Creator counters
Subscriber counter devices compared: Ulanzi, LaMetric, Divoom, Social Meter, Smiirl and Perchi Matrix
Six devices that put a subscriber count on a desk, from the Ulanzi TC001 ($45.99) to a Smiirl flap counter ($399), compared on platforms, refresh, rounding and what they cost in India. Every YouTube counter shows the rounded public count above 1,000; every Instagram counter needs a Business account. Perchi Matrix (₹4,499) covers the most platforms in one box.
The six counters at a glance
Prices are the vendor's or the listing's figures on the date shown, in the currency they were shown in. Our own price, warranty and returns come from the same configuration as the pricing page.
| Feature | Perchi Matrix MyPerchi | Ulanzi TC001 stock firmware | LaMetric TIME Smart Atoms | Divoom Pixoo-64 Divoom | Social Meter Amazon.com micro-brand | Smiirl Smiirl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price in USD (dated) | India first; international shipping opens with the global batch | $45.99 at ulanzi.com; $49.99 on Amazon.com (2026-09-18) | $199.99 at store.lametric.com (2026-09-18) | $149.99 at divoom.com (2026-09-18) | $119 to $149 on Amazon.com by battery option (2026-09-18) | $399 to $629 excl. tax at smiirl.com (2026-09-18) |
| Price in India (dated) | ₹4,499 incl. GST (MRP ₹4,999), sold direct in India with a GST invoice | ₹7,790 on Amazon.in through Tektonic India (2026-09-18) | About ₹30,009 as an Amazon.in import (pricehistory.app) | ₹18,999 at Furper; ₹22,914 on Amazon.in (2026-09-18) | Not sold in India | No Indian listing found (2026-09-18) |
| Platforms | YouTube, Twitch, Kick, Bluesky, Mastodon, Discord, GitHub, Patreon, Ko-fi, Buy Me a Coffee; Instagram, TikTok and Threads after provider review; plus Stripe, Razorpay, Shopify and Gumroad sales | YouTube, TikTok and Instagram per ulanzi.com (the Amazon.com copy lists YouTube, Bilibili and Weibo instead) | YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok, Telegram and GitHub through Market apps; Twitch, LinkedIn and Discord through third-party apps | YouTube, Twitch and Instagram per the product page | 19 platforms including YouTube, Twitch, Kick, Bluesky, Mastodon, GitHub, Shopify, Discord and Steam; no Instagram, TikTok or Facebook | One per unit: Instagram, Facebook or TikTok; YouTube only via a Custom Counter and a developer |
| Refresh interval | Instant on webhook platforms; polled stats from 60 s; YouTube every 30 minutes | Not stated by Ulanzi | Not published on the pages we could open | Not published; Divoom warns third-party refresh can introduce delay | Every minute | Every 6 seconds by default, selectable to 24 hours |
| Rounded or exact | YouTube rounded above 1,000 by the public API and marked with a tilde; webhook platforms exact | YouTube rounded (public API) | YouTube rounded (public API) | YouTube rounded (public API) | YouTube rounded (public API) | Not applicable: no native YouTube |
| Instagram account rule | Business or Creator account (Meta Graph API); app waiting on Meta review | Not stated | Business account required | Not stated | No Instagram at all | Business accounts only |
| Celebrations | 14 effects, milestone and threshold rules | AWTRIX effects only after flashing | An icon change | Pixel animations you set up by hand | A milestone progress bar and a plus-N-today ticker | None; the flaps turn |
| Local API | Authenticated AWTRIX-3-compatible local API (bearer, Basic or HMAC-signed), off by default, plus MQTT | Through AWTRIX or ESPHome after flashing | Per-device API key, HTTPS | Unofficial, reverse-engineered | None stated | JSON push for the Custom Counter |
| Warranty in India | 12 months, serviced in India; 10-day dead-on-arrival replacement; 14-day returns | Through the Amazon.in seller | None; importer terms | Importer terms; 12 plus 6 months on the official store | Not sold in India | 2 years from Smiirl; no Indian channel |
| Best for | An Indian creator, or anyone who wants every platform and their sales in one silent box | A US buyer who wants the cheapest counter and will flash AWTRIX | A bedside clock with speakers that also counts | Pixel art first, counters second | A US creator on Bluesky, Mastodon, Kick or GitHub | A shop window |
Who should buy which?
Choose Perchi Matrix if
- You want the most platforms in one box, plus sales from Razorpay, Stripe and Shopify
- You want a celebration when the number moves, not just the number
- You want it sold in India with a GST invoice and a warranty serviced here
- You want a local API, MQTT and Home Assistant discovery
Choose one of the others if
- You are in the US and want the cheapest counter: a Ulanzi TC001 with AWTRIX
- You want speakers and a bedside clock too: LaMetric TIME
- You want pixel art and a huge gallery: the Divoom Pixoo-64
- You want a shop-window flap counter: Smiirl
Why every YouTube counter is rounded
YouTube's public API returns subscriber counts rounded to three significant figures above 1,000, so 12,437 subscribers shows as 12.4K on every device in this table: Perchi Matrix, the TC001, LaMetric, Divoom, Social Meter, and Smiirl if you build a Custom Counter for it. No desk counter can show the exact public count. Perchi Matrix marks the rounded value with a tilde and refreshes it every 30 minutes; the reasons and the exception for your own channel are on the YouTube subscribers app page.
The Instagram Business rule
Meta's Graph API exposes a follower count only for Business and Creator (professional) accounts. Smiirl says its Instagram counter connects only to Business accounts, LaMetric says a Business account is required, and the EU device DISPLIX says personal accounts are blocked by the API; Ulanzi and Divoom do not state the rule on their pages. Perchi Matrix is bound by the same rule, and its Instagram app is waiting on Meta's review before it ships; Social Meter avoids the problem by not offering Instagram at all.
Refresh intervals side by side
Smiirl polls every 6 seconds, Social Meter every minute, and a generic Australian-made counter on Amazon.com admits to 10 to 30 minutes on its own listing. Ulanzi, LaMetric and Divoom do not publish an interval, and Divoom warns that third-party refresh can introduce delay. Perchi Matrix is instant where the platform supports webhooks (Razorpay, Stripe, Ko-fi, Buy Me a Coffee, GitHub Actions), polls other stats on intervals from 60 seconds, and refreshes YouTube every 30 minutes because the count is rounded anyway.
Best for a US creator, best for an Indian creator
In the US the cheapest counter is the Ulanzi TC001 at $45.99 with free AWTRIX firmware, and Social Meter at $119 covers Bluesky, Mastodon and Kick with no flashing; LaMetric adds speakers at $199.99 and Smiirl is the window piece. In India the picture flips: the TC001 lands at ₹7,790, the Pixoo-64 at ₹18,999 to ₹22,914, LaMetric at about ₹30,009, and Social Meter and Smiirl are not sold here. Perchi Matrix at ₹4,499 including GST is the cheapest counter with an Indian warranty, a GST invoice and Shiprocket delivery, and the only one that also celebrates a Razorpay payment; see Pricing.
When Perchi Matrix is not the right fit
If you want a wall-sized flap counter for a shop, buy a Smiirl. If Instagram or TikTok is the only count you need and you need it this week, a Smiirl or a Tikky ships today while our Instagram and TikTok apps wait on provider review. If you are buying in dollars and enjoy flashing, the TC001 is cheaper. Perchi Matrix is the right fit for a creator who wants every platform and their sales in one silent, desk-sized box, especially in India.
Questions about subscriber counter devices
Which subscriber counter shows the exact count?
None, for a public YouTube channel: YouTube's API rounds subscriber counts to three significant figures above 1,000, so every device shows 12.4K rather than 12,437. Perchi Matrix marks the rounded value with a tilde; webhook-driven numbers such as Razorpay payments or Ko-fi tips are exact.
Which counter covers YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Twitch together?
Perchi Matrix, with Instagram and TikTok arriving after provider review; today it covers YouTube, Twitch, Kick, Bluesky, Mastodon, Discord, GitHub and more. LaMetric TIME covers YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and, through a third-party app, Twitch. Smiirl needs one unit per platform and has no native YouTube.
Which subscriber counter is cheapest in India with a warranty?
Perchi Matrix, at ₹4,499 including GST, sold direct with a GST invoice and a 12-month warranty serviced in India. The Ulanzi TC001 is ₹7,790 through an Amazon.in importer; LaMetric and Divoom are imports at ₹18,999 and above; Social Meter and Smiirl are not sold here.
Which subscriber counter is cheapest in the US?
The Ulanzi TC001 at $45.99 direct or $49.99 on Amazon.com, with free AWTRIX firmware for the counters. Social Meter starts at $119, the Pixoo-64 is $149.99, LaMetric TIME $199.99 and Smiirl $399 and up.
Do subscriber counters work without a PC or app?
Perchi Matrix and LaMetric TIME run standalone after setup (Perchi Matrix is set up from a browser, LaMetric from its app), and Social Meter arrives pre-flashed with no app. The Divoom Pixoo-64 needs its app for everything, and the Ulanzi TC001 uses the Ulanzi app on stock firmware.
Can a counter celebrate each new subscriber?
Perchi Matrix plays one of 14 effects on milestone and threshold rules, and instantly on webhook platforms; YouTube can only celebrate milestones, since the count is rounded and polled. Social Meter shows a milestone progress bar; Smiirl flips its flaps; the others show the number.
More questions, answered on the page that owns them
Related comparisons
- Perchi Matrix vs Smiirl
Smiirl is the mechanical flap counter shops put in the window, one platform per unit. Perchi Matrix shows every platform and every sale in one desk-sized box, silently, at a fraction of the price.
- Perchi Matrix vs Ulanzi TC001
The TC001 is the pixel clock everyone flashes with AWTRIX: cheaper in dollars, with a battery. Perchi Matrix is cheaper in India, arrives with 70+ apps, and keeps the AWTRIX 3 API with auth and signed updates.
- Perchi Matrix vs LaMetric TIME
LaMetric TIME is the benchmark with speakers, radio and a deep app market. Perchi Matrix is silent, about six times cheaper in India, built in four sizes and documents its API.
- Perchi Matrix vs Divoom Pixoo-64
The Pixoo-64 is the pixel-art king: 64x64, dual-band Wi-Fi, a huge gallery, and an app you must use. Perchi Matrix has a fraction of the pixels and an official API, webhooks, MQTT and celebrations for real events.
Every comparison we publish is listed on Compare; the ranked guides live under Alternatives.
Sources and last check
Competitor facts, prices and review counts were read from the pages below on the dates shown in the table; this page was last checked on and is re-checked quarterly. Our own figures come from Pricing.
- Ulanzi TC001 (platforms, price)
- Ulanzi TC001 on Amazon.in (INR price)
- LaMetric TIME for social media (Instagram Business rule)
- LaMetric Market, YouTube subscriber counter app (installs)
- Divoom Pixoo-64 (counters)
- Divoom Pixoo-64 on Amazon.in (INR price)
- Social Meter follower counter on Amazon.com (platforms, refresh, price)
- Generic live follower counter on Amazon.com (10 to 30 minute refresh)
- Smiirl Instagram Counter (Business rule, refresh)
- Instagram Graph API follower count, keyapi.ai
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