A trip to the fruit and veg shop takes on a whole new meaning when you’re pregnant. Shopping for grapes? Excellent! A single grape is the equivalent size to your bub at 9 weeks. Meanwhile at 16 weeks, an avocado is more than just the key ingredient to guacamole, it’s now the size of your baby.

While there is no substitute for professional medical advice and care, a pregnancy app is a casual and fun way to monitor your baby’s growth and development, as well as your own. If you have any pregnancy concerns you should always direct these to your health care professional.

Why consider a pregnancy tracking app?

We like to think of pregnancy apps as a supportive pocket pal. As our body changes during pregnancy, these apps can help prepare us for what to expect and the milestones along the way.

We especially love using these apps as an entry point into our pregnancy journey. You can even use certain pregnancy apps from when you decide to start trying, during your pregnancy and when you’re postpartum. These apps allow you to switch ‘modes’ depending on what stage you’re at and will tailor content specific to you.

Pregnancy tracking apps contain all kinds of content for you to explore from articles, videos, questionnaires, recipe ideas and exercise routines. They also breakdown key pregnancy milestones. Some of the below apps even include baby name ideas, newborn essentials and hospital bag checklists, and even a ‘bumpie’ journal where you can document your own pregnancy musings.

One of the biggest advantages to these apps is that they anonymously connect you to expecting parents with super interactive community forums. Most of these places are moderated to be safe, inclusive and welcoming spaces to support soon-to-be parents at the start of their journey and beyond.

So if you’re looking for a pregnancy tracking app that’s reliable and informative, we’ve compiled the below list for you. The apps below were selected after surveying thousands of expectant parents about which pregnancy tracking apps delivered on their promise to be a fun, reliable pocket pal.

Note: Most of these apps offer a free trial but after this period they usually charge monthly subscription fees automatically. If you’re trialling a few of the below apps to see which is best for you, be sure to cancel the automatic subscription before your free trial ends for the apps you don’t plan to continue using.

1: Flo

Score: 8.6/10
Purchase here on the App Store
Purchase here on Google Play

Flo allows you to track your period, ovulation and pregnancy, depending on where you’re at on your journey. Flo not only gives you week-to-week updates about your growing bub, but has a range of information and courses to prepare you for what’s to come. There’s also a community forum where you can post anonymously.

Key takeaways from our surveyed parents:

• Easy to use

• Our community enjoyed having access to the Flo community and the anonymous feature

• Free version offers a good variety of access, but the paid subscription offers a lot more useful information

• Some of our community found the paid version a little pricey

• Content is written for an American audience, so can sometimes miss the mark

2: Pregnancy +

Score: 8.4/10
Purchase here on the App Store
Purchase here on Google Play

Pregnancy + is a well-rounded and comprehensive pregnancy app that has been downloaded more than 50 million times. Beyond the expected tracking functions, Pregnancy + is loaded with innovative extras including a contraction timer, personal diary and over 1000 baby names to kick start some brainstorming for your little one.

Key takeaways from our surveyed parents:

• You can keep a record of your pregnancy with a digital diary

• You can customise the user on the app, so that a second parent, carer or grandparents can also keep updated with your pregnancy journey

• There was a broad variety of pregnancy related content and articles that kept users well informed

• Some content on this app was not relevant to parents who live in Australia

• There was no option to track twins or multiple births

3: BabyCenter

Score: 8.2/10
Purchase here on the App Store
Purchase here on Google Play

From the moment you hit download, BabyCenter is a breeze to use. Simply enter your due date and the app will guide you through your pregnancy day-by-day with a selection of tailored content selected for you. Our surveyed community also favoured this app because once your bub arrives, you can switch the app to early parenthood mode.

Key takeaways from our surveyed parents:

• Easy to use and navigate

• This app connects you to expecting parents with similar due dates

• Parents loved the ‘Bumpie picture tool’, which reminds you to take a picture of your growing bump every week (they especially loved looking back on all 40 weeks!)

• For a lot of us, baby brain is real! This app comes loaded with weekly checklists and reminds that our parents found especially helpful during this busy time

• Some content on this app was not relevant to parents who live in Australia

4: What To Expect

Score: 8.2/10
Purchase on the App Store
Purchase on Google Play

What to Expect is an excellent app for parents expecting twins, triplets or multiple births (as surprisingly, not all pregnancy apps track multiple births). As soon as you enter your due date, the app customises content and delivers updates specific to where you are in your pregnancy journey. This app also has a strong focus on building community and connects you to expecting parents with similar due dates, or you can simply engage with the community forums. What To Expect also switches over to early parenthood mode once your baby or babies arrive.

Key takeaways from our surveyed parents:

• A good all-rounder app for all stages of the parenting journey with an ovulation tracker for those trying and ongoing support for parents after their baby or babies have arrived

• Parents loved the baby feeding tracker that let them time and track feeding times

• Parents loved the variety of video content that was informative but didn’t feel overwhelming

• The app used the imperial measurement system (inches and pounds)

• Some users mentioned they would have preferred if they received more frequent updates about their pregnancy journey

5: Ovia Pregnancy Tracker

Score: 8.1/10
Purchase here on the App Store
Purchase here on Google Play

Ovia Health is a digital health company that uses mobile technology to help women and families live healthier lives. There are currently three apps on the market by Ovia to help you along your conception, pregnancy and early parenthood journey. This app is the second in the series and for those expecting!

Key takeaways from our surveyed parents:

• The interactive forum is lively and allows you to ask questions anonymously

• The forum also allows you to connect with expecting parents with similar due dates

• The app monitors the growth of your baby in fun ways by comparing them to fruit, vegetables, animals and even French pastries!

• There’s a lot of content with over 2000 pregnancy articles, tips and tools to keep you informed

• Some content on this app was not relevant to parents who live in Australia

• There was no option to track twins or multiple births

This is general information only. If you need personal, health, medical or technical advice when it comes to your growing family, please seek out a professional.