Good news: You gals learning NFP now have so many advantages compared to when I learned 15+ years ago, hooray!
True story: when we first signed ourselves up for the practice of daily temp taking we were handed a paper chart booklet. My adorably nerdy, technology-loving gadget-guy husband just about fell out of his chair at the idea of writing down data every day on an actual piece of PAPER. So, as any good engineer would, he immediately made himself an Excel spreadsheet. Thankfully for you, these days no homemade Excel spreadsheets are required! You can download an app right to your phone and have the data with you everywhere you go. Please humor me and take a moment to marvel at that because I didn’t have that luxury way back in the dark ages of 2006. That said, I will in turn sympathize with you for a moment because the pendulum has now swung so far the other way that we are in danger of the all too familiar “too-many-choices-available overwhelm”. App stores now have a BAZILLION options for temp tracking / fertility monitoring, it’s kind of too much. So let me help you out with some recommendations from yours truly. Shortcut delivered, right to your brain. But don’t just take my word for it – if you don’t see your fav app on my list do let us know! That way we can all help each other on the charting journey. 😊
A quick word of caution:
Please, please, pleeeeeeaaaassssse educate yourself about fertility charting FIRST so that you are smarter than the app. You have to understand the basics of what you’re looking at before you make any decisions based on whatever the screen is telling you. Interpretation of your chart can be tricky at first if you have no prior experience with charting your cycles. Cycle charting will open up a whole new world for you and I would hate for you to just rely on whatever your app says without truly understanding it yourself…because, well, consequences!
That said, get started today!! Next best time to start would be first thing in the morning tomorrow. So basically, that’s today 😊 – since you should download your app and set up your account today in order to input your temperature entries tomorrow morning. Don’t wait to start putting your data in the app – just make sure you are ALSO figuring out what it all means before making any life-altering decisions (such as, tonight?? is it the right time for baby making?)
Without further ado, my favorite apps for fertility charting are as follows. And good news – they’re free! Last quick comment – I included “possible negatives” in my assessment for each one because I know it depends on how new this is for you. For someone totally brand new to charting, some of the app’s features might be more of a negative than a positive.
For Android:
OvuView (currently Android only)
The good:
- ideal for tracking all of the fertility signs used with the sympto-thermal method
- easy and intuitive to use
- data export feature for sharing your chart
- cycle history statistics are automatically compiled for you
- clean interface, all-in-one visual layout
- can also track “extras” such as supplement use, headaches, medication, weight, mood – customizable to your preferences
Possible negatives:
- limited help section; app not intended to walk you through fertility awareness – assumes user already has a fair amount of method use knowledge
- no community features
For iPhone:
Glow (iPhone & Android)
The good:
- easy to use for daily entries
- multiple devices allowed so spouse can also access
- data export feature for sharing your chart
- huge community & support forums
Possible negatives:
- cervical mucus observation descriptions are not very thorough
- some of the articles / “advice” is questionable or misleading in my opinion (eg, you don’t need to buy all sorts of fertility monitoring devices / ovulation predictor kits, etc)…read with caution
- method algorithms are proprietary – “chances of getting pregnant” data might be calculated based on overall averages, not necessarily based on your cycle
My vote for runner up…
Ovia (iPhone & Android)
The good:
- clean interface, visually appealing
- generally sound fertility info in the “articles” section, including source references
- community board posting feature to ask a question
- data export feature for sharing your chart
- includes optional nutrition tracking
- multiple devices allowed so spouse can also access
- syncs with wearable devices (fitbit, jawbone, and others)
Possible negatives:
- method algorithms are proprietary – “fertility score” data might be calculated based on overall averages, not necessarily based on your cycle
And a final, final comment: steer clear of “period tracking” only apps; that’s not what we’re going for. Fertility awareness involves daily data entries of your fertility signs: temperature, cervical mucus and cervix observations (optional). Getting the maximum benefits out of sympto-thermal method science is about much more than just entering what day your period started each cycle, and you need an app that gets you there.
So there you go: no more overwhelm. Stop reading this already – go download your app and let’s get this party started.
After your download, feel free to come back and answer this question: Which one did you pick and why? But ONLY post answers after you made a decision and downloaded your app, promise? 😉