Comparison

Malama vs First Fork

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

Head to head
About

Malama

Easily track blood sugar levels by syncing with a Bluetooth glucose meter or manually logging. Integrate health and fitness data, tag meals with photos and notes, and receive AI-powered insights into food triggers for high glucose. Connect with specialized prenatal nutritionists.

Highlights
  • Bluetooth glucose meter sync
  • Manual glucose logging
  • HealthKit integration
  • Meal tagging with photos and notes
  • AI-powered food trigger identification
  • Connect with prenatal nutritionists
Features
Read full description

Malama helps women manage gestational diabetes during pregnancy and continue wellness support postpartum. Using Malama’s app, you can sync with a Bluetooth glucose meter to automatically pull in blood sugar and glucose levels. You can also manually log your glucose levels if your meter is not yet supported. Malama can integrate health and fitness data from the Health app using HealthKit and display your trends in a useful, easy-to-understand way. After logging glucose levels, you can add meal tags, photos, carb notes, and other details to share with your care team. Malama also offers powerful analytics using AI to help identify foods and meals that may trigger high blood glucose levels. With our postpartum wellness program, Malama supports healthy routines after pregnancy, including ongoing food insights, glucose awareness, and lifestyle support. We also offer connections to a network of prenatal nutritionists who specialize in gestational diabetes, pregnancy nutrition, and other prenatal conditions. Disclaimer: This app is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Please seek a doctor’s advice in addition to using this app and before making any medical decisions.

About

First Fork

Easily log gestational diabetes readings with photo recognition or manual entry. Track your post-meal countdown directly from your lock screen or Apple Watch. Generate printable reports for your clinic appointments.

Highlights
  • Photo glucose reading
  • Manual glucose entry
  • Lock screen countdown
  • Apple Watch complication
  • Printable/shareable clinic grid
  • No ads or cloud storage
Features
Read full description

First Fork is a glucose logger built for gestational diabetes — the two-hour window after every meal, the reading, and the grid your clinic wants to see. Try First Fork free for 7 days. After that, the app requires a Monthly subscription or a one-time Lifetime purchase. Every feature described below is part of that plan. Log a reading in seconds. Photograph your meter and First Fork reads the number for you, or type it in by hand. See your countdown without opening the app. A Live Activity on your Lock Screen and Dynamic Island shows exactly how long is left in your two-hour post-meal window — something no other gestational diabetes app offers. Add the Apple Watch complication to check it from your wrist. Walk into every appointment with the exact grid your clinic hands out — generated from your real readings, ready to print or share as a PDF. No ads. No account. No cloud. Everything you log stays on your device — nothing is ever uploaded, shared, or sold. First Fork is a logging tool, not medical advice. Always follow your care team's guidance for testing, targets, and treatment. Terms of use: https://firstfork.app/terms

Screenshots

Malama4 screens
First Fork4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: First Fork at every 5 days against Malama's monthly. First Fork also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8). Malama's advantage is ratings volume (232 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Malama sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and First Fork sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

First Fork holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Malama has 232 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Malama ships an update monthly, First Fork every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Malama versus First Fork: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMalamaFirst Fork
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (232 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews93.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings232 — better1
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS15.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size35 MB40 MB
Age rating17+12+
DeveloperMALAMA HEALTH, INC.Chufeng Huang

Customer experience

Malama

All ratings194 ratings
Positive94.8%
Neutral1.0%
Negative4.1%
Written reviews111 reviews
Positive93.7%
Neutral2.7%
Negative3.6%

First Fork

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Malama

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • App won't load or becomes unresponsive
  • Data entries fail to save
  • Verification code screen freezes during login
  • White screen prevents adding logs
  • App stuck on analyzing screen
Show 4 more
  • Network error messages blocking access
  • Syncing delays after submitting entries
  • Glucose range settings don't accept all recommended values
  • Fasting log doesn't display correctly for night shift workers

Requested features

14 requests
  • Water intake tracker
  • Fitness and workout logging
  • Integration with MyFitnessPal or similar apps
  • More detailed macro tracking (carbs, fiber, fat, protein breakdown)
  • Support for additional glucose monitors (Freestyle Libre)
Show 9 more
  • Ability to download food and glucose logs as PDF
  • Blood pressure tracking for preeclampsia monitoring
  • Snooze or pause option for meal tips
  • Apple Health integration for workout data
  • Extended graph viewing beyond one week
  • Improved graph visualization and clarity
  • Customizable reminder timing (5 minutes before test)
  • Ability to set ranges below current minimum thresholds
  • Better support for shift workers and non-traditional schedules

First Fork

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Malama

One-time3
  • Donation$0.99
  • Donation$4.99
  • Donation$9.99
2 purchases

First Fork

Subscriptions1
  • Monthly7 Days trial$12.991 Month
One-time1
  • Lifetime$19.99

Questions

Is Malama free?
Malama is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is First Fork free?
First Fork is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Malama or First Fork?
First Fork is rated higher. Malama averages 4.8 out of 5 from 232 ratings, while First Fork averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Malama or First Fork have ads?
Neither Malama nor First Fork shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Malama or First Fork?
Malama ships an update monthly, and First Fork every 5 days. Most recently, Malama was updated on October 25, 2026 and First Fork on October 24, 2026.

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