Comparison

CDC's Milestone Tracker vs Pathways.org Baby Milestones

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

CDC's Milestone Tracker

Monitor your child's developmental progress from 2 months to 5 years with interactive checklists. Includes tips, videos, and guidance on when to seek professional advice. Easily share milestone summaries with healthcare providers.

Highlights
  • Add multiple children
  • Interactive milestone checklists
  • Milestone photos and videos
  • Developmental tips and activities
  • Guidance on early developmental concerns
  • Track doctor's appointments
  • Share milestone summaries
Features
Read full description

Milestones matter! Track your child’s milestones from age 2 months to 5 years with CDC’s easy-to-use checklists; get tips from CDC to support your child’s development; and find out what to do if you ever have concerns about your child's development. From birth to age 5, your child should reach milestones in how he or she plays, learns, speaks, acts and moves. Photos and videos in this app illustrate each milestone and make tracking them for your child easy and fun! Spanish photos and videos are coming soon! Features: • Add a Child – enter personalized information about your child or multiple children • Milestone Tracker – track your child’s development by looking for important milestones using an interactive checklist • Milestone Photos and Videos – know what each milestone looks like so that you can better identify them in your own child. • Tips and Activities – support your child’s development at every age • When to Act Early – know when it’s time to “act early” and talk with your child’s doctor about developmental concerns • Appointments – keep track of your child’s doctors’ appointments and get reminders about recommended developmental screenings • Milestone Summary – get a summary of your child’s milestones to view, and share with or email to your child’s doctor and other important care providers For more information and free tools to help you track your child’s milestones, visit www.cdc.gov/ActEarly. *This milestone checklist is not a substitute for a standardized, validated developmental screening tool. These developmental milestones show what most children (75% or more) can do by each age. Subject matter experts selected these milestones based on available data and expert consensus. CDC does not collect or share any personal information that can be used to identify you or your child.

About

Pathways.org Baby Milestones

This app helps parents and healthcare providers track and support a baby's development. It offers expert-backed milestone tracking with real-baby demonstrations and over 300 activities to help babies reach developmental goals.

Highlights
  • Track baby milestones
  • Real-baby video demonstrations
  • Expert-approved activities
  • Tummy Time Timer
  • Videos, tips, and checklists
  • Share progress
Features
Read full description

Pathways.org's expert-backed app gives parents and healthcare providers everything they need to track and support Baby’s development. Parents can explore milestones like sitting, rolling, talking, and eating, watch real-baby demonstrations, and access 300+ easy activities that help babies reach each milestone. What sets us apart is that we don’t just list milestones, we show parents how to help Baby achieve them. Why Parents & Providers Love It - Track milestones with real-baby video demos that show you exactly what to look for at every age - Get daily activities created by experts to help Baby reach milestones as they grow - Use the Tummy Timer to meet the daily Tummy Time goal for Baby's age - Stay on top of Baby's routine with simple trackers for diapers and feeding - Explore videos, checklists, and other expert-reviewed resources to help you support Baby's development - Share progress with grandparents, caregivers, or healthcare providers Trusted. Expert-Backed. Free. - Guided by 70+ pediatric specialists in PT, OT, SLP, and more - Milestones supported by American Academy of Pediatrics and CDC findings. - Resources developed and approved by expert pediatric therapists - A nonprofit organization supporting families since 1985 If your child is missing milestones, consult your healthcare provider. This app does not replace medical care. Pathways.org protects your privacy and never shares personal information. © Copyright 2026 Pathways.org – All materials including videos are provided at no cost; no fees or charges may be associated with any of the Pathways.org materials without prior written approval.

Screenshots

CDC's Milestone Tracker4 screens
Pathways.org Baby Milestones4 screens

Verdict

The call

CDC's Milestone Tracker and Pathways.org Baby Milestones both sit at 4.9 stars, but that hides the real split: 95% of Pathways.org Baby Milestones's written reviews are positive against 61% of CDC's Milestone Tracker's. Pathways.org Baby Milestones also leads on update cadence (every 4 weeks vs every 6 months). CDC's Milestone Tracker's advantage is ratings volume (10K vs 1.2K). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for CDC's Milestone Tracker against 4.9 for Pathways.org Baby Milestones. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: CDC's Milestone Tracker has 10K ratings behind it against 1.2K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 61% of CDC's Milestone Tracker's written reviews are positive against 95% of Pathways.org Baby Milestones's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

CDC's Milestone Tracker ships an update every 6 months, Pathways.org Baby Milestones every 4 weeks. Both last shipped on September 23, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
CDC's Milestone Tracker versus Pathways.org Baby Milestones: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCDC's Milestone TrackerPathways.org Baby Milestones
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (10K ratings)4.9 (1.2K ratings)
Positive reviews61.2% of reviews94.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings10K — better1.2K
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 4 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.115.1
Further details — not scored
Size61 MB28 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperCenters For Disease Control and PreventionPathways Foundation

Customer experience

CDC's Milestone Tracker

All ratings9,979 ratings
Positive96.9%
Neutral1.5%
Negative1.6%
Written reviews103 reviews
Positive61.2%
Neutral15.5%
Negative23.3%

Pathways.org Baby Milestones

All ratings1,162 ratings
Positive97.2%
Neutral1.4%
Negative1.5%
Written reviews74 reviews
Positive94.6%
Neutral2.7%
Negative2.7%

User reviews

CDC's Milestone Tracker

From 10K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Comprehensive milestone tracking
  • 💡 Helpful videos and activities
  • 🔍 Useful for monitoring child development
  • ⭐ Great resource for parents and caregivers

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Bugs and glitches (e.g., app crashes, incorrect age display)
  • 🔍 Overly sensitive to missing milestones, causing unnecessary worry
  • 🗣️ Needs more language options beyond English and Spanish
  • 🔗 Broken or missing links to external resources
  • 🔍 Lacks flexibility for customizing milestones (e.g., for children with special needs)

Pathways.org Baby Milestones

From 1.2K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Totally free and very helpful app
  • 👍 Better than paid apps
  • 👍 Great suggestions for exercises with baby
  • 👍 Brilliant aid for parents and grandparents
  • 👍 Amazing and very informative

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App keeps crashing after last update
  • 🐛 Tummy timer no longer works for manual entries or editing past entries
  • 🤔 Confusing controls for tracking progress

Bugs and requests

CDC's Milestone Tracker

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Incorrect age display for children
  • Milestone checklist reset after app updates
  • Reference videos not working as expected
  • Inability to input child's exact age or prematurity details

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to sync data between multiple devices
  • Option to track milestones beyond early childhood
  • Integration with other child health and development apps
  • More customization options for milestone tracking
  • Improved data visualization and reporting

Pathways.org Baby Milestones

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • App freezes on a blank screen with no options
  • Bar chart showing tummy time data is displaying incorrect information

Requested features

2 requests
  • Ability to add more than one child profile
  • Option to share articles from the app

In-app purchases

None

CDC's Milestone Tracker

No in-app purchases

None

Pathways.org Baby Milestones

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is CDC's Milestone Tracker free?
CDC's Milestone Tracker is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pathways.org Baby Milestones free?
Pathways.org Baby Milestones is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, CDC's Milestone Tracker or Pathways.org Baby Milestones?
CDC's Milestone Tracker and Pathways.org Baby Milestones are both rated 4.9 out of 5 on the App Store, from 10K and 1.2K ratings respectively.
Do CDC's Milestone Tracker or Pathways.org Baby Milestones have ads?
Neither CDC's Milestone Tracker nor Pathways.org Baby Milestones shows ads.
Which is updated more often, CDC's Milestone Tracker or Pathways.org Baby Milestones?
CDC's Milestone Tracker ships an update every 6 months, and Pathways.org Baby Milestones every 4 weeks. Most recently, CDC's Milestone Tracker was updated on September 23, 2026 and Pathways.org Baby Milestones on September 23, 2026.

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