8 Best Birthday Reminder Apps for Android and iOS

Calling distant friends and relatives on their birthdays is fast becoming an obsolete tradition. These days, people just leave a casual message on social media platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook. Even more troublesome is the fact that it is difficult to remember all the birth dates of all the people you know.

If there was an app that could remind you of the coming birthdays, you could buy a gift, maybe plan a surprise party or just make a mental note to wish them? In this article, we will cover some of the best birthday reminder apps for Android and iOS platforms that will help you avoid that awkward situation when your friend/relative asks you why you didn't wish them on their birthday.

Best Birthday Reminder Apps

1. Birthdays for Android

When you open the Birthdays for Android app for the first time, it will already have a list of birthdays that the app will pull from your contacts and calendar apps respectively. The cool thing about the app is that it will not only display the person’s profile picture and date of birth but also their age. Now you know what to write on that cake.

The app will show you the number of days left for the big day and let you send e-cards automatically if you wish so. You can choose how and when you want to be reminded, and sort the list by name or days left to the birthday.

You can manually add new birthdays to the list or edit existing ones if you think there is an error. Comes with widgets. The app is free to use and ad-supported.

Birthdays for Android: Android

2. HIP

HIP will not only sync birthdays from your contacts on the iPhone but also from calendars and Facebook. HIP will remind you in advance to wish the person but if you live in the US, HIP can also recommend gift ideas. Users living outside of the US can send e-greeting cards. There are separate options for reminders like call, text, gift, party, and so on.

One neat feature is to share the details of an upcoming birthday event with others in your contact. This is helpful if you are planning to throw a surprise birthday party. You can add notes too. Other features like zodiac sign and age are all there.

The app is ad-supported and free to download. There is a plus plan, starting $1.49, that will add additional features like a built-in calendar, widgets, app themes, unlimited reminders, access to more greeting cards, add more events, and remove ads.

Download HIP: iOS

3. hbd

hbd (short for happy birthday) like other birthday reminder apps for iOS in the list will import data from multiple sources including contacts and calendars. But what separates hbd from others, which only allows you up to 5 birthdays before you need to upgrade. hbd lets you add 30. There are also no ads in hbd.

Another key differentiator from all the other similar apps is the design. It has the most modern UI, that others lack and also supports widgets, which is kind of new in iOS14.

That said, to get most of the app, you will have to get the pro version that starts around $10 a year. So, if you are ready to pay for a good birthday reminder app, check out hdb, for free options, read along.

Download hdb+: iOS

4. Countdown+ Widgets Calendar

Countdown+ Widgets Calendar can be used to set reminders for birthdays so that you can see a live countdown until it is due. There is no limit on the number of countdown timers that you can create. It comes with a built-in calendar to plan all the important events and set reminders for. You can import all birth dates from your Facebook account and a local calendar.

You can customize various aspects of the countdown like font, color, size, and display style. You can share your newly created countdown timers with friends to invite, collaborate, and celebrate. Countdown entries can be set to repeat.

Available on both platforms, it is ad-supported which can be removed with an in-app purchase of $0.99.

Download Calendar+ Widgets Calendar: Android | iOS

5. Google Calendar

Google Calendar is a very popular calendar app that can be easily used as a birthday reminder tool. The app is ad-free and available on mobile devices and the web. It integrates with Google Assistant so you can set up reminders using voice assist or manually.

Just create an event, set it to repeat, and choose your date and time. You can also ask it to remind you sometime before the reminder is set for. Collaborating with friends and family members is easy. Just send an invite to their Gmail ID. Using Google Calendar offers other benefits over traditional birthday reminder apps. You can use it for any events or purposes whether personal or professional.

You can create more than one calendar and color code each one to get a bird’s eye view of the entire week in a single glance. Have you decided on the venue yet? Add location so everyone stays in the loop.

Download Google Calendar: Android | iOS

6. IFTTT

IFTTT is a powerful tool that you can use to connect with hundreds of apps, services, and websites. To use it just as a birthday reminder app would be doing injustice to it. IFTTT comes with recipes for every service out there like social media sites, SaaS products, smart home appliances, Google Calendar, and so on. There is also a time and reminder recipe that you can use to set reminders for important events and dates.

IFTTT is completely free to use with no ads and works on all mobile platforms. There is also a web interface that you can use to browse recipes, however, it will not notify you in the browser.

Download IFTTT: Android | iOS

7. Greeting Cards & Wishes

123Greetings specializes in creating and sending greeting cards to your loved ones on their birthdays. The app will not only help you remember birthdays but also send cards that you have pre-selected automatically. Just in case you forget the big day yourself.

You can choose a card from a catalog of more than 40 thousand collections for every occasion. You can send romantic, funny, or floral greeting cards. Most cards are free to use but you can choose from a collection of premium cards too.

Download Greeting Cards & Wishes: Android | iOS

8. Birday (Open Source)

If you're someone who strictly chooses an open-source app over others, Birday is the perfect fit for you. Not only is it open-source, but it is also full of features. The app uses your contacts to sync birthdays and shows you days in a clean timeline. You can tap on a person's name to view the zodiac sign, next age, and more.

You can use the quick share feature to remind others of birthday events. The app is open-source and doesn't bother you with ads.

Download Birday: Android

Birthdays are meant to be fun and a time to reconnect with everyone. While there are some birthday reminder apps that will just remind you to wish the person, there are other apps that will do a lot more like sending greetings, help plan the event, share it on social media, and so on. No matter which app you choose, you will never forget to wish on a birthday again.