Marking your start date on a wall calendar is easy enough, but who has wall calendars anymore? Additionally, your calendar doesn’t tell you when to expect your next period, when you are ovulating, or help you keep track of symptoms common to your cycle. There are tons of apps you can download that require very little from you. For the most part, you tell your app when you start, and it will keep you up to date on what part of your cycle is coming up. Here’s a look at 5 of the best cycle tracking apps.
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Flo
With 40 million global downloads, Flo is much more than just a period tracker. Flo is great for women who are trying to conceive, aren’t trying to conceive, or have already conceived. Give it your most recent start date, answer a few questions (how long is your cycle, do you experience cramps, etc.), and Flo will take it from there. It will let you know when to expect your next period, when you’re likely to ovulate, and how likely you are to get pregnant on a given day. There’s also a lot of great articles, an Apple Watch app, pregnancy mode, and the means to track everything from unprotected sex to your current weight. -
Clue - Period & Health Tracker
Clue is a research partner of Oxford, Stanford, and Columbia, and rated the top free tracker app by the Obstetrics & Gynecology journal. Clue lets you track your own cycle (and other health aspects) -- but you can also connect with someone else, which can make it a great option to keep your partner up to date on the fertility front. Clue adjusts to your cycle -- the more you use it, the more accurate it becomes. Using a circular calendar, Clue gives you your fertility window, along with when to expect the next one (if your cycle isn’t the typical 28 days, it can take a few months for these dates to be accurate). The app also has a “Cycle Science” section that explains everything from how your cycle works to what makes you crave chocolate. -
Eve
Eve by Glow is a woman-positive app for tracking your cycle, sex, and relationships. Eve has a free option that works great, but you can also purchase it by the month, year, or for your lifetime for $60. The free version gives you a period notifier and will color code your days so you always know when to expect your period or when you’re fertile. The more you use it, the more accurate it gets. Eve has a community, which can help you figure out what’s normal and what’s not, join group discussion about hot topics, and what to expect from your hormones throughout the month. There’s also purchasable information about everything from learning about the male body to staying positive about yourself. -
Glow
Glow has both free and purchasable options. It has options for trying to conceive, trying not to conceive, and for your male counterpart. Again, the more you use it, the more accurate it becomes, and it will let you know when you’re fertile and when to expect your period. You can track your temperature, sex life, sleep, symptoms, and all kinds of other things, and then Glow makes charts to let you know what those things look like all together. Additionally, you have access to the same community as the Eve app. The apps are (unsurprisingly) pretty similar, but Glow seems more appropriate for working with a partner, while Eve is great for all the single ladies. -
Ovia
Rather than appealing to all women, Ovia is geared more specifically towards women who are currently trying to conceive (or expect to be very soon). The app gives you a fertility score and tells you what phase you’re in, when to expect your fertile period, and how long until your menstrual period. It’s full of helpful articles, a fertility chart, a community, and the ability to track your health every day. Once you get pregnant, you can enter pregnancy mode and stop receiving notifications about your period and fertility.
