The best birthday reminder app for Android depends on how you like to plan. Dearly combines birthday reminders, gift ideas, home screen widgets and countdown timers in a free app with no ads. Birday is a free, open-source alternative, while Birthdays: Reminder & calendar includes zodiac details and quick wishes. Birthday Reminder Widget and Kinu also run on iPhone. Google Calendar and Google Contacts are options if you only need dates and alerts without a separate birthday app.
Quick picks:
- Best for birthday planning, widgets and gift ideas: Dearly, free with no ads and reminder groups with different schedules.
- Best open-source app: Birday, free with no ads.
- Best for age, zodiac and sending wishes: Birthdays: Reminder & calendar, free with ads.
- Best for Android and iPhone together: Birthday Reminder Widget or Kinu.
- Best built-in option: Google Calendar and Google Contacts.
How we picked
We compared each app on the things that help you remember birthdays and make plans ahead of time:
- Cost and ads
- Contact import
- Reminder timing: can you plan further ahead for family than for colleagues?
- Gift ideas or notes about each person
- Anniversaries as well as birthdays
- Home screen widgets, countdowns or shortcuts
- Offline use and sign-up
Competitor details are based on Google Play listings, official websites or GitHub pages checked in September 2026. Dearly’s features were updated in October 2026. This is a feature comparison based on those sources, rather than a hands-on test of every app. We left out ratings, download counts and exact prices because they change often. We make Dearly; each app below has a different focus, and we explain its features and limitations so you can choose.
The best birthday reminder apps for Android
1. Dearly
Best for: planning birthdays with gift ideas, widgets and different reminder schedules for friends and family.
Dearly is a free birthday reminder and birthday calendar app for Android. It keeps birthdays, anniversaries and gift ideas together, with no ads, no sign-up and offline use.
- Import from contacts. Birthdays and anniversaries saved in your contacts come in without retyping.
- Reminder groups with their own schedules. Nudge reminds you on the day. Heads-up: one week before, one day before and on the day. Plan ahead: one month, two weeks, one week and one day before, and on the day. You can change each group’s schedule, so you have time to order a gift or plan a visit for the people closest to you.
- Gift ideas and little things saved on each person’s page.
- A calendar view of birthdays and anniversaries, month by month.
- Anniversaries for weddings, relationships and work.
- Home screen widgets to see upcoming birthdays and anniversaries at a glance.
- Countdown timers for birthdays and other dates you look forward to.
- Dark mode and AMOLED mode, including a pure-black appearance.
- Special Days such as Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Christmas, Diwali, Raksha Bandhan and Holi.
- Home screen shortcuts.
Things to know: Dearly is Android only, with an iPhone waitlist. Reminder schedules are shared within each group; moving someone to a different group changes which schedule they follow.
2. Birday
Best for: people who want a free, open-source birthday app.
Birday is open source under the GPL 3 licence and available on Google Play and F-Droid. Its Play listing shows no ads, and its data safety section says it collects no data.
- Import from contacts or your calendar, with duplicate detection.
- Birthdays, anniversaries, name days and other events.
- A notification on the day at a time you pick, plus extra notifications up to 21 days before. You can limit notifications to your favourite events.
- A note field on each event.
- Material 3 widgets for your home screen.
Things to know: reminder times apply to every event, not per person, and notes are a single field rather than a gift list.
Our Dearly vs Birday comparison looks more closely at reminder groups, gift ideas and moving your dates.
3. Birthdays: Reminder & calendar
Best for: age and zodiac details, and sending wishes from the app.
Birthdays, by delight.im, keeps birthdays and anniversaries apart from your main calendar.
- Birthdays and anniversaries from your address book.
- Reminders on the day at your preferred time, or on days before.
- Notes for every person and event, such as a gift idea.
- Age, Western and Chinese zodiac signs, the weekday of the next birthday and a countdown.
- Send wishes by call, text, email or a messaging app.
- Widgets in different sizes, and backups.
Things to know: its Play listing says it contains ads and offers in-app purchases.
See Dearly vs Birthdays Reminder & Calendar for the differences in gift planning, ads and switching apps.
4. Birthday Reminder Widget
Best for: keeping the same birthday list on Android and iPhone.
Birthday Reminder Widget, by 28loops, is built around a home screen widget and cloud sync.
- An AI gift finder that suggests product categories.
- List and calendar views.
- Customisable reminders.
- A calendar link that shows your birthdays in Google Calendar, Outlook and other calendars.
- Login and live sync across devices.
Its official site says it has zero ads and unlocks all features up to a set number of events. The Play listing shows in-app purchases.
Things to know: its listing does not mention contact import or anniversaries.
5. Kinu
Best for: regular reminders to keep in touch with friends and family.
Kinu describes itself as a personal CRM for friends and family. It runs on iPhone, Android and the web.
- Birthdays, anniversaries and other important dates, with a reminder before the day.
- Notes and voice notes about each person.
- Keep-in-touch nudges at a pace you set for each person.
- Add people from your contacts.
Things to know: Kinu asks you to sign in with a free account, and the free plan covers a limited number of people. It has no ads.
6. Google Calendar and Google Contacts
Best for: a few important people, with no extra app.
Both are free Google apps with no ads, and both use the birthdays saved in your Google contacts.
- Google Contacts can remind you about a birthday or anniversary saved on a contact: on the day, or 2, 7 or 14 days before, at a time of day you choose. You set it up one contact at a time, and the contact must be saved to your Google Account.
- Google Calendar shows birthdays from your contacts once you turn on Sync from Contacts (Menu, then Settings, then Birthdays). By default it reminds you one week before and on the day, and you can add or remove notifications for each birthday. A Calendar widget puts upcoming events on your home screen.
Things to know: you need a Google Account, birthdays sit among meetings and bills, and there is no gift ideas list.
Our step-by-step guide shows how to set up birthday reminders on Android with both. Weighing a calendar against an app? See what a calendar does well and where it falls short.
Birthday reminder apps compared
| App | Free and ads | Contact import | Different timing per person | Gift ideas or notes | Anniversaries | Widgets or shortcuts | Offline and sign-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dearly | Free, no ads | Birthdays and anniversaries | Yes, by reminder group | Gift ideas and little things | Yes | Widgets, countdowns and shortcuts | Works offline, no sign-up |
| Birday | Free, no ads, open source | Contacts or calendar | No, same timing for all | One note per event | Yes | Widgets | No account, collects no data |
| Birthdays: Reminder & calendar | Free, with ads | From your address book | Not stated | Notes per person | Yes | Widgets | Not stated |
| Birthday Reminder Widget | No ads, paid upgrade | Not stated | Not stated | AI gift finder | Not stated | Widget | Login for cloud sync |
| Kinu | No ads, free up to a limit | Add from contacts | Not stated | Notes and voice notes | Yes | Not stated | Needs a free account |
| Google Calendar and Contacts | Free, no ads | Built in | One contact or birthday at a time | No gift list | Yes | Calendar widget | Needs a Google Account |
“Not stated” means neither the app’s Play listing nor its official site mentions it.
Already using Birthday Manager? Our Birthday Manager alternative guide compares it with Dearly. You can also browse our other Android app comparisons before switching.
Any app only helps once every date is in it. Our guide on how to remember birthdays covers collecting them.
Common questions
What is the best free birthday reminder app for Android?
Dearly is a free birthday reminder app for Android with no ads, gift ideas, home screen widgets and countdown timers. Reminder groups let you plan further ahead for close friends and family than for other people. Birday is a free, open-source option, while Google Calendar and Google Contacts handle basic reminders without a separate birthday app.
Is there a birthday reminder app without ads?
Yes. Based on their Play listings and official sites, Dearly, Birday, Birthday Reminder Widget, Kinu, Google Calendar and Google Contacts show no ads. Birthdays: Reminder & calendar contains ads.
Can Google Calendar remind me of birthdays?
Yes. Turn on Sync from Contacts under Menu, then Settings, then Birthdays. By default, Calendar then reminds you one week before and on the day, and you can change the notifications for each birthday.
Is there a birthday reminder app for both iPhone and Android?
Birthday Reminder Widget and Kinu both have iPhone and Android apps. Dearly is Android only, with an iPhone waitlist you can join.
