When you’re trying to conceive a baby, knowing your fertile window is crucial in order to properly time intercourse!
Thankfully, Femtech tools provide essential information about your unique menstrual cycle and track numerous physiological parameters which help indicate your best days for TTC.
Here, we’ll review the 5 best fertility monitors and ovulation trackers for 2021.
We’ve included ovulation predictor kits, wearable technology, and standard BBT trackers on our list so that you can see the leading options available today.
TL;DR: What is the Best Ovulation Tracker?
- Mira Fertility Tracker is the best ovulation predictor kit. It comes in the form of a urine-based test paired with an analyzer that tracks your numeric LH and estrogen hormone levels.
- The best fertility bracelet is the Ava Fertility Tracker. It tracks 5 major physiological parameters including skin temperature, resting pulse rate, heart rate variability ratio, perfusion, and breathing rate.
- The OvuSense Fertility Monitor is the best ovulation monitor on the market. Women insert a vaginal sensor and wear it overnight to continuously measure their core body temperature (cCBT). This data is then analyzed by the OvuSense app to predict ovulation up to 24 hours in advance with 99% accuracy.
- Kegg Tech’s 2-in-1 Fertility Tracker is the best kegel exerciser. It’s inserted vaginally for 2 minutes each day to monitor electrolyte level changes within cervical mucus and can also be used for kegel exercises.
- Ovacue Fertility Monitor by Fairhaven Health is the best ovulation monitor for PCOS. It combines readings from both an oral and a vaginal sensor that measure changes in electrolyte levels in your saliva and cervical mucus.
First, What is Femtech?
Femtech (female technology) encompasses a wide range of technology and devices that are designed to support women’s health.
In more recent years, Femtech has become a critical component of women’s reproductive health, most notably in the realm of understanding each woman’s unique menstrual cycle and how it may affect their chances of conceiving.
Numerous tests and trackers have been developed to help detect women’s fertile windows and pinpoint ovulation. Examples of Femtech devices created for this purpose include:
- Smartphone apps, such as ovulation predictors and menstrual cycle calendars
- Wearable devices, such as ovulation bracelets
- Insertable devices, such as vaginal monitors
Let’s take now take a quick look at how these tests work and the types of data their predictions are based upon.
What Is a Fertility Tracker?
A fertility monitor or fertility tracker is an electronic device that helps you track your fertile window and increase the chances of conceiving.
This device allows you to track different body parameters that signal ovulation, such as:
- hormonal changes in your urine or saliva;
- the fluctuations of your basal temperature;
- the electrical resistance of saliva or vaginal fluids.
Instead of trying to figure out the most suitable days to conceive on your own, you can just use a special device that will do the work for you.
Besides, almost all modern fertility monitors can be synchronized with a mobile app, and hence, provide you with a detailed record of your cycles, which you can discuss with your gynecologist.
How Do Fertility Monitors Work?
To answer this question, let’s briefly walk through the processes that happen in a woman’s body prior to, during, and after ovulation.
According to science, ovulation typically happens between the 11th and 21st day of the menstrual cycle. During this period, the levels of the luteinizing hormone (LH) go up, triggering the release of the most mature egg from the follicle.
Along with that, estrogen levels begin to drop, and progesterone — the hormone that helps stabilize the uterine lining so that the fertilized egg can stick to it — takes the lead.
The basal body temperature — also known as the temperature of the resting body — rises before and during ovulation under the influence of LH and progesterone.
These are the main body changes that happen during the ovulatory phase of your cycle. So, the purpose of a fertility tracker is to track and monitor these changes to determine the days when chances of conception are the highest.
Best Ovulation Tracker
Trying to decide which ovulation tracker is best is a hotly debated subject and relies upon several factors.
While some women prefer to use standard methods of testing, such as relying on urine tests or tracking BBT, other women may prefer the use of wearable devices that are easy to use, are non-invasive, and reduce some of the stress that’s associated with taking manual measurements.
However, there are women who may prefer the use of vaginal monitors which typically provide the most accurate and comprehensive results in comparison to other trackers but are slightly more expensive.
Most tests use one of the following ways for estimating or detecting ovulation and the overall likelihood of conception:
- Urine Test – This form of testing is used to detect numeric hormone levels, such as Luteinizing Hormone (LH) and estrogen. A sharp LH surge indicates that ovulation will occur within the next 1-2 days. Additionally, an increase in estrogen is also linked to a woman’s fertile window.
- External/Wearable Device – A device is worn externally that monitors body temperature and in some cases additional physiological parameters, which fluctuates throughout a woman’s menstrual cycle and indicates whether or not a hormonal surge has occurred or is nearing.
- Basal Body Temperature (BBT) – Women record their basal temperature immediately upon waking with an oral thermometer and track their readings daily throughout the month in order to determine the exact date of ovulation. This form of testing may also be used for predicting their upcoming fertile window
- Internal Device (Vaginal) – A device is inserted vaginally that records core body temperature data. This form of temperature-tracking is more accurate than that of Basal Body Temperature (BBT) or readings taken externally, such as on the wrist or under the armpit.
Comparison of the 5 Best Fertility Monitors and Ovulation Trackers
Best Ovulation Predictor Kit – Mira Fertility Tracker
The Mira Fertility Tracker is an ovulation predictor kit (OPK) that allows women to test their quantitative estrogen and LH hormone levels from the comfort of their home.
Both hormones are correlated with ovulation and peak fertility and prior to ovulation, estrogen levels steadily increase and a sharp surge of LH indicates ovulation is about to take place within 1-2 days.
These numbers combined provide women with a 6-day fertile window that’s optimal for conception.
Mira recognizes that each woman has their own unique ovulatory patterns and that many women have issues with using standard fertility apps.
Most generic apps don’t take into account hormone levels, abnormal cycles, or other critical information that affect ovulation and impact trying to predict the optimal time to try to conceive.
Mira Fertility Tracker Options
Currently, there is 1 option available for the Mira Fertility Tracker – the Mira Fertility Plus Starter Kit.
This kit contains the Mira Analyzer and comes with 10 estrogen + LH testing wands. However, women can also purchase additional testing wands in sets of 20.
Here’s a closer look at what’s included in each starter kit:
How to Use Mira Fertility Tracker
The Mira Fertility Tracker is extremely user-friendly and the entire testing process takes no more than 20 minutes.
- First, you will need to collect a urine sample in the morning with one of the provided urine cups. Following the urine collection, you will then need to dip one of the testing wands into the sample for around 10 seconds.
- After dipping the wand into the urine sample, remove it and place it into the tracker for analysis. This process usually takes around 15 minutes to complete.
- Once the analysis has finished, the app will provide personalized information about a woman’s fertile window, such as their hormone baseline levels, and how their hormone surges correlate to ovulation.
This information is critical for knowing exactly when a woman should try to conceive and also enables women to have a better understanding of their own unique cycle.
Mira Fertility Tracker Pricing
The Mira Fertility Plus Starter Kit comes with 10 estrogen and LH wands along with the Mira Analyzer for $199.
Additionally, Mira offers a payment plan through Sezzle for US and Canadian customers with a 25% down payment and interest-free, 25% biweekly payments for those who are unable to pay the full $199 initially.
Additional costs associated with the Mira Fertility Tracker include replacement test wands which include a set of 20 estrogen and LH wands for $59.
Thankfully, Mira is HSA/FSA eligible for most plans and can be used during checkout to reduce the final cost. Some HSA/FSA plans may even cover the full cost.
Mira Fertility Tracker Reviews
Overall, most women who have used the Mira Fertility Tracker have left incredibly favorable reviews on the website.
REVIEWS.io states that 96% of reviewers recommend Mira Fertility and the company has an overall rating of 4.6/5.0 stars based on 836 reviews.
Best Fertility Bracelet – Ava Fertility Tracker
The Ava Fertility Tracker provides women with a hassle-free, non-invasive way to track their fertile window and detect ovulation.
This fertility bracelet is designed to measure 5 physiological signals of fertility that are used towards detecting a woman’s 5-day fertile window.
Ava is designed to be worn during the night and then synced with its app in the morning.
Unlike standard fertility trackers or retrospective temperature methods, the Ava Fertility Tracker provides women with results in real-time and produces higher accuracy results.
Ava Fertility Tracker Options
Ava Fertility offers the following 3 plans for its fertility bracelet:
- Ava Basic – This starter plan includes the Ava bracelet, Ava app, membership to the Ava online community, and free shipping.
- Ava Plus – This plan provides everything that’s included with the basic plan PLUS a 100% product refund if you fail to become pregnant within 12 months. Additionally, this plan also includes access to The Ultimate Guide to Getting Pregnant e-book
- Ava Premium – The third and final option for the Ava Fertility Bracelet bundle includes everything mentioned previously, however, this plan provides a full refund if a woman fails to conceive after trying for 6 months.
How to Use Ava Fertility Tracker
The Ava Fertility Tracker is extremely easy to use!
- Women should wear the bracelet while sleeping to allow it to collect continuous data throughout the night.
- Upon waking, women can sync the bracelet with the app to upload the data obtained overnight and allow Ava’s algorithm to display their results immediately.
It’s important for women to wear the bracelet every night during their entire menstrual cycle in order to capture all of the physiological changes that occur that may impact their ovulation and overall fertility.
The Ava Bracelet collects data on the following 5 parameters throughout the night which are used towards detecting a woman’s fertile window, predicting the exact day of ovulation, and providing a better look at their overall health:
Ava Fertility Tracker Pricing
Ava Fertility provides women with relatively affordable options for clinically-backed wearable sensor technology.
The least expensive option available is the Ava Basic plan, which costs $259, and the most expensive option is the Ava Premium plan, which is priced at $359.
The major differences between these plans are the inclusion of a free e-book with the premium plan along with a guaranteed full refund if a woman fails to conceive after trying for 6 months.
However, most women choose the Ava Plus plan as it provides the best overall value and also offers a full refund if pregnancy is not achieved after trying for 12 months.
Ava Fertility Tracker Reviews
Overall, the Ava Fertility Tracker has extremely positive reviews.
Nearly 80% of women on Trustpilot (~1,300 individuals) left a rating of great or excellent for this product.
The majority of these reviews left comments about how the bracelet…
- enabled them to conceive children faster
- made the conception process easier
- helped women to conceive within 3 months of actively trying
- eliminated stress associated with manual measurements
- was much more reliable than standard ovulation tracking apps and test strips
Best Ovulation Monitor – OvuSense Fertility Monitor
The OvuSense Fertility Monitor is a subscription-based, sensor technology that continuously measures a woman’s core body temperature (cCBT) while sleeping.
This ovulation tracker comes in the form of an easy-to-use OvuCore sensor that is vaginally inserted prior to sleeping and taken out immediately upon waking.
The OvuCore sensor pairs with the OvuSense App and provides data in real-time which is used towards predicting ovulation up to 24 hours in advance as well as for providing a full 8-day fertile window at the start of a woman’s following menstrual cycle.
This form of ovulation tracking is considered to be more accurate than other trackers and provides better data on temperature when compared to BBT or wearable sensors.
OvuSense Fertility Monitor Options
OvuSense offers 3 major plans for its fertility monitor starter pack.
Women can choose between a monthly or annual plan and also can select from the standard or pro plan, depending on whether or not they’re currently working with a doctor or are planning to in the near future.
Here’s a further look into the starter pack options available for OvuSense:
How to Use OvuSense Fertility Monitor
Unlike other trackers, the OvuSense Fertility Monitor is an internal monitor that should be worn overnight.
Here’s an overview of how it works:
- The OvuCore sensor is inserted vaginally and worn during the night.
- Upon waking, the OvuCore sensor should be removed and thoroughly cleaned prior to syncing with the OvuSense app.
- The OvuSense app will provide live updates on predicting ovulation and will allow women to know up to 24 hours in advance of their expected day for ovulation. The app will also provide women with their 8-day fertile window for their upcoming cycle to further increase their chances of conceiving.
OvuSense Fertility and Ovulation Monitor Pricing
Similar to Ava Fertility, OvuSense offers 3 options for its OvuCore Starter Pack.
The least expensive option is the OvuCore Standard Monthly plan which is priced at $129.
The most popular option is the standard annual plan which is available for $299, however, there is also another annual plan available for $449 that provides further and more advanced analysis along with remote monitoring for doctors.
Additionally, women who are already subscribed to OvuSense may choose to extend their subscription for the following discounted rates:
OvuSense Fertility Monitor Reviews
Although there are only 30 reviews currently available, Trustpilot provides OvuSense with an overall 4.2 rating.
83% of reviewers have provided either great or excellent ratings about the fertility monitor and have left comments such as the following:
“Ovusense has helped me to fully understand how my body is working and where we may have been going wrong previously… I would use Ovusense every time when trying to conceive”
-Nicola B.
“I started using the OvuSense device in January 2019 and my son was conceived on the fifth cycle. At 39 and 50 my partner and I had been having no success in conceiving and had begun to put it down to biology but using OvuSense allowed us to pinpoint ovulation and identify that I had a slightly short luteal phase. ”
-Laura Abbott
“Taking my temperature any other way, never worked for me. I never knew if I was doing it right. But with OvuSense, it did all the hard work for me. Wearing the sensor every night was so simple. Doctors didn’t think I ovulated. I learned with OvuSense that I actually did ovulate and by the second cycle knew when to baby dance to try to have a baby.”
-Amy W.
Best Kegel Exerciser
What if we told you that we included a device that serves as both a fertility tracker and kegel exercise ball on our list?
Kegg Tech designed its 2-in-1 Fertility Tracker for women to use not only to track their fertility but to use for pelvic floor exercises as well!
Kegg detects your fertile window by monitoring changes in the levels of electrolytes within your cervical fluid throughout the month.
All you have to do is insert Kegg Tech vaginally for 2 minutes and pair it with its mobile app.
Women can choose to perform kegel exercises prior to obtaining their cervical fluid measurements as well to strengthen their pelvic floor and also ease the data collection process by increasing cervical fluid.
Best Fertility Monitor for PCOS – Ovacue Fertility Monitor
Another model in this review of the best fertility monitors uses saliva and cervical mucus testing to determine your fertile window. This eliminates the need for buying test strips — which is good for both your wallet and our planet — while still giving you the precise results you need.
So, the monitor has two sensors, oral and vaginal, and detects estrogen-impacted electrolyte changes in the corresponding fluids.
First, you need to use an oral sensor to determine the changes in the electrolyte resistance in your saliva. After a couple of days, the app can make a trend based on your recordings, marking the beginning of your fertile window (blue squares on the calendar) and predicting low or high chances of ovulation (light and dark blue shades, respectively).
After your fertile window begins, you may want to start using the vaginal sensor as well. This sensor will detect the switch from estrogen to progesterone dominance in your cervical fluid, which is the sign that ovulation has occurred. The pink box, indicating ‘possible ovulation’ will appear on the calendar.
The Ovacue works for women with irregular cycles and offers you up to 7 days of advance notice.
The Verdict – Which Ovulation Tracker is Best for Me?
Choosing which of the above ovulation trackers is best for you depends on several factors, such as price limit, ease of use, and overall comfort.
If you’re searching for the best ovulation predictor kit, we suggest using the Mira Fertility Tracker. This form of ovulation testing is non-invasive and is the most affordable option from the trackers we reviewed above.
If you would rather try wearable technology, we highly suggest the Ava Fertility Tracker. Ava’s fertility bracelet should be worn overnight and tracks 5 major physiological parameters that are used to predict ovulation and provide a detailed overview of a woman’s overall health.
Women who want a high accuracy sensor should use the OvuSense Fertility Monitor. This tracker involves the use of an insertable vaginal monitor that records cCBT and is used towards predicting an 8-day fertile window.
If you want to use a vaginal monitor that only has to be worn for 2 minutes a day and can also be used for kegel exercises then we recommend Kegg Tech.
However, if you happen to have PCOS or experience irregular menstrual cycles, then Ovacue Fertility Monitor is a better option as it monitors changes in electrolytes within both saliva and cervical mucus.
Frequently Asked Questions
What type of fertility monitor is the best?
According to science, the most precise ovulation predictions come from the fluctuations in the levels of hormones. So, technically, the best type of fertility monitor is the one that uses these measurements.
How accurate are fertility trackers?
Well, there’s no such thing as ‘the most accurate fertility monitor’, because each woman’s body is unique. Yet, every type of fertility tracker on the market today can offer you a very high level of accuracy to help you get pregnant.
How long do I have to track my fertile window?
As long as it takes you to conceive a baby. Or, to determine possible fertility issues — in case this method of tracking didn’t bring you the result you expected.
Will a fertility monitor work for women who are more than 30 years old?
You can use a fertility tracker as long as you are fertile — meaning as long as you have regular menstruations and your healthcare specialist doesn’t detect any issues. Moreover, even if you have an irregular cycle, a fertility monitor can still help you track hormonal changes, and it will do this more accurately than a regular ovulation kit.
