Birthday Calendar Apps Compared: Find the Best Tracker for You

Your phone has a calendar. Your contacts have birthday fields. Facebook sends notifications. So why do you still forget birthdays? Because none of these tools were designed to be a birthday system. Let's compare the apps that are.

The Full Comparison

Feature	Google Cal	Apple Cal	BirthdayAlarm	hip (iOS)	Birthdays (iOS)	LavaWish
Auto-import contacts	Partial	Yes	Manual	Yes	Yes	Manual (coming)
Custom reminder timing	Yes	Yes	1–7 days	1–7 days	1 day	Up to 90 days
Push notifications	Yes	Yes	Email only	Yes	Yes	Yes (+ SMS on paid)
Card sending	No	No	Basic e-cards	No	No	Yes (photo + song + unwrap)
Gift card attachment	No	No	No	No	No	Coming soon
Works on Android	Yes	No	Web only	No	No	Yes (web-based)
Works on iPhone	Yes	Yes	Web only	Yes	Yes	Yes (web-based)
Free?	Yes	Yes	Freemium	Yes (ads)	Yes	Yes (core free)
Unique feature	Calendar integration	Siri integration	Oldest service	Clean design	Simple UI	Card creation + opening experience

Google Calendar & Apple Calendar

These aren't birthday apps — they're calendars that happen to show birthdays. Google Calendar can import birthday data from Google Contacts. Apple Calendar shows birthdays from your iCloud contacts. Both let you set custom reminders.

Best for: People who already live in their calendar app and only need basic date tracking. Not ideal if you want to act on the reminder (send a card, buy a gift) without leaving the app.

BirthdayAlarm

One of the original birthday reminder services (since 2002). Sends email reminders and has a basic e-card feature. The interface feels dated and there's no mobile app — it's web-only. E-cards are generic templates without photo personalization or music.

Best for: Users who prefer email-based reminders and don't need a modern mobile experience.

hip Birthday (iOS)

A well-designed iOS app that syncs with your contacts and sends clean push notifications. Simple, focused, and pleasant to use. But it's reminder-only — no card sending, no celebration features, and iOS exclusive.

Best for: iPhone users who want a simple, clean reminder and nothing more.

Birthdays (iOS)

Another iOS-only app with a minimalist approach. Imports from contacts, shows upcoming birthdays, sends basic notifications. Very bare-bones — no customization, no cards, limited reminder options.

Best for: iPhone users who want the absolute simplest possible birthday list.

LavaWish

LavaWish is the only platform on this list that's designed for the complete birthday experience: track, remind, and celebrate. It stores birthdays, sends reminders (up to 90 days in advance on paid plans), and lets you create personalized cards with your own photo, a custom song, and a gift-opening experience.

The card feature is what separates LavaWish from every other option. When the reminder fires, you don't just get a notification — you get a one-tap path to creating something beautiful for the birthday person. It works on any device (web-based), has no ads on any tier, and the core features are free.

Best for: Anyone who wants to not just remember birthdays but actually celebrate them in a meaningful way. The ideal all-in-one solution.

Our Recommendation

If you just need a date on a calendar, use whatever calendar app you already have. But if you want to actually make people feel special on their birthday — consistently, effortlessly, and personally — LavaWish is in a category of its own. No other birthday app lets you go from "reminder" to "personalized card with music" in under 60 seconds.

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The Only Birthday App That Reminds AND Celebrates

Track every birthday + send personalized cards at app.lavawish.com