# Birthday Countdown vs em | echo

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: em | echo at none against Birthday Countdown's 6. em | echo also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). Birthday Countdown's advantage is update cadence (every 6 days vs every 2 months). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Birthday Countdown sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. em | echo asks for nothing beyond the download.

Birthday Countdown ships an update every 6 days, em | echo every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 14, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Birthday Countdown | em | echo |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (702 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/birthday-countdown-candlesup/id6744033985/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **702** | — |
| Positive reviews | 91.1% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 6 days** | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 77 MB | 53 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Anton Pustovidko](https://appshunter.io/developer/1805645170) | [Vamsi Rajulapudi](https://appshunter.io/developer/1779883104) |

## What reviewers say

### Birthday Countdown

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/birthday-countdown-candlesup/id6744033985)

Never miss a special occasion with this birthday reminder and countdown app. Easily import contacts, track upcoming events, and receive personalized alerts. It offers gift suggestions and instant ways to send greetings, all within a privacy-focused design.

**Highlights:** Effortless birthday tracking, Countdown timer to events, Import birthdays from contacts, Personalized birthday profiles, Gift suggestions, Instant birthday wishes, iCloud sync

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Weekly | $4.99 | per 7 days |
| Weekly | $4.99 | per 7 days |
| Unlimited Yearly | $9.99 | per year |
| Unlimited Access | $29.99 | per year |
| Unlimited Access | $29.99 | one-time |
| Unlimited Access | $59.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Helpful for remembering birthdays
- 👍 Imports contacts easily
- 👍 Satisfying countdown view
- 👍 Useful widget
- 👍 Lightweight app

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Constant push for premium
- 💰 Premium required for basic functions
- 💰 Payment for yearly use is excessive
- 💰 Too many premium features
- 💰 Annoying in-app purchases

**Reported bugs**

- Bug preventing interaction without premium purchase
- Cannot exit premium page
- Friend's zodiac sign is incorrect
- Bug preventing birthday change initially

**Requested features**

- Allow adding children with gift wish lists
- Save gift ideas per person
- AI text generation for birthday messages
- Ability to set more than five notifications per birthday
- See zodiac sign without premium


### em | echo

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/em-echo/id6757732478)

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Birthday Countdown free?

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

### Is em | echo free?

em | echo is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Birthday Countdown or em | echo have ads?

Neither Birthday Countdown nor em | echo shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Birthday Countdown or em | echo?

Birthday Countdown ships an update every 6 days, and em | echo every 2 months. Most recently, Birthday Countdown was updated on November 14, 2026 and em | echo on November 5, 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.*