Comparison

Bright Notes vs Days Counter

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Bright Notes

Send kind messages to your future self and receive them later. This app helps you stay motivated and practice self-compassion with scheduled notifications and thoughtful prompts. Surprise yourself with positivity and support from your past self.

Highlights
  • Send messages to your future self
  • Receive automatic motivational messages
  • Customizable notification frequency and timing
  • Themed message packs available for purchase
  • Inspiration button for writing prompts
  • View notification history
  • Allow friends to add messages for you
Features
Read full description

Write nice things to Future You and receive them in the future. Surprise yourself with kindness! BACKSTORY "Where did this idea come from?!" you ask. Well, I originally made this app for myself. I was using iOS Reminders to send my future self inspiring messages, but manually entering the dates was annoying. I just wanted to say nice stuff and my phone take care of planning/sending the notifications. So I made this app! This app has been transformational in keeping me buoyant. Like, I'll get a notification from Past Me telling me to drop my shoulders and realize "Oh. Yeah. I'm stressing out over nothing." Boom. Who was angsty five seconds ago but not right now? This guy. Bright Notes has been so useful for me that I made it into a full app to share with you. I hope it brightens your life! FEATURES * Say something nice to Future You; receive it in the future! (Duh) * No ads :) * Automatic messages from me to you! Just to ensure you're always getting some lovin'. (Prepare to be ambushed with strange, atypical motivational messages!) * Themed packs of Note to buy! All made with care and love. Stress, Physical Wellness, Mindfulness, and Challenges! * Customize how often and when you get notifications * Blast-Me-Tomorrow: Need an extra kick of love mañana? Toggle this on. * “Ahhh I don’t know what to write!!” That’s okay! Deep breaths, beautiful. The app has a button for ideas to get your kindness pump gushing. Sploosh! * You can write ANYthing to yourself. Seriously. Anything. You can use this app to send yourself a daily insult. Whatever you want. The world is your oyster. * View your notification history * Hand your device to a friend to add stuff for you! (This is a lot of fun, and always surprising.) This app has made an ongoing difference in my life, and I hope it does for you too. *** This app requires local notifications to be turned on. ***

About

Days Counter

Features
Read full description

Days Counter turns the dates that matter into beautiful cards you'll actually want to look at. Count down to the day you can't wait for — a trip, a wedding, a birthday, an exam, retirement, a due date — or count up from a moment you never want to forget, like a sober streak or an anniversary. WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT • No ads. Ever. Just your countdowns • Count down AND count up, with real time-of-day precision • See it your way — days, weeks, months, years, or a full breakdown • Gorgeous themes: a curated gallery of gradients, your own photos, emoji & symbols • Home Screen & Lock Screen widgets that stay one glance away • Live Activities & Dynamic Island keep your top countdown ticking on the Lock Screen (Pro) • Ask Siri how many days are left — or jump straight to a countdown with a Shortcut • Share any countdown as a beautiful image, or as a link that opens right in the app • Reminders on the day, plus milestone alerts (100 days, 1 year, 1,000 days…) • Recurring birthdays & anniversaries roll forward automatically every year • A little confetti when the big day arrives — then it flips to counting up • Dark mode, iPhone & iPad, and iCloud sync across your devices FREE & PRO Days Counter is free — and completely ad-free — with up to 2 active countdowns. Days Counter Pro unlocks unlimited events, per-event photo backgrounds, every widget, Live Activities & Dynamic Island, iCloud sync, and milestone reminders. Start counting the days that count. Days Counter Pro is a Monthly or Annual auto-renewing subscription (the Annual plan includes a 7-day free trial). Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the current period ends; manage or cancel anytime in your Account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://mwsupplylimited.github.io/dayscounter/privacy.html

Screenshots

Bright Notes4 screens
Days Counter3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Days Counter at weekly against Bright Notes's every 94 months. Bright Notes's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Bright Notes sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and Days Counter sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bright Notes ships an update every 94 months, Days Counter weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Bright Notes versus Days Counter: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBright NotesDays Counter
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (51 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews72.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings51 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 94 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB2 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperBT ProductionsMatthew Wong

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Bright Notes

One-time4
  • The Stress Pack$1.99
  • Note Pack - Physical Wellness$1.99
  • The Mindfulness Pack$1.99
Show 1 more
  • The Challenges Pack$1.99
2 purchases

Days Counter

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Pro Annual7 Days trial$14.991 Year

Questions

Is Bright Notes free?
Bright Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Days Counter free?
Days Counter is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Bright Notes or Days Counter have ads?
Neither Bright Notes nor Days Counter shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Bright Notes or Days Counter?
Bright Notes ships an update every 94 months, and Days Counter weekly. Most recently, Bright Notes was updated on October 24, 2026 and Days Counter on October 25, 2026.

Other comparisons