Comparison

GentleBirth Contraction Timer vs Expecting and Empowered

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

Head to head
About

GentleBirth Contraction Timer

This app helps track labor contractions with real-time monitoring, editing, and manual entry. It offers individualized audio labor coaching, background sound options, and visual charts to analyze trends. The app also provides notifications for when to go to the hospital or contact a care provider.

Highlights
  • Real-time contraction tracking
  • Manual contraction editing and addition
  • Individualized audio labor coaching
  • Customizable background sounds
  • Labor trend charts and statistics
  • Email surge history to care providers
  • Hospital arrival and care provider contact notifications
Features
Read full description

***THE BEST CONTRACTION TIMER APP FOR A POSITIVE BIRTH EXPERIENCE*** The GentleBirth Contraction Timer app combines guidance from the Award Winning GentleBirth Program with a beautiful interface to make tracking contractions/surges easy, effective and stress free. Created by Positive Birth expert, author, midwife and Founder of GentleBirth, Tracy Donegan.  GentleBirth has guided tens of thousands of parents around to world through their own positive birth experience. WHAT’S INCLUDED Track contractions in real time, edit contractions previously recorded, manually add contractions or delete when necessary. GentleBirth Guidance provides individualized audio labor coaching based on your reported experience as you track each contraction. Using mindfulness, focus and breathing significantly effects pain perception. Separate background sounds allow you to play sounds in the background of the GentleBirth Guidance, background sounds only, or no audio at all. All easily controlled from one screen. Beautiful and easy to read charts and statistics allow you to see trends over time. You can change the timeframe to view the information that is most important you at any point during your labor. Email your surge history and release of water data to yourself or your care-provider directly from the app. The GentleBirth Indicator analyses the duration and frequency of surges and will notify you when it’s time to go to hospital or if there are patterns of contractions that indicate you should contact your care-provider. WE’D LOVE TO CONNECT We want to hear about about your GentleBirth Contraction Timer experience. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us on social media if you have any feedback or questions about pregnancy, birth, the GentleBirth program or the Contraction Timer app. Email us at team@gentlebirth.com or contact support within the Contraction Timer app. NOTE This app does not provide medical advice. Our recommendations are based on standard indicators. Your labor may occur differently. Always consult your care-provider to orient yourself in terms of contraction frequency and duration. TERMS OF SERVICE https://gentlebirth.app/terms/ PRIVACY POLICY https://gentlebirth.app/privacy/

About

Expecting and Empowered

This app offers expertly designed at-home workouts for pregnant and postpartum mothers. It provides safe, effective, and manageable fitness plans tailored to each week of your journey, requiring minimal equipment and time.

Highlights
  • Pregnancy strength training
  • Postpartum strength training (vaginal & C-section)
  • Return to running programs
  • Core strengthening series
  • Prenatal and postpartum yoga
  • Workout scheduling
  • Community support
Features
Read full description

The best at home workout app for pregnant and postpartum moms is waiting for you. All the workouts you need are waiting for you inside the Expecting and Empowered app! Expertly created by a women's health physical therapist and a personal trainer, Expecting and Empowered has safe and effective workouts to take the guesswork out of your fitness routine in motherhood. Whether you're trying to conceive, pregnant, or postpartum - we have programs for you! With easy to follow workout plans that will take you week by week through your pregnancy or postpartum journey, you can find manageable and efficient workouts you can do at home or the gym inside the app. Designed to be done in just 30 minutes or less with minimal equipment, moms love the Expecting and Empowered App. With built in accountability challenges, supportive community and moms just like you - you'll find encouragement like no other. Find workouts you'll love, including: -Pregnancy Strength Training -Postpartum Strength Training - both vaginal and C-section delivery -Elevated + Empowered Advanced Postpartum Strength Training -Postpartum Running Evaluation -Return to Running Program -Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced Level Runs -Core Strengthening Series -Empower Your Core Programs - both vaginal and C-section delivery programs -Yoga - both prenatal and postpartum -Ability to Schedule Workouts STAY CONNECTED: -The app offers a community feature- where women that are going through what you’re going through can connect, support, and encourage each other. PRELOAD CLASSES: -If you’ll be without wifi, you can pre-download the classes that you’re planning to take. EXPERTISE + EDUCATION: Amy Kiefer is a registered nurse, doula, and personal trainer. Along with her co-founder and sister Krystle Howald who is a physical therapist, they offer educational posts that will help you navigate through pregnancy and postpartum. Whether you have a question about round ligament pain or about if working out will impact your milk supply- they have the answers in this section. Terms of use: https://www.expectingandempowered.com/app-terms-of-use Privacy Policy: https://www.expectingandempowered.com/app-privacy-policy

Screenshots

GentleBirth Contraction Timer4 screens
Expecting and Empowered4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Expecting and Empowered at none against GentleBirth Contraction Timer's shown. Expecting and Empowered also leads on ratings volume (444 vs 91). GentleBirth Contraction Timer's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, rating, review sentiment 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. GentleBirth Contraction Timer sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and Expecting and Empowered sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for GentleBirth Contraction Timer against 4.8 for Expecting and Empowered. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 91 and 444 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 95% of GentleBirth Contraction Timer's written reviews are positive against 91% of Expecting and Empowered's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

GentleBirth Contraction Timer ships an update every 9 days, Expecting and Empowered every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
GentleBirth Contraction Timer versus Expecting and Empowered: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGentleBirth Contraction TimerExpecting and Empowered
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (91 ratings)4.8 (444 ratings) — better
Positive reviews94.8% of reviews — better91.4% of reviews
Number of ratings91444 — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS15.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size78 MB94 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPositive Birth App DevelopmentExpecting and Empowered LLC

Customer experience

GentleBirth Contraction Timer

All ratings91 ratings
Positive93.4%
Neutral3.3%
Negative3.3%
Written reviews58 reviews
Positive94.8%
Neutral1.7%
Negative3.4%

Expecting and Empowered

All ratings444 ratings
Positive95.5%
Neutral2.0%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews139 reviews
Positive91.4%
Neutral3.6%
Negative5.0%

User reviews

GentleBirth Contraction Timer

From 91 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Simple and efficient
  • 🧘‍♀️ Guided meditation for contractions
  • 😌 Calming voice and narration
  • ⏱️ Easy contraction timing
  • 📊 Helpful data tracking

Room to improve

  • 😵 Insane amount of pop-ups
  • 😵‍💫 Pop-ups persist after submission
  • 🖱️ Poorly designed interface
  • 🖱️ Unresponsive buttons
  • 😵‍💫 Clunky app experience

Expecting and Empowered

From 444 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💪 Effective workouts
  • 🤰 Tailored for pregnancy/postpartum
  • 🧠 Helpful guidance and education
  • 🕰️ Manageable workout lengths
  • 🏃‍♀️ Great return to running program

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional app glitches and bugs
  • 🔊 Audio/video quality issues
  • 🕰️ Workouts can feel rushed
  • 🤔 Some exercises not suitable for all
  • 🔑 Repeated sign-in required

Bugs and requests

GentleBirth Contraction Timer

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Pop-ups won't close without submission
  • Pop-ups reappear after submission
  • Buttons on bottom bar unresponsive or hard to hit
  • Text doesn't fit screen
  • Audio pauses when screen times out or app switches
Show 1 more
  • Guidance and background music shuts off when phone screen locks

Requested features

3 requests
  • Dark mode feature
  • Option to live share with someone
  • More varied coaching after 16 hours

Expecting and Empowered

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Workouts skipping or getting stuck in loops
  • Inability to preview upcoming exercises
  • Automated log out issues

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add ability to log weights used
  • Improve scheduling and workout tracking
  • Allow listening to own music during workouts
  • Provide more modifications for exercises

In-app purchases

4 purchases

GentleBirth Contraction Timer

One-time4
  • Contraction Timer Premium$0.99
  • Premium - One Time Offer$0.99
  • Premium - Discount Offer$0.99
Show 1 more
  • Contraction Timer - Email Data$0.99
5 purchases

Expecting and Empowered

Subscriptions5
  • Monthly Subscription$19.991 Month
  • Monthly Subscription1 Month trial2 variants$19.991 Month
  • Annual Subscription1 Month trial$19.991 Month
Show 2 more
  • Annual Subscription1 Year trial5 variants$149.991 Year
  • Annual Subscription$149.991 Year

Questions

Is GentleBirth Contraction Timer free?
GentleBirth Contraction Timer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Expecting and Empowered free?
Expecting and Empowered is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, GentleBirth Contraction Timer or Expecting and Empowered?
Expecting and Empowered is rated higher. GentleBirth Contraction Timer averages 4.7 out of 5 from 91 ratings, while Expecting and Empowered averages 4.8 from 444 ratings.
Do GentleBirth Contraction Timer or Expecting and Empowered have ads?
GentleBirth Contraction Timer shows ads; Expecting and Empowered does not.
Which is updated more often, GentleBirth Contraction Timer or Expecting and Empowered?
GentleBirth Contraction Timer ships an update every 9 days, and Expecting and Empowered every 3 weeks. Most recently, GentleBirth Contraction Timer was updated on September 21, 2026 and Expecting and Empowered on September 2, 2026.

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