How to Add a Countdown Timer to Notion
Notion is where a lot of teams keep their launch plans, project timelines and personal goals - so it makes sense to see the deadline ticking down right on the page. Here is how to add a live countdown timer to Notion using Rija.
Why put a countdown timer in Notion?
Notion is where plenty of teams keep their launch plans, project trackers and personal goals. The one thing it does not do out of the box is show a live deadline ticking down. A static "due 30 June" line sits there and never changes, and it is easy to scroll past. A Notion countdown timer turns that same deadline into something that moves every second, so the urgency is obvious the moment anyone opens the page.
People add a countdown timer for Notion in a few common places:
- Launch trackers - days and hours until a product, feature or campaign goes live.
- Project timelines - a running clock to the next milestone or sprint deadline.
- Personal dashboards - time left until an exam, a trip, a habit streak or a yearly goal.
- Team wikis - a shared deadline everyone sees in one place instead of chasing it in chat.
The one thing to understand first: Notion embeds by URL, not by script
Most website countdown tools give you a small <script> snippet you drop into your HTML. Notion does not run arbitrary scripts, so that snippet will not work here. What Notion does instead is embed an external page by its URL and render it live inside your document.
That is why the method below uses Rija's hosted timer URL - a real web page that holds your timer - rather than the embed script. When you publish a timer in Rija.io you get both: the async <script> + iframe snippet for ordinary websites, and a hosted timer URL for places like Notion. For a Notion countdown widget, you only need the URL.
How to add a countdown timer to Notion, step by step
1. Build and publish the timer in Rija
Sign in at app.rija.io and create your timer. Set the target date and time, and style it (more on that below). When you are happy, publish it and copy the hosted timer URL. The timer is timezone-accurate per visitor, so someone opening the Notion page in another country sees the correct time remaining without you doing anything.
2. Add an embed block in Notion
Open the Notion page where you want the countdown. On a new line, type /embed and choose Embed from the menu. Paste your hosted timer URL into the box and click Embed link. (If you paste the URL onto the page directly, Notion will offer a "Create embed" option - that works too.)
3. Resize it to fit the page
The live countdown now renders inside your Notion page. Drag the edges of the embed block to make it wider, narrower, taller or shorter until it sits nicely alongside your other content. The timer keeps running the whole time.
Styling the timer so it fits your Notion page
Because the timer is its own hosted page, you control exactly how it looks in Rija before you embed it. You can pick from over 1000 Google Fonts, set your own digit and label colours, and choose a solid or gradient background so it blends with your Notion layout. Digit animations - flip, slide, fade or pulse - are there if you want a bit of motion, and you can set a custom pixel size so the numbers are as large or as compact as the block needs.
If you want more, Pro adds image or video backgrounds, a logo upload, CTA buttons and analytics. For most Notion dashboards the free styling - gradients, custom size, fonts and colours - is more than enough. If you also run a public website, the same timer works there too; here is a full walkthrough of how to add a countdown timer to a website.
Troubleshooting
The script snippet did nothing
That is expected. Notion cannot run <script> embeds. Delete it and use the hosted timer URL with the /embed block instead.
The embed block is blank
Re-paste the hosted URL and make sure it is the full published link. Click Embed link again - a fresh paste usually fixes an empty block.
The time looks wrong
Rija renders each visitor's countdown in their own timezone, so what you see and what a teammate abroad sees will both be correct for them. Double-check the target date & time you set in Rija if the remaining time is not what you expect.
Free vs Pro
The free plan gives you unlimited timers and unlimited views, with a small Rija watermark, and covers everything you need to embed a countdown in Notion. Pro is $7/mo or $59/yr and unlocks image and video backgrounds, logo upload, CTA buttons and analytics - useful if the timer is customer-facing rather than an internal deadline.
Can I add a countdown timer to Notion for free?
Yes. Rija's free plan lets you build a timer, publish it and copy the hosted timer URL, then embed it in Notion at no cost. The only difference from Pro is a small watermark and a few advanced styling options.
Why doesn't the Rija embed script work in Notion?
Notion does not run arbitrary <script> embeds for security reasons. It embeds external pages by URL instead, so you use Rija's hosted timer URL with the /embed block rather than the script snippet.
Will the countdown show the right time for people in other timezones?
Yes. Rija timers are timezone-accurate per visitor, so everyone who opens your Notion page sees the correct time remaining for their own location automatically.