Guud’s Top Picks for Period Tracking Apps

When was the first day of your last period?
If you know right away, guud for you! You’re clearly on top of your cycle, and we’re proud of you. If you’re hearing crickets, well, it might be time to think about a period tracking app.

Why bother tracking your period?

Keeping track of your period using an app can be extremely helpful. Not only can it warn you when your period is due, but it can teach you a lot about your own patterns and mood changes. It can also help you get in tune with your own body. Lots of apps also allow you to track symptoms, sleep patterns and any supplements for menstrual health or fertility that you might be taking.

An app can also be a useful guide to help you get pregnant or prevent getting pregnant. If you’re trying for a baby, you’ll also want to track your basal temperature and analyse your cervical mucus (here’s how!). If you’re not, please don’t rely solely on the app and make sure you’re using some form of contraception.

We talked to the Guud team about what period tracking apps they use and compiled a list of our faves. Here are our top picks.

Natural Cycles

Guud founder Morgane uses Natural Cycles, the first fertility awareness app that comes with a basal thermometer. It’s also the only app that has been approved for use as a medical device.

All you need to do is use the thermometer to input your daily temperature alongside the date and length of your cycle. The app will then predict your ovulation and fertility and it will become more accurate over time as you add more information. The app shows you the status of each day: green for “it’s OK to have unprotected sex,” and red for “not unless you want a baby!” You can also switch modes in the app, so the data can be used to tell you when you are most likely to be able to conceive, if you are trying for a baby. If you are using Natural Cycles to avoid getting pregnant, you do need to ensure you measure your temperature on a daily basis.

No hormones, no implants. It’s as easy as ordering a takeaway from your phone and that’s why this app was a firm favourite among the Guud Woman team.

The app costs £49.99 annually or £6.99 per month and the thermometer comes free in the post.

Flo

Flo is another app we liked. It is the #1 female OB-GYN-recommended period and cycle tracking app (according to their website) and overall, the reviews are very guud.

Similar to Natural Cycles, Flo gives you predictions about your ovulation and fertile days based on your cycle data. This is based on the info you enter into the app so things like dates and length of your past periods and symptoms like cramps, mood swings, etc. When you’re fertile, the days are marked in a teal. It will also pick your ovulation day noting there is a “high chance of getting pregnant” that day. The days before ovulation and a couple days after are marked with “a chance to get pregnant” and the days that are black have a low chance of pregnancy.

We like the notifications you get and how it got more accurate over time. It is easy to set up and doesn’t require much upkeep.

Like Natural Cycles, Flo is a subscription-based app. It costs about £11 per month.

Fitbit

If you have a Fitbit, you may already know about the cycle tracking capabilities, but what you may not know is that you can actually use the app on your phone without actually having a Fitbit device. It is more basic than Natural Cycles and Flo, but the Fitbit app will allow you to follow your cycle, log periods, record details and look at trends. It will also predict your “fertile window” and send you notifications when your period is due.

Miranda, Guud Content Manager, used this app for a long time to track her cycle. “I liked the simplicity of it. The notifications were also super handy. I always forget when my period is due. Having the notification pop up on my phone to remind me to chuck a few tampons in my purse before I left for the day was super helpful!”

The app is free to download for iPhone or Android devices.

Clue

Clue also ranked highly among the Guud team. The app claims that it can teach you about your body so if you snoozed your way through sex ed class, this one’s for you.

This app will give you both period and PMS predictions based on information you input. All your data is neatly stored in a clear overview that helps you analyse and see trends easily. The app developers also routinely collaborate with scientists and universities, so they are always making improvements.

The basic app is free to use, but Clue Plus, which includes additional features, is subscription-based and costs about £33 for the year.

FitrWoman

We love this app because it not only tracks your cycle, but it gives you personalised exercise and nutrition advice based on the way your hormones change throughout your cycle. How cool is that?

Based on your cycle, the app will tell you when you can push harder in a workout and when to take it easy. It will also recommend food and recipes that can help reduce period-related symptoms, fuel your training and support your recovery.

The app is free to download for iPhone and Android devices.

Jennis CycleMapping

Brought to you by Olympic gold medallist Jessica Ennis-Hill and Dr Emma Ross, Jessica’s resident physiologist, Cyclemapping is the follow-up to Jessica’s portfolio of training, pregnancy and postnatal related apps. More than just a period tracking app, it provides you with personalised exercise programmes based on your unique patterns, symptoms and personal goals.

So it may recommend things like a targeted yoga session on days when you’re bleeding to help alleviate cramps. Or, in the first half of your cycle when your estrogen levels are highest, it might recommend a heart-pumping HIIT workout. Exercising according to your cycle is definitely a guud idea (We wrote an entire blog post on it!) so we're big fans of this app.

The app is free to try and costs £14.99 per year on iPhone and Android devices.

Ovia Fertility

Our final pick is Ovia Fertility which is perfect if you're hoping to not get your period! This one is technically a fertility tracker designed to help you get pregnant. In addition to tracking your period, it has some different features that help you track things like basal body temperature and cervical mucus. (Want to know more about what cervical mucus says about your cycle? Check out our blog post on it!)

The app is also free with an option for a premium version with extra features and personalised health support.

Do you have a preferred period tracking app? Which one is your favourite?