1K members get it free. Other MileagePlus members earn miles on a yearly subscription, and Lufthansa Group has offered Miles & More bonus miles.
Do I need to take melatonin with Timeshifter?
No. It is optional and can be switched off. In the UK melatonin is prescription-only, so ask your GP first.
How do I cancel Timeshifter?
Cancel the subscription in your App Store or Google Play subscriptions. Single plans do not renew.
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