Comparison

Special Dates vs Dun

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

Head to head
About

Special Dates

Easily save and track important dates with a minimalist countdown widget. This app helps you remember upcoming events like birthdays or bills, syncing them across your devices.

Highlights
  • Save important dates
  • Track days remaining
  • Periodic event saving
  • Birthday reminders
  • Bill tracking
  • iOS 14 widget support
  • Cross-device syncing
Features
Read full description

Save your important dates and track the days that have left. Simplest app to save dates and see a countdown of each one. Allows to save periodically events like birthday or bills. Supports all the widget sizes that have iOS 26 and the dates will be synced between your devices

About

Dun

This AI-powered keyboard transforms your spoken words into polished text across various apps. It offers on-device transcription for enhanced privacy and supports multiple writing styles and real-time translation.

Highlights
  • On-device speech recognition
  • Real-time text translation
  • Customizable writing styles
  • Full keyboard layout with dictation
  • Pause and resume dictation
  • Dynamic Island Live Activity
Features
Read full description

Speak naturally. dun writes clearly. dun is the AI voice keyboard that turns what you say into polished, ready-to-send text in Mail, Messages, Slack, WhatsApp, Notes, and every other app. Talk at the speed of thought. dun keeps up. Dun Pro required. An active Dun Pro subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase is required to use voice dictation, the dun keyboard, writing styles, and translation. Weekly, monthly, and yearly subscription plans are available; prices are shown before purchase. Unlike cloud-only dictation apps, dun runs speech recognition on your iPhone. Your voice stays on your device. The mic is on only while you dictate. No screen scraping for “context.” No training on your speech. Why people choose dun - A real keyboard that also dictates - full layout with status and waveform in the header, so you can fix a word, add an emoji, and keep flowing - Pause mid-thought without ending the session - Writing styles you control: Exact, light cleanup, or stronger polish (Kind, Professional, Short). dun never “improves” meaning without your say - Speak in one language, paste in another. Duns automatically translates your direct voice in that textfield. - On-device privacy by design! All audio is transcribed on this iPhone; the mic is active only while you dictate - Dynamic Island Live Activity while you dictate - No account or login is required. Dun Pro — active subscription or one-time lifetime purchase — is required for dictation and premium features. Great for - Long emails while walking - Slack and WhatsApp replies that sound like you - Capturing ideas before they disappear - Bilingual writing without a separate translate app How it works 1. Add the dun keyboard and allow Full Access (so the keyboard can coordinate with the app and insert text) 2. Allow the microphone 3. Download an on-device speech model once 4. Switch to dun, tap the mic, speak. Pause if you need, stop to insert Privacy in one line Audio is transcribed on this iPhone. Optional style polish and translation use Apple on-device Foundation Models when available. We don’t run cloud STT on your voice. Requirements iPhone with iOS 26 or later. Apple Intelligence features (styles / translation) need a compatible device. Additional information - Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ - Privacy policy: https://meetdun.com/privacy

Screenshots

Special Dates3 screens
Dun4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Dun at 4.5 against Special Dates's 4.0. Dun also leads on update cadence (daily vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (87 vs 5). Special Dates's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and review sentiment (61% vs 42%). On price, ads, in-app purchases and iOS requirement 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. Special Dates sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Dun sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $2.49 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Dun holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Dun has 87 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 61% of Special Dates's written reviews are positive against 42% of Dun's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Special Dates ships an update every 3 months, Dun daily. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Special Dates versus Dun: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSpecial DatesDun
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (5 ratings)4.5 (87 ratings) — better
Positive reviews61.0% of reviews — better41.7% of reviews
Number of ratings587 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone
Requires iOS26.026.0
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB289 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperErnesto Fernández CallesManuel Fessen

Customer experience

Special Dates

All ratings5 ratings
Positive60.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews41 reviews
Positive61.0%
Neutral17.1%
Negative22.0%

Dun

All ratings87 ratings
Positive85.1%
Neutral6.9%
Negative8.0%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive41.7%
Neutral16.7%
Negative41.7%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Special Dates

One-time3
  • Coffee$0.99
  • Cake$2.99
  • Party$4.99
7 purchases

Dun

Subscriptions6
  • Pro Weekly7 Days trial$2.497 Days
  • Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Dun Pro Weekly7 Days trial$4.997 Days
Show 3 more
  • Dun Pro Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Pro Yearly7 Days trial$29.991 Year
  • Dun Pro Yearly7 Days trial$59.991 Year
One-time1
  • Pro Lifetime$49.99

Questions

Is Special Dates free?
Special Dates is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Dun free?
Dun is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Special Dates or Dun?
Dun is rated higher. Special Dates averages 4.0 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while Dun averages 4.5 from 87 ratings.
Do Special Dates or Dun have ads?
Neither Special Dates nor Dun shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Special Dates or Dun?
Special Dates ships an update every 3 months, and Dun daily. Most recently, Special Dates was updated on November 3, 2026 and Dun on November 6, 2026.

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