Comparison

Cake vs Tickly

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

Head to head
About

Cake

Never forget a birthday again with smart reminders and elegant widgets. This app syncs with your contacts to provide glanceable countdowns and quick actions for calling or texting. Celebrate more meaningfully with fun facts and astrology insights.

Highlights
  • Smart birthday reminders
  • Lock & Home Screen widgets
  • Contact sync
  • Quick actions (call, text)
  • Gift idea tracking
  • Astrology and fun facts
Features
Read full description

Never forget a birthday again. Cake syncs with your contacts, shows beautiful countdown widgets on your Lock Screen, and reminds you before it's too late — not the morning of. WHY CAKE? • Privacy-first: no account, no tracking, on-device processing • Actually free — no subscriptions, no paywalls • Widgets that belong on your Lock Screen and Home Screen • Works instantly — import contacts in one tap SMART REMINDERS, YOUR WAY Set alerts for 3 days before, 1 week out, and/or day-of. Add birthdays for anyone — friends, family, coworkers, pets. Tag people by group and clean up stale contacts automatically. MORE THAN REMINDERS • See how rare each birthday is (based on real birth statistics) • "On This Day" history and fun facts • Tap to call, text, or get gift ideas — right from your widget • Astrology and personality insights for the curious BUILT FOR iOS Download Cake — and stop panic-buying gift cards at 11pm.

About

Tickly

Features
Read full description

Never lose sight of the dates that matter. Tickly is a simple, beautiful countdown for birthdays, anniversaries, trips, holidays, and every milestone worth looking forward to. Create events in seconds, personalize them with colors and emoji, then see exactly how much time remains — right from your Home Screen or Lock Screen. FEATURES • Create unlimited countdowns for the moments that matter • See time remaining in years, months, weeks, days, hours, and minutes • Stay on track with reminders 15 minutes, 1 day, or 1 week before an event • Repeat countdowns weekly, monthly, or yearly for recurring dates • Make every event yours with an emoji and a colorful card • Add Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets for a quick glance at your next event • Choose from five widget styles and customize the time units you want to see Perfect for birthdays, anniversaries, vacations, weddings, holidays, exams, deadlines, new beginnings, and more. TICKLY PREMIUM Unlock customizable widgets with a one-time purchase and keep them forever — no subscription. Terms of Use: https://tickly.mystory.club/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://tickly.mystory.club/privacy/

Screenshots

Cake4 screens
Tickly4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Cake at every 2 weeks against Tickly's every 2 months. 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. Cake sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Tickly sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cake ships an update every 2 weeks, Tickly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Cake versus Tickly: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCakeTickly
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (22 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings22 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size64 MB22 MB
Age rating4++4
DeveloperAlec FradkinTien Nguyen

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Cake

One-time10
  • Tip - Small Coffee$1.99
  • Custom Color Schemes$1.99
  • Unlock Custom App Icons$1.99
Show 7 more
  • Card Designer Remove Watermarks$2.99
  • Cake Topper Bundle$2.99
  • Cake: The Full Slice$3.99
  • BYSN.Burfday.tip.medium$3.99
  • Tip - Slice of Cake$6.99
  • Tip - Whole Cake$12.99
  • Tip - Birthday Party$24.99
1 purchases

Tickly

One-time1
  • Premium Lifetime$4.99

Questions

Is Cake free?
Cake is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Tickly free?
Tickly is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Cake or Tickly have ads?
Neither Cake nor Tickly shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Cake or Tickly?
Cake ships an update every 2 weeks, and Tickly every 2 months. Most recently, Cake was updated on November 4, 2026 and Tickly on November 5, 2026.

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