WidgetCal vs DateSmith
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
WidgetCal
View your weekly or monthly schedule directly on your Lock Screen without unlocking your device. This app displays events and reminders with customizable layouts, offering quick access to your personal occasions. It also integrates with other powerful calendar applications.
- Lock screen widget support
- Weekly and monthly schedule views
- Event and reminder display
- Integration with AwesomeCalendar
- Customizable font and size
- ToDo carry over
- Lunar calendar support
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Full support iOS 14 widget! Do you still unlock your iPhone/iPad to check your schedule? Want to see weekly or monthly schedule in LockScreen? Here is the WidgetCal. This app shows weekly or monthly view for your events and reminders with a beautiful layout in Notification Center. Quick as a wink, you can access your personal occasions without hassle. Moreover, this widget seamlessly works with AwesomeCalendar, which is the most powerful calendar application in AppStore. It's for FREE. Just give it a try. +Display events and reminders in the Notification Center. +Week/Month view. +Navigate prev/next month. Tap 1st day of next month or last day of prev month. +Integrated with AwesomeCalendar. +Automatic and real-time update events and reminders. +Sunday/Monday start option. +Custom font and size. +ToDo carry over. +Visible calendars control. +Fade out past events. +Lunar calendar for Chinese and Korean. +Cute stickers on view. Some features listed above are available for a premium subscription. WidgetCal Premium is $3.99 USD per year (price may vary by location). The subscription will automatically renew at the end of each term and will be charged through your iTunes account within 24 hours of the end of the term. We offer 3 months free for WidgetCal Premium. Whenever you don’t want to pay or stop using Premium, you can manage your subscription in iTunes. Terms of use: http://wp.me/P1YDeW-rI Private policy: http://wp.me/P1YDeW-q3
DateSmith
Enhance your iPhone's lock screen with a beautifully formatted date display. This app specializes in the premium space above your clock, offering customizable formats and reliable midnight updates. Track important events with a countdown mode and enjoy a minimalist, privacy-focused design.
- Custom date widget for above lock screen clock
- Multiple widget formats
- Personalized date formats
- Countdown mode for events
- Automatic midnight updates
- Privacy-focused design
- Battery efficient
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Your date, above the clock. DateSmith puts a clearer, fuller date in the line above your Lock Screen clock, or a countdown to the day you are looking forward to. Now with bold Home Screen widgets you can make your own. YOUR FORMAT, YOUR WAY Pick any two of month, date, weekday and year, each in the style you like. See it live in a Lock Screen preview that changes with every tap. COUNTDOWNS Name it and pick the day. DateSmith shows the days left until a trip, a birthday or a big day. HOME SCREEN WIDGETS Small, medium and large widgets show your date or countdown in big, clear type, with a week strip on the medium size, a month calendar on the large size and a date page on medium countdowns. - Themes: Dawn, Ocean, Aurora, Graphite and System - Your own photo, framed for the square and wide widget shapes - A different photo for Dark Mode if you like - Liquid Glass style text with a soft highlight and depth, or crisp solid text UPDATES ON ITS OWN DateSmith prepares the week ahead, so your widgets change each day, even when the app is closed. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No accounts, no ads and no analytics. Your widgets need no internet connection. DateSmith never uploads your photo. SIMPLE SETUP 1. Touch and hold your Lock Screen 2. Tap Customize 3. Tap the date above the time 4. Choose DateSmith 5. Tap Done For the Home Screen, touch and hold an empty area of your Home Screen, tap Edit, tap Add Widget, then choose DateSmith. PLANS Try every format, countdown, theme, photo and text style free for 7 days. When the preview ends, your widgets show Preview Ended in place of your date or countdown until you subscribe. DateSmith Monthly or DateSmith Yearly keeps your widgets working. DateSmith Monthly includes a one-week free trial for eligible new subscribers. Payment is charged to your Apple Account. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://ben637482548.github.io/datesmith/#privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: DateSmith at 100% against WidgetCal's 47%. DateSmith also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.6) and ads (none vs shown). WidgetCal's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 9 months) and ratings volume (1.5K vs 2). On price, 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
Both are free to download. WidgetCal sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per year and DateSmith sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
DateSmith holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: WidgetCal has 1.5K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 47% of WidgetCal's written reviews are positive against 100% of DateSmith's.
WidgetCal ships an update every 2 weeks, DateSmith every 9 months. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | WidgetCal | DateSmith |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.6 (1.5K ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 47.4% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.5K — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 9 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 18.2 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 52 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | YunaSoft Inc. | Benjamin Staab |
Customer experience
WidgetCal
DateSmith
Bugs and requests
WidgetCal
Reported bugs
5 issues- Calendar events disappearing after updates
- Widget not showing correct month or events
- Inability to add or edit events in the app
- Syncing issues with Google Calendar
- Crashes and freezes after iOS updates
Requested features
5 requests- Allow more calendar customization options
- Improve widget functionality and appearance
- Provide an ad-free paid version
- Enhance syncing with other calendar apps
- Add a daily/weekly view in the widget
DateSmith
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
WidgetCal
- Premium Subscription3 Months trial$9.991 Year
- Religious holidays$0.99
- Week Numbers$0.99
- Moon Phases calendar$0.99
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- Holidays United States$0.99
- Calendars - Pro Football USA 2014-2015 edition$0.99
- Calendars - Pro Baseball USA 2015 edition$0.99
- Calendars - US Pro Basketball 2014-2015 edition$0.99
- Weather calendars$1.99
- Remove Advertisement$9.99
DateSmith
- DateSmith Monthly7 Days trial$0.991 Month
- DateSmith Yearly$4.991 Year









