Fertility tracking apps can help you track your menstrual cycle and determine when you are ovulating. Women typically use fertility tracking apps or ovulation apps to understand their menstrual cycles further to facilitate or prevent pregnancy. Each fertility tracking app is a little bit different, offering unique features. Below, we’re sharing some of the best fertility tracker apps and more information on how they work.
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There are several different fertility tracking apps that help users calculate when they are ovulating.
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Fertility tracking apps work by interpreting menstrual cycle data to estimate when a woman is ovulating.
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It is safe to consider data from a fertility tracking app to be fairly accurate; however, it is important to remember that ovulation dates are only an estimate. If used for birth control, success rates vary widely from 75-99%.
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Overall, the best ovulation tracker will vary from person-to-person. It is best to find one that you find easy to use with features that work for you.
Top fertility tracking apps reviewed
Fertility tracking apps are a great way to track fertility signs and understand your menstrual cycle better. Finding the best ovulation app for you could help you predict ovulation and determine when your next period will start. Below, we’re sharing some of our top picks for fertility tracker apps and what sets them apart from one another.
1. Kindara
Overview: Kindara is a free fertility tracking app, requiring users to enter daily data relating to fertility and their menstrual cycle. Some common entries in Kindara include cervical mucus, temperature, whether the person had sex on a given day, and whether they menstruated. Users can also add notes or additional symptoms, such as bloating, breast pain, and fatigue.
Cost: Users can access most of the Kindara app for free, but they also offer a premium version for $4.99/month or $49.99/year.
2. Flo
Overview: Flo is a period tracking app that offers users a wealth of information. This app contains a “daily insights” section where users can find information relating to symptoms they’re experiencing and just about anything they need to know about fertility and menstrual cycles.
This app is not free like some other options, but it seems to provide more information regarding fertility, giving women a fuller picture of their cycle and helping them better understand ovulation and menstruation. Flo is useful for tracking irregular cycles, so this could be considered the best fertility tracker app for PCOS or users who struggle with other unusual menstrual symptoms that they want to keep track of.
Cost: The basic app is free, but you can pay for Flo Premium to access additional features. Flo has multiple premium plan options that vary in pricing. You can generally expect to pay about $39.99 per year.
3. Ovia
Overview: To get started using Ovia, simply plug in some information (like the average length of your cycle and the date of your last period) and create an account with an email address. Ovia’s main dashboard offers users a fertility score to let them know how likely they are to get pregnant based on where they are in their cycle.
It also offers a fertility forecast, which gives you an idea of how fertile you can expect to be in the coming days and when you can expect your fertile window to fall. In addition, you can plug in different information to help make your fertility tracking more accurate, such as your sleep, nutrition, alcohol, mood, and whether you had sexual activity.
Cost: Free
4. Clue
Overview: Clue has a simple, easy-to-read dashboard that predicts fertility based on the information you plug into the app, such as whether you are on your period and how you feel. You also can choose the calendar view, in which your menstruation dates and predicted ovulation for the month are highlighted.
In addition, with a subscription, you’ll be given full access to in-app articles that provide additional information about women’s health, fertility, menstruation, and pregnancy.
Cost: Free for basic app. Subscription options offer additional benefits for $39.99 for 12 months or $9.99 per month.
5. Glow
Overview: Glow is a fertility tracking app that allows you to plug in daily information about your cycle to get a picture of your menstrual cycle and sexual health. A feature that sets Glow apart from the other options is that it also allows men to track their fertility.
Partners can “link up” through the app to get a complete picture of their fertility as a couple. This could be considered one of the best apps for getting pregnant, since it allows couples to work together to understand fertility.
Cost: Glow is free for the basic app, but you can also sign up for a premium subscription for extra benefits, which costs $1.99 per month with an annual subscription or $39.99 for a lifetime subscription.
6. Femometer
Overview: Femometer offers a convenient Bluetooth pairing feature with its fertility tracking thermometer that can be purchased separately. This can make fertility tracking even more accurate and convenient by including daily temperature readings in your chart.
This app also offers plenty of resources for users, including articles about fertility, sexual health, and menstruation.
Cost: The basic app is free, or you can upgrade to a prime membership for $49.99 for one year, $19.99 if you want to pay quarterly, or $11.99 per month.
Why use a fertility tracking app?
There are several reasons why women choose to use fertility tracking apps. First, you may be trying to get pregnant and want to keep a close watch on your cycle to pinpoint the best time to attempt conception. Or you may want to do the exact opposite — by knowing when you’re ovulating, you can avoid getting pregnant by abstaining from sex during that time or making sure to take extra precautions.
Either way, a fertility tracking app is a tool to help give you a clearer picture of your menstrual cycle to help predict what you can expect in the months going forward.
Some benefits of tracking your cycle include:
- It can help you predict when your next period will start and end.
- It might help facilitate or prevent pregnancy by estimating when ovulation will occur.
- It is useful in tracking irregular cycles if you’re concerned there may be an issue.
It is important to understand that fertility tracking apps use an algorithm to determine your fertility based on your information. Therefore, you have to stay on top of entering data each day for your data to be as accurate as possible. Even so, you shouldn’t rely solely on an app (especially if trying to prevent pregnancy).
The fertility awareness method
For the most accurate fertility data, women should learn how to track their cycle and recognize fertility signs through the fertility awareness method. If you know what types of signs to look out for to predict fertility, you can use tracking apps simply to keep track of your data so that you can interpret the information yourself.
The success rate of using the fertility awareness method as birth control can be as high as 95-99% when done perfectly, meaning consistent and thorough tracking every day and correct interpretations, but studies have found that the average user's success rate is only 76-88%. Therefore, it is not recommended by healthcare providers to use it by itself as a form of contraception. Condoms or other birth control methods are recommended in addition to the fertility awareness method if the goal is to prevent pregnancy.
If trying to conceive, there is less risk for using the fertility tracking method since an inaccurate reading would mean no pregnancy, and they can try again next cycle.
FAQ
Are fertility tracking apps accurate?
Fertility tracking apps vary greatly in their accuracy and technology. They are useful tools, but users should be aware that they may not be entirely reliable. You shouldn’t solely rely on a fertile window prediction from an app when trying to get pregnant or prevent pregnancy, since it may not be fully accurate.
What fertility tracking app is most accurate?
All fertility tracking apps function a little differently, so it is hard to say which one is the most accurate. Some apps come with additional devices, such as thermometers for testing body temperature and urine test strips to provide more accurate fertility data.
How does a fertility app know you’re ovulating?
Fertility apps use data you’ve entered about your menstrual cycle to estimate when you will probably ovulate. The more data you enter, the more accurate your estimate will be. For example, if you only enter the days of your period, then the app will simply calculate it based on how long your estimated cycle is. If you also enter in additional data such as your cervical mucus and your body temperature, this can help to more accurately determine when you would be ovulating.
- National Health Service. Natural family planning (fertility awareness).
- International Encyclopedia of Public Health. Fertility Awareness Methods.
- ACOG. Fertility Awareness-Based Methods of Family Planning.
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