Best Birthday Reminder Apps 2026: 8 Compared Honestly
By the Gift DeskChecked
A birthday reminder that arrives on the day is good for a text message. For a gift, it’s too late. The useful reminder comes a week or two before, early enough to order something, and ideally with a clue about what to get.
The short answer
If you want a reminder that comes with gift ideas for that person, our pick is Giftruly: email reminders two weeks and three days before, each with 3 ideas from Truly based on the person’s interests and what you gave before, free and shared with your partner if you like. For phone notifications, a watch and e-cards on an iPhone, hip. For an open-source, ad-free app on Android, Birday. If you’d rather get a text than install anything, birthdays.app.
- Our pick: reminders with gift ideasGiftruly
Email reminders with 3 ideas for that person, a gift history, and a household you share with your partner. Free; needs a Your Giftruly account.
- Notifications, widgets and e-cardship
The most-rated app built only for reminders, with Apple Watch support and 100+ e-cards. Ads, or a paid plan.
- Free and open source on AndroidBirday
Imports birthdays from contacts or calendar, ad-free, in 30+ languages, with backups you control.
- No app at allbirthdays.app
Sign up and add friends by text message. It can sync with Google Calendar and import Facebook birthdays.
Facebook used to do this job for a lot of people, but fewer people use it now, and its birthday calendar export went away years ago. So we looked at 8 apps that remind you of birthdays, Giftruly’s own included: classic reminder apps, a card shop, a text-message service, a personal contacts app and Amazon’s new shopping assistant.
For each one we asked: how and when does it remind you, does it help with the gift, can you share it with a partner, and what happens to your dates if you change phones?
How we checked
On October 19, 2026 we read each app’s own website, its App Store or F-Droid listing and its help pages, plus the sources we name in the text (Moonpig’s FY26 results, Amazon’s announcement of Alexa for Shopping, and Dex’s review of Monica). Ratings come from those pages on that day.
We did not create accounts in these apps or try the paid tiers, and we didn’t wait for a reminder to arrive, so this isn’t a hands-on test. App Store reviews tell us about missed reminders and lost data, and we quote them where we use them. Where we couldn’t find something, the table says "Not stated".
- 1Timing. How does it remind you, and is it early enough to order a gift?
- 2The gift. Does it help you decide what to get, and remember what you gave last time?
- 3Sharing. Can a partner see the same birthdays?
- 4Safety. Is there an account or a backup, so a new phone doesn’t wipe your dates?
Birthday reminder apps compared: timing, gifts, sharing
Ratings are from the App Store on October 19, 2026 (US unless marked). "Not stated" means we couldn’t find it on the app’s own pages or in our sources.
| The 8 reminder apps, reviewed | How it reminds you | Gift ideas | Gift history | Share with a partner | Account | Where it works | Cost | Ratings (Oct 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giftruly | Email, 14 and 3 days before by default | 3 ideas per reminder(Yes) | Yes | a shared household; private gifts stay private(Yes) | Apple, Google, email code or passkey(Yes) | Any browser (not in the app yet) | Free | Too new to compare |
| hip | Phone notifications; you pick day, time and frequency | US only(Partly) | No | share your list with family(Partly) | Not stated; syncs with iCloud | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, Vision Pro | Free with ads; hip PLUS from $1.99 | 4.7★ from about 18K |
| Moonpig | In the app, with a countdown and a widget | Moonpig’s own cards and gifts(Partly) | Not stated | Not stated | implied by the app(Yes) | UK website and app | Not stated; it sells cards and gifts | 4.8★ from 749K (UK) |
| GiftWrapp | 2 and 4 weeks before | matches ideas you saved(Partly) | logs gifts given(Yes) | Not stated | Not stated | iPhone | Not stated | Not stated |
| Birday | Phone notifications | No | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Android (F-Droid, IzzyOnDroid) | Free, no ads, open source | Not stated |
| birthdays.app | Text message | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Sign up by texting START | SMS, no app | Not stated | Not stated |
| Monica | 30 days, 7 days and on the day by default | No | a gifts field per person(Partly) | Not stated | Monica Cloud, or host it yourself(Yes) | Web; no mobile app, per a rival’s review | Free to self-host; cloud about $9 a month | Not stated |
| Amazon Alexa for Shopping | Scheduled gift ideas before birthdays | from Amazon(Yes) | remembers family members(Partly) | Not stated | Amazon account | Alexa and Amazon, US only | Not stated | Not rated separately |
The 8 reminder apps, reviewed
Ranked by what makes a reminder useful for a gift: it arrives early enough to order something, helps you choose, and your dates don’t vanish when you change phones. Ads and paywalls on the basics count against an app.
- 1Our pick: reminders with gift ideas
Giftruly
Giftruly’s reminders are part of Your Giftruly, the new account area we’re launching now. You add the people you buy for, their birthdays and other occasions, and what they’re into. By default you get an email 14 days and 3 days before each date. Every reminder comes with 3 gift ideas from Truly, Giftruly’s AI, chosen for that person from their interests and the gifts you’ve given them before.
Each person keeps a gift history, so next year you know what you gave this year. There’s a Christmas plan with a budget per person, and you can share a household with your partner while gifts you mark private stay private. It’s free, with no ads. Giftruly earns a commission on some shop links.
Now the limits, plainly. Reminders are email only: no phone notifications, no web push and no text messages. You can’t import birthdays from your contacts yet, so you type them in. It works in a browser; the Giftruly app doesn’t have reminders yet. And it needs an account, which you open with Apple, Google, a code sent by email or a passkey. There are no passwords.
Visit Giftruly →What we liked
- 3 gift ideas in every reminder, for that person
- Reminders two weeks and three days ahead, in time to order
- A gift history per person and a Christmas plan with budgets
- Share a household with your partner and keep private gifts private
- Free, no ads, no passwords
What gets in the way
- Email only: no phone notifications, web push or texts
- No import from contacts or calendar
- Needs a Your Giftruly account
- Browser only for now; not in the Giftruly app yet
- Brand new, with no track record, and we earn a commission on some shop links
- 2Notifications, widgets and e-cards
hip
hip has the most ratings of the apps built only for reminders: 4.7★ from about 18K on the US App Store (October 2026). Moonpig rates higher, but it’s a card shop first. It reminds you of birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, graduations and your own custom days, at the day, time and frequency you choose. It has home-screen widgets, an Apple Watch app, 100+ e-cards and scheduled greetings, and it syncs with your contacts and calendar. You can share your list with family, and it comes in 23+ languages. It also has a thoughtful touch: silent reminders for people who have died.
Gift ideas are US only, and the app doesn’t keep a gift history or budget. It shows ads; hip PLUS removes them and adds unlimited reminders, with in-app purchases from $1.99 up to $44.99. Reviewers love it ("I no longer miss birthdays"), but some complain about ads, upgrade nags after paying, contact import that "only captured about a third", and reminders that "work about half the time".
Visit hip ↗What we liked
- Widgets, Apple Watch and 100+ e-cards
- Reminders on the day, time and frequency you choose
- Shares a list with family, 23+ languages
What gets in the way
- Ads unless you pay, and some say upgrade nags continue after paying
- Gift ideas only in the US, no gift history
- Some reviewers report missed reminders and partial contact imports
- 3Card shop reminders (UK)
Moonpig
Moonpig, the UK card and gift shop, runs one of the biggest reminder services anywhere. In its results for the year to April 2026 it reported 113m occasion reminders, and around 40% of orders placed within seven days of a reminder. The app has 4.8★ from 749K ratings on the UK App Store (October 2026). It can import dates from your phone calendar, shows a countdown and a reminder widget, and prompts you to save a recipient’s birthday at checkout.
The reminders are there to sell Moonpig cards and gifts, which is fine if that’s what you’d buy anyway. The app appears to need an account.
Visit Moonpig ↗What we liked
- Very well rated, huge user base
- Calendar import, countdown and widget
- Order a card in the same place
What gets in the way
- Reminders lead to Moonpig’s own cards and gifts
- Appears to need an account
- Built for the UK
- 4Reminders tied to saved ideas
GiftWrapp
GiftWrapp is a small iPhone app that does something most reminder apps don’t: it ties the gift ideas you’ve saved to each person’s birthday, reminds you 2 and 4 weeks ahead, and logs the gifts you’ve given so you don’t repeat yourself.
We found little else about it: its price, account rules and rating weren’t in our sources.
Visit GiftWrapp ↗What we liked
- Reminders 2 and 4 weeks ahead
- Saved ideas matched to birthdays
- A log of gifts given
What gets in the way
- iPhone only
- Ideas are only the ones you saved yourself
- Little public information about price or accounts
- 5Free and open source on Android
Birday
Birday is a free, ad-free, open-source birthday app for Android, available on F-Droid and IzzyOnDroid in 30+ languages. It imports birthdays from your contacts or calendar, spots duplicates, and backs up to its own format, CSV or JSON, so your dates aren’t locked in.
Its developer is honest about one problem: battery savers on Xiaomi, Huawei and OnePlus phones can stop reminders from firing. It doesn’t help with gifts.
Visit Birday ↗What we liked
- Free, no ads, open source
- Imports from contacts or calendar, with duplicate detection
- Backups in formats you can open elsewhere
What gets in the way
- Android only; we found it on F-Droid and IzzyOnDroid
- Battery savers on some phones can block reminders
- No gift ideas or history
- 6No app at all
birthdays.app
birthdays.app works entirely by text message. You sign up by texting START and add friends the same way ("Joe Aug 8"). It can sync with Google Calendar and import Facebook birthdays. The pitch is that there’s no app to check.
We couldn’t find what it costs or whether it suggests gifts. It’s a good fit for someone who ignores app notifications but always reads texts.
Visit birthdays.app ↗What we liked
- Nothing to install
- Add birthdays by text
- Google Calendar sync and Facebook birthday import
What gets in the way
- Price not stated in our sources
- No gift help that we could find
- Everything happens in your messages
- 7A personal CRM
Monica
Monica is a "personal CRM": an app for keeping notes on the people in your life. Each contact holds important dates, family relationships, gifts and a journal, and reminders come 30 days, 7 days and on the day by default. It’s open source and free if you host it yourself; Monica Cloud costs about $9 a month.
A 2026 review written by Dex, a rival app, says Monica has no email or calendar sync and no mobile app, so everything is typed in by hand. Gifts are a free-text field, not ideas.
Visit Monica ↗What we liked
- Reminders a month and a week ahead
- Notes, relationships and gifts per person
- Free if you host it yourself
What gets in the way
- No mobile app, according to a rival’s review
- Everything typed in by hand
- Paid if you don’t host it yourself
- 8Amazon’s assistant (US only)
Amazon Alexa for Shopping
Amazon launched Alexa for Shopping in the US in May 2026. It remembers family members and can send gift ideas before their birthdays, then buy for you. It’s the closest big-company product to a reminder that comes with ideas.
It only works in the US, needs an Amazon account, and its ideas come from Amazon. Its answers can include sponsored suggestions.
Visit Amazon Alexa for Shopping ↗What we liked
- Gift ideas before birthdays
- Remembers your family members
- Buy straight from the suggestion
What gets in the way
- US only
- Amazon products only, with sponsored suggestions
- Needs an Amazon account
When should a birthday reminder arrive?
For a gift you’re ordering online, a reminder on the day is too late, and one the day before is a gamble. Two to three weeks gives you time to choose and for it to arrive. GiftWrapp reminds you 2 and 4 weeks ahead, Monica 30 and 7 days ahead, and Giftruly 14 and 3 days ahead by default. hip lets you pick.
Moonpig’s own numbers show how much timing matters: around 40% of its orders are placed within seven days of one of its reminders.
Don’t lose your birthdays
Many reminder apps keep your dates only on your phone, and backups are often a paid extra. That’s how people lose years of birthdays. On the App Store, Birthday Boss users lost data with the iOS 26 update, and the app switched off iCloud sync while it fixed things; an older review says "all data was deleted after the iOS 15 update". Some hip reviewers report lost birthdays too.
Pick an app with a backup you control (Birday exports CSV and JSON) or an account that keeps them online (Giftruly, Monica Cloud). Whatever you use, export your list once a year.
What happened to Facebook birthday reminders?
Facebook removed its birthday calendar export around 2019, so you can’t move those dates to another app. And fewer young people are on it: Pew found 31% of US teens used Facebook in 2025, down from 71% in 2014–15. Instagram shows birthday Notes in messages, but only on the day, which is no help for a gift.
If you relied on Facebook, the easiest fix is to add the people you buy for to a reminder app once, with a note on what they’re into.
Questions people ask
What is the best birthday reminder app?
If you want gift ideas with your reminders, our pick is Giftruly: email reminders two weeks and three days before, each with 3 ideas for that person, free. For phone notifications, widgets and e-cards on an iPhone, hip is the best rated. On Android, Birday is free and open source.
Is there a free birthday reminder app with no ads?
Yes. Birday on Android is free, ad-free and open source, and Giftruly’s reminders are free with no ads. hip and many other iPhone apps are free but show ads unless you pay.
Which birthday reminder app suggests gifts?
Giftruly sends 3 ideas with every reminder, chosen from the person’s interests and what you gave before. GiftWrapp matches ideas you saved yourself, hip offers gift ideas in the US only, Moonpig suggests its own cards and gifts, and Amazon’s Alexa for Shopping sends ideas in the US.
Can I get birthday reminders by text message?
Yes, with birthdays.app, which works entirely by text. Giftruly’s reminders come by email only, and hip, Moonpig and Birday use phone notifications.
Can my partner and I share birthday reminders?
Yes, on some. Giftruly lets you share a household with your partner and keeps private gifts private, and hip lets you share your list with family. Many simple reminder apps keep everything on one phone.
How do I get my Facebook birthdays into another app?
Mostly you can’t anymore, because Facebook removed its birthday calendar export around 2019. birthdays.app says it can import Facebook birthdays; otherwise, add the people who matter to you by hand once.
Never miss a birthday, or the gift
Add the people you buy for and get an email two weeks before, with 3 ideas that fit them. Free, no passwords.
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