Comparison

CDC's Milestone Tracker vs PatchPal

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

PatchPal

This app makes eye patching for children with amblyopia fun and engaging. It features a timer, mini-games, and rewards to motivate kids, along with progress tracking and reminders for parents. Data can be exported for doctor visits.

Highlights
  • Kid-friendly timer with progress tracking
  • Engaging mini-games for children
  • Achievement system and rewards
  • Detailed progress charts and statistics
  • Cloud sync across devices
  • Reminder notifications
  • Data export to CSV
Features
Read full description

PatchPal helps families track eye patching time for children with amblyopia (lazy eye). Make patching fun and engaging! KEY FEATURES: • Simple timer with colorful progress tracking • Fun mini-games to keep kids engaged during patching • Achievement system and rewards to motivate children • Detailed progress charts and statistics • Cloud sync across all your devices • Reminder notifications to never miss a session • Export data as CSV for doctor visits • Beautiful, kid-friendly design Perfect for parents managing their child's eye patching treatment. All features are completely free to use, with optional support options available. SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION: PatchPal offers optional auto-renewable subscriptions to support ongoing development. Subscriptions are managed through your Apple ID settings and can be canceled at any time. IMPORTANT MEDICAL DISCLAIMER: This app is for informational and tracking purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or qualified health provider with any questions regarding a medical condition. Do not use this app to diagnose or treat medical conditions. Privacy Policy: https://sushantwason.github.io/patchpal-legal/privacy_policy.html Terms of Use (EULA): https://sushantwason.github.io/patchpal-legal/terms_of_service.html Download PatchPal today and make patching time easier and more fun!

Screenshots

CDC's Milestone Tracker4 screens
PatchPal4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: PatchPal at every 3 days against CDC's Milestone Tracker's every 6 months. PatchPal also leads on review sentiment (80% vs 62%). CDC's Milestone Tracker's advantage is ratings volume (11K vs 7) and rating (4.9 vs 4.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

CDC's Milestone Tracker holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: CDC's Milestone Tracker has 11K ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 62% of CDC's Milestone Tracker's written reviews are positive against 80% of PatchPal's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

CDC's Milestone Tracker ships an update every 6 months, PatchPal every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
CDC's Milestone Tracker versus PatchPal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCDC's Milestone TrackerPatchPal
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (11K ratings) — better4.6 (7 ratings)
Positive reviews62.0% of reviews80.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings11K — better7
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.115.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size61 MB5 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperCenters For Disease Control and PreventionSUSHANT WASON

Customer experience

CDC's Milestone Tracker

All ratings9,979 ratings
Positive96.9%
Neutral1.5%
Negative1.6%
Written reviews108 reviews
Positive62.0%
Neutral14.8%
Negative23.1%

PatchPal

All ratings7 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral14.3%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative0.0%

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

PatchPal

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

CDC's Milestone Tracker

No in-app purchases

None

PatchPal

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 PatchPal free?
PatchPal is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, CDC's Milestone Tracker or PatchPal?
CDC's Milestone Tracker is rated higher. CDC's Milestone Tracker averages 4.9 out of 5 from 11K ratings, while PatchPal averages 4.6 from 7 ratings.
Do CDC's Milestone Tracker or PatchPal have ads?
Neither CDC's Milestone Tracker nor PatchPal shows ads.
Which is updated more often, CDC's Milestone Tracker or PatchPal?
CDC's Milestone Tracker ships an update every 6 months, and PatchPal every 3 days. Most recently, CDC's Milestone Tracker was updated on November 8, 2026 and PatchPal on November 5, 2026.

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