# Birthday Reminder & Countdown vs Phantom Countdown

The clearest difference is ads: Phantom Countdown at none against Birthday Reminder & Countdown's shown. Phantom Countdown also leads on review sentiment (83% vs 53%). Birthday Reminder & Countdown's advantage is ratings volume (10K vs 276) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). On price, rating, update cadence and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Birthday Reminder & Countdown sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Phantom Countdown sells 5 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 — 4.7 for Birthday Reminder & Countdown against 4.6 for Phantom Countdown. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Birthday Reminder & Countdown has 10K ratings behind it against 276, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 53% of Birthday Reminder & Countdown's written reviews are positive against 83% of Phantom Countdown's.

Birthday Reminder & Countdown ships an update every 6 weeks, Phantom Countdown every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Birthday Reminder & Countdown | Phantom Countdown |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (10K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/birthday-reminder-and-countdown/id1453656360/reviews)** | [4.6 (276 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/phantom-countdown/id1549294840/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **10K** | 276 |
| Positive reviews | 53.4% of reviews | **82.8% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Every 6 weeks** | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 38 MB | 55 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.6** | 17.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [New Marketing Lab, Inc](https://appshunter.io/developer/1080727702) | [Matthew Sinex](https://appshunter.io/developer/1549294842) |

## What reviewers say

### Birthday Reminder & Countdown

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/birthday-reminder-and-countdown/id1453656360)

Never forget a special occasion again. This app helps you track and count down to upcoming birthdays, importing them from your contacts or allowing manual entry. Customize notifications and view contact details at a glance.

**Highlights:** Import birthdays from contacts, Countdown to upcoming birthdays, View contact name, photo, and age, Customizable notification times, Multiple home screen widgets, Sync birthdays across devices, Export birthdays to CSV/PDF

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Birthday Reminder Pro (monthly) | $4.99 | per month |
| Pro Version (annual) | $9.99 | per year |
| Pro Version (lifetime) | $14.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Easy to use
- 👍 Helpful for remembering birthdays
- 🚀 Seamless sync with contacts
- 👍 Customizable reminder settings
- 💡 Includes age information

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Inconsistent notification issues
- 💸 Excessive ads in free version
- 🐛 Incorrect date/age calculations
- 🐛 Syncing and data loss problems
- 🔍 Lack of advanced features (e.g., anniversaries)

**Reported bugs**

- Birthdays disappearing after device change
- Reminders not working as expected
- Incorrect age/date information
- Widgets not displaying data properly

**Requested features**

- Add anniversary/custom event tracking
- Improve widget functionality
- Allow bulk removal of unwanted entries
- Provide more customization options
- Improve notification reliability


### Phantom Countdown

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/phantom-countdown/id1549294840)

This free utility app helps fans of a popular JRPG series track upcoming events. Create and customize multiple countdowns, display them on your home screen with widgets, and choose from built-in or custom themes. Countdowns update daily, offering flexible tracking by date, number of days, or unknown dates.

**Highlights:** Multiple countdown creation, Home screen widgets, Customizable themes, Automatic daily updates, Flexible date tracking

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Level 1 Tip | $0.99 | one-time |
| Level 5 Tip | $2.99 | one-time |
| Level 25 Tip | $9.99 | one-time |
| Level 50 Tip | $24.99 | one-time |
| Level 99 Tip | $49.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Persona-themed countdown
- 👍 Customizable themes and colors
- 🎨 Stylish and visually appealing
- 📆 Helpful for tracking deadlines and events
- 🎮 Captures the Persona aesthetic

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Bugs with widget functionality
- 🔧 Issues with changing themes and colors
- 🔒 Lack of transparency in background
- 📊 Limited customization options

**Reported bugs**

- Countdowns disappearing or not saving
- Widgets not displaying properly
- App freezing when changing notification settings
- Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions

**Requested features**

- Add countdown to lock screen
- Integrate with calendar app
- Ability to set custom countdown sounds
- Automatic countdown rotation
- More detailed Persona-themed design


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Birthday Reminder & Countdown free?

Birthday Reminder & Countdown is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Phantom Countdown free?

Phantom Countdown is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Birthday Reminder & Countdown or Phantom Countdown?

Birthday Reminder & Countdown is rated higher. Birthday Reminder & Countdown averages 4.7 out of 5 from 10K ratings, while Phantom Countdown averages 4.6 from 276 ratings.

### Do Birthday Reminder & Countdown or Phantom Countdown have ads?

Birthday Reminder & Countdown shows ads; Phantom Countdown does not.

### Which is updated more often, Birthday Reminder & Countdown or Phantom Countdown?

Birthday Reminder & Countdown ships an update every 6 weeks, and Phantom Countdown every 2 months. Most recently, Birthday Reminder & Countdown was updated on September 29, 2026 and Phantom Countdown on September 18, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*