Most women of child-bearing age understand the value of an excellent period tracker. In recent years, these apps have become some of the most popular downloads in the Apple iOS and Google Play app stores.
The best period-tracking apps don’t just let you anticipate the start of your menstrual cycle and predict the beginning and end of your fertile window. They’re also an invaluable tool for managing your health and wellness since abnormal or irregular periods can be signs of thyroid issues or underlying conditions like PCOS.
These tracking apps have become controversial in the post-Roe v. Wade period, and many women have deleted or stopped using period trackers for fear of government intrusion. The best period and fertility tracking apps, though, provide full user data privacy and promise never to sell or release users’ personal information. All of the apps on this list guarantee complete privacy.
The very best choices go much further than simple cycle tracking. Some are designed to be complete women’s health apps, able to function as pregnancy trackers and postpartum support tools, and/or offering enormous libraries of medically-reviewed articles on everything from nutrition and workout suggestions to mental health and mindfulness.
We assembled a panel of OB/GYN specialists and reproductive health professionals to review the apps available for both iPhones and Android devices, and here are their rankings of the five best period tracker apps.
This full-featured app is, first and foremost, a terrific period and ovulation tracker. But our expert panel felt that Bellabeat is the ideal choice for women who prefer a single, versatile app they can use for virtually all of their physical and sexual health tracking right through perimenopause.
We’ll get into the supplemental features of this app after a more detailed look at all of its Period Diary functions. Or click here to download their app for free right away.
Period/Ovulation Tracking, Mapping, and Resources
You’ll begin to see the many benefits of the Bellabeat app when you log the start and end dates of each of your menstrual cycles.
Naturally, the app’s period calendar gives you a visual reminder of when your next period is due so you don’t always have to remember the date. You can choose from several easy-to-use display formats, too.
The app also makes it easy to predict ovulation dates and your window of fertility. Not only do you learn which will be your most fertile days, you’ll see daily stats telling you the chances of conceiving each day.
That’s just the start of what this app can do, though.
- You’ll get monthly reminders when your next menstruation is due to start, allowing you to better manage your personal and sexual activity without any unexpected “surprises.”
- You’ll also receive monthly ovulation and fertility notifications, helpful for both family planning and contraception.
- The Bellabeat app has a mapping function that provides ovulation and period predictions for the upcoming twelve months.
- A comprehensive logging function lets you track everything from menstrual flow and vaginal discharges, to basal body temperature and weight, to mood changes and other period symptoms like PMS, migraines, and cravings.
- That information can be extremely valuable for ovulation and period predictions, for understanding how your body reacts to hormonal changes during your menstrual cycle, and for tracking and recognizing any menstrual irregularities that may develop. Doctors may also use that data to diagnose potential medical issues.
- All of that health data can be printed in a full diary report suitable for personal use or analysis by your healthcare providers. The report includes summaries of cycle duration, reported symptoms, body measurements, monthly trends, and 12-month overviews.
- Bellabeat has a separate notes section that allows you to record details on sexual activity, birth control methods, and any other health information you want to remember or track.
This app’s comprehensive tracking ability far surpasses the features of competing period and fertility tracking apps. But the Bellabeat goes far beyond tracking and logging; the informational and resource sections of this app make it one of a kind.
- Period Diary Coach: The Bellabeat app provides a health and wellness program personalized for each user. It can be optimized to emphasize the natural regulation of the menstrual cycle, reaching and maintaining weight goals, overall fitness, or a healthy pregnancy. Elements of the program include dietary suggestions, advice on supplements, tailored mindful meditation plans, and general health and wellness advice.
- Daily Cycle Updates: On every day of your menstrual cycle, you receive insights into the energy levels, sex drive, and hormonal activity you should expect. The updates also tell you what phase of your cycle you’re in, and include suggestions on how to deal with the most frequent symptoms and issues you can expect to experience that day.
- Complete Resource Library: Bellabeat contains more than 1,000 medically reviewed articles that go in-depth on every aspect of menstruation, fertility, and women’s reproductive health.
Pregnancy Tracking
Few period and fertility tracking apps are useful during pregnancy, but that’s when the Bellabeat Period Diary App can easily be turned into the Bellabeat Pregnancy Tracker App.
You’re able to track and monitor key metrics like the baby’s development and growth, in addition to your weight, temperature, symptoms, and even your mood. You’ll receive weekly and trimester updates on the significant symptoms and effects that you can expect, as well as personalized recommendations on nutrition, supplements, and exercise.
The Bellabeat Resource Library also covers all aspects of pregnancy with hundreds of expert-reviewed articles.
Postpartum Support
Even apps that can do double duty as period and pregnancy tracking apps fall short right after a baby has been born. The Bellabeat app, however, provides unique support for moms in the postpartum period.
There are exclusive podcasts focusing on topics like breastfeeding and lactation. There’s an extensive library of medically reviewed research on crucial post-pregnancy concerns like weight loss, depression, and enjoying a healthy sex life while caring for an infant. Bellabeat’s post-partum section is spot on for the issues that new mothers face.
Other Details
The Bellabeat Period Diary App is available for both iOS and Android devices. The app download is free, although some advanced resource features aren’t available in the free version and require an in-app purchase. As of this writing, the Bellabeat app is only available in English.
Summary
Our experts unanimously chose the Bellabeat app as the top-ranked period tracker. That’s largely due to its extensive variety of period and ovulation features, but also because of its outstanding pregnancy and postpartum resources. The Bellabeat Period Diary App is an invaluable companion for women from their first period all the way through menopause.
Click here to download the Bellabeat app for FREE.
2. The PERIOD! App
PERIOD! got good marks from our panel of OB/GYN and fertility specialists. It ranked lower than the Bellabeat app, though, because it’s strictly a period and fertility tracker without the pregnancy and postpartum features that make Bellabeat unique.
You’re able to keep track of daily data in this app and use it to track and predict ovulation and fertility periods, just as you can with the best period tracker apps. But PERIOD! is designed primarily to interpret the menstrual symptoms you experience and suggest foods, supplements, workouts, and lifestyle changes to make your periods more regular and predictable.
Our experts thought that was a cool concept. They feared, however, that the app could make women believe that using software on their phone can let them “cure” period irregularities or medical problems on their own without the involvement of their healthcare team, particularly since a subscription includes “coaching” sessions with non-professionals.
This app is available for both iOS and Android devices and is free to download, but most features can only be unlocked with an in-app upgrade that costs $2.99.
The overall verdict from our panel: good, not great.
3. PeriodPal
Any woman of child-bearing age can use the PeriodPal app, but it was created with teens (and tweens) in mind. It’s designed to be less intimidating for those who don’t yet take their periods for granted, with a brightly-colored, intuitive interface (along with lots of themes and icons) that makes it easy and “fun” to track and predict cycles and ovulation.
The PeriodPal sends reminders about upcoming periods, fertile days, and taking birth control pills, along with regular tips and information that make the menstrual cycle less mysterious. Our expert panel thought the app was very well designed for younger users.
There are also a good number of resource videos and FAQs prepared by medical professionals, suggestions for using feminine hygiene products, a personal journal for keeping track of personal data and observations, and a chat function that lets app users connect with each other to discuss periods, reproductive health issues, or for that matter, Taylor Swift.
Our experts felt that PeriodPal fell far short of apps like Bellabeat, at least for adult women who are looking for a period tracker with robust capabilities — but that it’s just right for teens who are just getting accustomed to the importance of tracking their cycles and fertility. The app is available for both Android and iOS devices and it’s free to download.
4. Cycles
The Cycles app is a simple one.
It allows you to track your cycles and fertility, it sends you alerts that predict when your next period will start and warn about possible symptoms you may experience, and it lets you set birth control reminders. Cycles are cute, too, with a clock-face display that uses green to show the most fertile days in your ovulation cycle and blue for your predicted ovulation day.
The feature that the developers pitch as the app’s major selling point, though, is the ability to connect with your partner. They can sync with the app on their own phone or device to monitor your cycle; the pitch is that your partner can understand and anticipate your symptoms (mood swings, anyone?) by knowing what stage of the menstrual cycle you’re in.
Our panel of experts found Cycles to be a good, basic period tracker, but they thought that its resource information was lacking and saw some of the features as too gimmicky. They also focused on two drawbacks that knocked this app down to the fourth position in these rankings.
First, the “connect” feature and most of the prediction and reminder functions aren’t available in the free version of Cycles; you have to pay extra to access them. Second, the app is only available for iOS devices, not Android ones.
5. Natural Cycles
Natural Cycles (not the same app as Cycles) is billed as a birth control/fertility app, but it can also be used to track your period. It’s actually been cleared by the government as a “birth control method,” but our experts weren’t impressed; they say abstaining from sex during predicted fertility periods is the least effective method of avoiding pregnancy.
The tracking function itself isn’t bad. The app records daily basal temperatures and the consistency of cervical fluid (you have to measure and enter them yourself, although a thermometer is included with a yearly subscription to the app). and tells you when you’re most likely to be fertile and ovulating. A messaging function sends updates and statistics to your phone regularly.
You can also use Natural Cycles to record other data like symptoms, mood, and sexual encounters, and as with Cycles, you can sync with a partner’s phone to share data.
This app is available for both iOS and Android, but a huge negative in the minds of our experts is the price of using it: $14.99 monthly or about $120 annually. (Some insurance plans may cover the cost and FSA/HSA funds can be used.) Our panel thought that free apps were almost as good as Natural Cycles — and emphasized that neither are reliable methods of birth control.
For the best period tracker app, we recommend Bellabeat. Click here to download for free.
