These Period Tracker Apps Will Get You in Touch With Your Overall Health

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As they say: From food delivery to finding romance, there’s an app for that. It’s easy to laugh at the spectacle of downloading a new portal for every life niche, but then there are tools like period-tracking apps that can totally revolutionize the way you understand and manage your overall health.

“Tracking your periods and ovulation can help you calculate and predict your mood, energy levels, and symptoms ahead of time, making you feel more in control of your body,” explains Claudia P. Mosca, M.D., ob/gyn and Flo medical advisor. In other words, documenting it all can help you know what to expect each month and—more importantly—when something is off.

Meet the Experts: Claudia P. Mosca, M.D., ob/gyn and Flo medical advisor; Heather Hirsch, M.D., M.S., N.C.M.P., author of Unlock Your Menopause Type; and Erica Montes, M.D., a board-certified ob/gyn based in Arizona and pH-D Feminine Health advisor.

A regular period that takes place between every 27 to 35 days with cyclic symptoms is, in general, “a really nice sign of health,” says Heather Hirsch, M.D., M.S., N.C.M.P., author of Unlock Your Menopause Type. “When periods are abnormal, you could have an underlying condition,” she adds, such as a thyroid problem, primary ovarian insufficiency, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), or an autoimmune condition. “Remember that missing your period for many months, a dramatic change in the amount of flow (less or more), or new symptoms such as worsening pain should be discussed at your next visit,” urges Erica Montes, M.D., a board-certified ob/gyn based in Arizona and pH-D Feminine Health advisor.

Our top picks

In addition to raising red flags, tracking apps can also help you plan or avoid pregnancy by pinpointing your ovulation window, and they can be helpful in signaling perimenopause, adds Hirsch. Below, experts recommend the best period-tracking apps you can get.

Period Tracker & Calendar

Dr. Montes says she’s received “good feedback from patients” about Flo, especially for its user-friendliness. The app allows you to track your cycle and its symptoms. Plus, using helpful, aesthetically-pleasing graphics, it provides insights beyond your period, “such as about sex, nutrition, exercise, and sleep, which can help you track your body changes and improve your general health,” explains Mosca.

Flo also has a pregnancy tracker and optional Anonymous Mode, which, in a post-Roe v. Wade America, “allows any Flo user the option to access the app without a name, email address, and technical identifiers from being associated with the health data in their account,” says Dr. Mosca. Even outside of Anonymous Mode, user data is protected. “Flo will not sell user health data to any other company for monetary gain,” Mosca adds.

Fertility App

Ovia is a cycle and fertility tracker that helps users pinpoint ovulation and fertile windows, as well as document period symptoms, medications, and more. “I love the Ovia app,” says Dr. Hirsch. “I’ve used it for many, many years. It showed me my fertility window when I was trying to get pregnant.” She also enjoys that inputting information isn’t “too exhaustive,” so it doesn’t feel like a chore. “I like that you can track symptoms really quickly,” she adds.

App

For those who are perimenopausal or have begun menopause and want to track newfound symptoms, Dr. Hirsch recommends Balance. The app is especially geared toward menopausal people and is a place where users can get expert tips about the transition, track medications and periods if they have them, and even tune into guided meditations when things feel out of control. “If you’re someone who wants to use [an app] to see when you’re gonna function best, the Balance app is super, super helpful,” Hirsch says.

Period & Cycle Tracker

Cycles is one of the few period and fertility-tracking apps that allows you to get your partner in on the action. You can share your account with them so they, too, know what to expect, from mood swings to fertile windows. You can also set customized reminders for birth control and get predictions on when to expect your cycles, symptoms, and potential body changes. The app has a 4.6-star rating on the Apple app store and hundreds of rave reviews. “Super easy and super simple,” one happy user wrote.

Period Tracker & Calendar

Clue is basic where it needs to be and pleasantly complex where other apps aren’t—it’s easy to use and allows you to document more period-related occurrences than most with more than 100 experience-tracking options. You can also use it to log your birth control, plan pregnancy, and access articles written by experts in the field. The app is free, but you can also sign up for for Clue Plus for bonus premium perks. “Clue breaks things down so it’s easier to understand, which is really useful,” an Apple reviewer wrote.

Fertility and Ovulation App

Glow is a health log, period tracker, and fertility calendar all in one. It allows you to keep tabs on 40 separate health signals related to your period and fertility, including body basal temperature (the body’s temperature at rest) and sexual activity. And with consistent use, its pattern detection feature can help you identify trends in your cycles. There are free and premium versions, the latter of which offers comparative insights and private messaging with other Glow users. “It helps me be more aware and objective when it comes to what's going on with my body and my emotional state,” an Apple reviewer wrote.

Period Tracking App

This basic app is great for everyone, but is especially ideal for teens who need an easy, digestible way to get to know their cycles. It’s free, it features period prediction, ovulation tracking, a discharge decoder, and anonymous use with no sign-in required. Reviewers love it, and have given it a 4.9-star rating on Google Play. “I love this app. It’s cute, simple, and easy to use,” one raved.

How to choose the right period tracker app

Consider function: The best period tracker app for you will depend on exactly how you hope to use it. If you want to get to know your fertility window in attempt to get pregnant, choose one that focuses on family planning. If you simply want to track your period, symptoms, and sexual activity to better understand your body, look for those features.

Pick a budget: Although all of these apps have free versions, it’s important to gauge what you’re willing to spend on the features you want so you can weigh out the most sustainable options.

Think about privacy: If you live in a state where abortion is currently banned or partially banned and fear your data could be compromising in some way, it’s best to choose an app that has an anonymous use option or promises data security.

Benefits of using a period tracker app

Aside from the obvious benefits of tracking and keeping tabs on your periods, period tracking apps can also “help you spot cycle patterns and get the support you need to understand and manage your symptoms with personalized tips, articles, and courses,” says Dr. Mosca. “You can also schedule reminders for when your period is starting and when you’re ovulating, so you’re always prepared, as well as add notifications about water intake, birth control, and more.”

How do period-tracking apps work?

Period-tracking apps work by gathering the information you provide on a monthly basis (i.e. cycle dates, symptoms, occasionally health stats like basal body temperature and heart rate), recognizing patterns, and making health predictions that help you better understand your body.

“When you start to see those cyclic patterns on your own app, you can kind of better plan your life around them,” says Hirsch, whether that’s adjusting exercise routines or avoiding foods that might trigger or worsen certain symptoms, like menstrual migraines. “People plan businesses around their cycles, weddings around their cycles, trips, honeymoons!” Hirsch adds, and apps certainly help.

How accurate are period-tracking apps?

Period-tracking apps can only track as accurately as you use them consistently. In other words, they take the information you input (your cycle dates, symptoms, and more) and make predictions and analyses based on that data. So, if you want to get the most out of your app, you have to be dedicated to plugging everything in.

Even then, a period-tracking app should be a tool for learning, rather than a tell-all about your body. Apps are imperfect and won’t always be 100% accurate. For example: “If you are trying to avoid pregnancy and have intercourse on your non-fertile days, there is still a chance you could conceive,” explains Dr. Mendes. In tandem with the app, she recommends learning to test for ovulation by also observing factors like discharge changes and basal body temperature, which research says may be slightly elevated during ovulation. “In other words, don’t just rely on the app,” Mendes adds.

How we chose the best period tracker apps

We consulted Claudia P. Mosca, M.D., ob/gyn and Flo medical advisor; Heather Hirsch, M.D., M.S., N.C.M.P., author of Unlock Your Menopause Type; and Erica Montes, M.D., a board-certified ob/gyn based in Arizona and pH-D Feminine Health advisor to chose the best period tracker apps. We also sifted through tons of user reviews.

Why trust us

For more than 70 years, Prevention has been a leading provider of trustworthy health information, empowering readers with practical strategies to improve their physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Our editors interview medical experts to help guide our health-focused product selections. Additionally, Prevention also examines hundreds of reviews—and often conducts personal testing done by our staff—to help you make informed decisions.

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