Simply Birthdays Countdown vs Bears Countdown
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Simply Birthdays Countdown
Discover fun facts about your birthday, including your star sign, birthstone, and Chinese zodiac. Track upcoming celebrations with a countdown and manage contact birthdays easily. Offers a free version with limited birthdays and an option to upgrade for unlimited access.
- Birthday countdowns
- Astrology and zodiac facts
- Birthstone information
- Contact birthday management
- Customizable themes
- Direct messaging
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Discover the Fun Side of Birthdays with Simply Birthdays! Ever wondered what day of the week you were born on? Curious about your birthstone, star sign, or Chinese zodiac animal? Simply Birthdays brings all this to life while offering a beautiful countdown to upcoming birthdays! But this app is more than just tracking dates. Get unique and fun insights into yourself, your friends, and family with features like: Detailed astrology descriptions by star sign Your Chinese zodiac animal with a playful character and description Birthstone descriptions with images Day and date of birth for all contacts Customize with multiple themes Optional wobbly animated birthday list for extra fun Full contacts editor to manage birthdays and details easily Total count of contacts and those with birthdays Quick direct messaging from within the app Search your contacts and birthdays with ease Free vs Full Version: The free version lets you explore the app with a limited number of birthdays, giving you a full taste of Simply Birthdays. Upgrade to unlock unlimited birthdays for all your contacts with a one-time purchase or a subscription (with the first month free). Your Privacy is Our Priority: Simply Birthdays keeps your data safe. We do NOT collect, share, or store any personal information. All your contacts stay on your device—nothing is uploaded to social media or external servers. It's your data, beautifully presented! Privacy Policy: https://www.simplybirthdays.app/privacy-policy Terms Of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Bears Countdown
Beautifully designed countdowns for important events like birthdays, anniversaries, and vacations. Features hand-drawn art, home screen widgets, and the ability to add notes and set intentions for future plans.
- Hand-drawn bear artworks
- Home screen widgets (iOS 14)
- Event notes for details
- Past event history
- Set intentions for future plans
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Bears Countdown is the most beautiful way to countdown to birthdays, anniversaries, vacations and even work deadlines! On iPhone, iPad and Mac. ...HAND-DRAWN ARTWORKS... Lots of beautifully drawn bear artworks with a gorgeous pastel color palette to bring every event to life. ...WIDGETS (iOS 14)... Countdown from your home screen without even having to open the app! All three widget sizes included. ...NOTES... Write notes for each event, like ideas for birthday gifts/anniversaries, things to remember for upcoming trips, and important points for work deadlines. ...HISTORY... Look back on past events and the notes you wrote for them. ...SET INTENTIONS... Set intentions for plans that you don’t have a date for yet, like promising yourself to catch up with a friend you haven't seen in a while, or starting a new workout routine.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Simply Birthdays Countdown at Free against Bears Countdown's $3.99. Bears Countdown's advantage is review sentiment (89% vs 60%) and ratings volume (2.6K vs 4). On rating, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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
Simply Birthdays Countdown is free to download; Bears Countdown costs $3.99 up front. Simply Birthdays Countdown sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Bears Countdown sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Simply Birthdays Countdown against 4.9 for Bears Countdown. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bears Countdown has 2.6K ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 60% of Simply Birthdays Countdown's written reviews are positive against 89% of Bears Countdown's.
Simply Birthdays Countdown ships an update every 2 months, Bears Countdown monthly. The most recent releases landed on August 29, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Simply Birthdays Countdown | Bears Countdown |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $3.99 |
| Rating | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better | 4.9 (2.6K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 60.0% of reviews | 89.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 4 | 2.6K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | — | #93 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 8 MB | 278 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | George Cook | Isuru Wanasinghe |
Customer experience
Simply Birthdays Countdown
Bears Countdown
Bugs and requests
Simply Birthdays Countdown
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Bears Countdown
Reported bugs
3 issues- Dates randomly shifting back by a day
- Widget not working properly on macOS Ventura
- Inability to scroll through months and dates on desktop
Requested features
5 requests- Add ability to set reminders for specific times
- Implement recurring event options (e.g., every 2 weeks)
- Allow syncing between devices
- Introduce a search function for illustrations
- Add support for Apple Watch
In-app purchases
Simply Birthdays Countdown
- Monthly3 Days trial$0.991 Month
- Yearly3 Days trial$7.991 Year
- Lifetime$14.99
Bears Countdown
- Dragons$0.99
- Christmas Apple$0.99
- Snowman$0.99
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- Vegan Milk$0.99
- Red Envelopes$0.99
- Exam$0.99
- Princess$0.99
- Meditation$0.99
- Deliveries$0.99
- Bears Unlimited$2.99
Questions
Is Simply Birthdays Countdown free?
Is Bears Countdown free?
Which has better reviews, Simply Birthdays Countdown or Bears Countdown?
Do Simply Birthdays Countdown or Bears Countdown have ads?
Which is updated more often, Simply Birthdays Countdown or Bears Countdown?
Other comparisons
