Insomnia Coach vs Dad's First Watch
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Insomnia Coach
This app offers a guided training plan and interactive tools based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-i). It provides personalized feedback and tips to help users track and improve their sleep patterns. Designed for daily use over five weeks, it aims to help users regain healthy sleep habits.
- Guided weekly training plan
- Personalized sleep coach feedback
- Interactive sleep diary
- 17 sleep improvement tools
- Scientifically-based approach
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Insomnia Coach is designed for Veterans, military Servicemembers, and others who are suffering from insomnia. The app is based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-i) and provides: * a guided, weekly training plan to help you track and improve your sleep * a sleep coach with personal feedback about your sleep and fun sleep tips * an interactive sleep diary to help you keep track of daily changes in your sleep * 17 tools to help you get your sleep back on track This app is based on scientific research about how people can change their behaviors and thoughts to improve their sleep. This app does NOT replace professional care. Insomnia Coach is designed to be used daily for 5 weeks by following the Training Plan. After that, you can continue using the app to track your sleep and maintain good sleep habits. Insomnia Coach was created by VA’s National Center for PTSD.
Dad's First Watch
A rugged, tactical pregnancy companion designed for expecting fathers. It provides a countdown to the due date, weekly baby size comparisons to familiar objects, and actionable "Dad Missions" to help you prepare.
- Countdown to due date
- Weekly baby size comparisons
- Actionable "Dad Missions"
- Hospital go-bag checklist
- Contraction timer
- Offline functionality
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Becoming a dad is the biggest mission of your life — and Dad's First Watch has you covered from week one all the way to the delivery room. This isn't a pastel baby app. It's a rugged, tactical pregnancy companion built specifically for expecting fathers. Dark military styling, zero fluff, and everything you actually need to show up prepared. THE COUNTDOWN A bold, full-screen timer counts down to your due date day by day, hour by hour. The ammo-belt progress meter keeps you locked on exactly where you stand in the pregnancy — no guesswork, just the facts. MAN-SCALE WEEKLY SIZE Every week, your baby's size is compared to something you can actually picture — wrenches, bolts, rounds of ammo, pocket knives, and other gear. Real length and weight measurements back it up, week by week, as your little one grows. WEEKLY FIELD REPORTS Each week brings a fresh briefing: what's happening with the baby, what your partner is going through, and one clear Dad Mission — a single, practical action you can take right now to be a better partner and a more prepared father. No lectures. Just the mission. HOSPITAL GO-BAG CHECKLIST When it's time to roll, you'll know exactly what to grab. The tactical checklist covers your bag, her bag, and the baby bag — with checkboxes to confirm everything is packed and staged before you hit the door. GO-TIME CONTRACTION TIMER Labor doesn't wait. The Go-Time contraction timer is fast, simple, and one tap away. An emergency info card puts critical details right in front of you when every second matters. 100% FREE — NO CATCHES No subscriptions. No ads. No login. No account required. Dad's First Watch runs fully offline, so it's mission-ready even in a delivery room with no cell signal. Everything is free, from week one to birth day. Fatherhood is the most important role you'll ever take on. Whether this is your first or your fourth, Dad's First Watch gives you the intel, the checklist, and the confidence to step up when it counts most. Download Dad's First Watch — your mission starts now.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Dad's First Watch at 100% against Insomnia Coach's 50%. Dad's First Watch also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.7). Insomnia Coach's advantage is ratings volume (89 vs 2) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 18.0). 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Dad's First Watch holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Insomnia Coach has 89 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of Insomnia Coach's written reviews are positive against 100% of Dad's First Watch's.
| Parameter | Insomnia Coach | Dad's First Watch |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.7 (89 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 50.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 89 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 9 months | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 35 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 17+ |
| Developer | US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) | Zachary Barlow |
Customer experience
Insomnia Coach
Dad's First Watch
Bugs and requests
Insomnia Coach
Reported bugs
8 issues- Sleep diary errors (negative hours)
- Progress tab not reflecting data
- App won't download
- Audio not playing through headphones
- Sleep diary calculation errors
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- Error when entering shift work hours
- App doesn't account for sex in diary
- Diary locks entries after prescription update
Requested features
9 requests- Dark mode feature
- Wireless headphone compatibility
- Ability to edit past diary entries
- Sync between devices
- More sleep stories and anxiety resources
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- Option to indicate getting out of bed in the middle of the night
- Better handling of irregular sleep hours
- Clearer overview of weekly exercises
- Support for Bluetooth earbuds
Dad's First Watch
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Insomnia Coach
No in-app purchases
Dad's First Watch
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Insomnia Coach free?
Is Dad's First Watch free?
Which has better reviews, Insomnia Coach or Dad's First Watch?
Do Insomnia Coach or Dad's First Watch have ads?
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