TaxBird vs Days Monitor: Which Residency Tracker Is Best in 2026?

TaxBird and Days Monitor are both automatic, GPS-based day-counting apps built to help you track tax residency. They overlap heavily for US and Canadian residency, and they differ most once your life crosses international borders. This is a head-to-head comparison in which every claim about either app is a direct quotation from that app's own App Store listing, linked and dated (checked 4 June 2026), so you can verify everything yourself.

Accurate as of 24 August 2026. Every statement about another product on this page comes from that company's own public materials (their website, App Store or Google Play listing) on that date. Where a company does not publish something, we say it is not stated in their materials rather than assuming it is absent. We do not publish App Store ratings in comparisons: rating counts differ so widely between products that side-by-side scores mislead more than they inform. Prices and features change, so check the linked sources before relying on any figure.

What each app says it does

TaxBird describes its core purpose plainly:

"Stop worrying about counting days for tax residency. TaxBird automatically tracks where you spend your time throughout the year, helping you stay aware of residency thresholds before they become a tax problem."
— TaxBird - Residency Tracker, App Store (accessed 4 June 2026)

Days Monitor positions itself more broadly:

"No more spreadsheets. Days Monitor automatically tracks every day in every country, for visas, tax residency, Schengen, US substantial presence, and any custom rule."
— Days Monitor, App Store (accessed 4 August 2026)

Coverage: where they overlap, where they differ

For US and Canadian residency the two are closely matched. TaxBird's listing states it supports:

"Country-level tracking worldwide / State-level tracking in the United States / Province-level tracking in Canada / New York City residency tracking"
— TaxBird, App Store (accessed 4 June 2026)

Days Monitor covers the same US state and Canadian ground, and adds explicit custom rules for other countries' residency tests. Its listing describes setting rules including:

"183-day tax residency rules ... 90/180 Schengen rule ... US state statutory residency tests ... Canadian provincial residency"
— Days Monitor, App Store (accessed 4 June 2026)

The latest release widens that gap: custom rules can now use a rolling window as well as fixed dates (the "90 days in any 180" pattern, applied to any country you choose), and it adds statute-based day-count templates for 35 US states, each of which remains fully editable. — Days Monitor for iPhone (accessed 4 August 2026)

The clearest functional gap is the Schengen 90/180 rule for European travel: TaxBird's listing does not mention Schengen or visa tracking, while Days Monitor markets it as a core feature:

"Best-in-Class Schengen Tracking. See exactly how many Schengen days you have used and how many remain, updated in real time."
— Days Monitor, App Store (accessed 4 June 2026)

How tracking works

Both run automatically in the background from GPS. TaxBird:

"Using secure background location tracking, TaxBird keeps an accurate record of your days across multiple jurisdictions and shows exactly how many days you've spent in each location — and how many remain before reaching residency limits."
— TaxBird, App Store (accessed 4 June 2026)

Days Monitor records automatically too, and additionally logs multiple countries on the same calendar day, which matters for travel-heavy days:

"Cross a border in the morning and again in the afternoon? Days Monitor logs each country separately for the same date, with its own pin, time, and city."
— Days Monitor, App Store (accessed 4 June 2026)

Planning ahead and reporting

Both let you project future travel and export a report for your accountant. TaxBird's feature list includes "Planned travel tracking for projected day counts" and the ability to "generate a comprehensive report summarizing your residency days — ready to share with your accountant." Days Monitor offers a "What If Trip Planner" and exports in two formats: "Export clean, timestamped travel reports ... Instant PDF and CSV Reports." (All four quotes from the respective App Store listings linked in Sources, accessed 4 June 2026.)

Price, platform and track record

This is where the honest trade-offs sit. TaxBird is a paid subscription after a trial; its listing states "free 30-day trial," then "Annual — $39.99" or "Monthly — $4.99." It requires "iOS 15.0 or later" and has been on the App Store since 2017. Days Monitor is free to download with an in-app subscription, and is the newer of the two.

Privacy

Days Monitor states that travel data stays on your device and your own iCloud:

"Your travel history is never sent to our servers ... Your data lives only on your device or your iCloud."
— Days Monitor, App Store (accessed 4 June 2026)

TaxBird's listing emphasises "secure background location tracking" but, as quoted above, does not make the same on-device-only claim; for its full data practices, see its App Store privacy section linked in Sources.

Which should you choose?

• US and Canada residency only, with a proven app: TaxBird is a long-established choice with a lower iOS requirement.
• You also travel internationally, especially to Europe: Days Monitor adds Schengen 90/180 tracking and custom rules for any country, which TaxBird's listing does not cover.
• You want it free to start and prefer data kept on-device: Days Monitor is free to download and states travel data never leaves your device or iCloud.

If your residency picture is purely domestic, TaxBird is built squarely for that. If it spans the US, Canada and Europe in one place, Days Monitor is built for that wider brief. Either way, start logging now: an automatic, GPS-based record built across a full year is far stronger evidence than a reconstruction made under pressure.

Specs at a glance

Figures from each app's App Store listing or website, accessed 4 June 2026; see the quoted sources above and in Sources.

Corrections

Every competitor claim here is checked against that company's own published materials and date-stamped. If you represent a product named on this page and believe anything is inaccurate or out of date, contact us and we will correct it promptly.

Sources

• TaxBird - Residency Tracker, App Store (accessed 4 June 2026)
• Days Monitor, App Store (accessed 4 June 2026)