Baby Names™ vs CDC's Milestone Tracker
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Baby Names™
Discover thousands of baby names with detailed information on origin, meaning, and popularity. Narrow your search with custom filters or explore curated idea lists to find the perfect name. Save favorites and see how they sound with a full name.
- Thousands of boy and girl names
- Detailed name information (origin, meaning, popularity)
- Custom search filters
- Curated idea lists
- Favorites list
- Name preview with middle/last name
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Get the #1 baby naming app! Better than any book, browse through thousands of possible baby names using a friendly, easy to use interface. See the details of each name, including origin, meaning, pronunciation, and even how popular the name is. Still can't find a great name, use the custom search feature to narrow down your results by trends, popularity, origin, parts of a name and even the meaning of the name! Loads of other features, including our new idea lists. Christmas names, seasonal names, strong names, nature names, and tons more lists to help you find the perfect name for your baby! Once you find the must-have name, easily save it to your favorites list and see what it looks like with a middle name and last name. FEATURES: • Over 60,000 boy and girl names • Idea lists • Super search: by name, meaning, popularity, characters • Super search: by gender or random • Browse for names by origin • Browse for names by popularity • Details: pronunciation, meaning, gender, famous people • More Details: origin, popularity • See detailed information about each name • Shows number of births, percentage of births • Shows popularity rankings • Create, edit, and reorder your own favorites list • Share favorites • Add a middle name or last name • Add your own name • Intuitive Interface Baby Names has continually been the #1 baby naming app in the App Store and we value your feedback. Please write us with suggestions and comments.
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.
- 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
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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.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: CDC's Milestone Tracker at none against Baby Names™'s 1. CDC's Milestone Tracker also leads on ads (none vs shown). Baby Names™'s advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 6 months). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. Baby Names™ sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. CDC's Milestone Tracker asks for nothing beyond the download.
CDC's Milestone Tracker holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6.1K and 11K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 69% of Baby Names™'s written reviews are positive against 62% of CDC's Milestone Tracker's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Baby Names™ ships an update every 3 weeks, CDC's Milestone Tracker every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Baby Names™ | CDC's Milestone Tracker |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (6.1K ratings) | 4.9 (11K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 68.6% of reviews — better | 62.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 6.1K | 11K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 6 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 35 MB | 61 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | NewsLeap | Centers For Disease Control and Prevention |
Customer experience
Baby Names™
CDC's Milestone Tracker
User reviews
Baby Names™
From 6.1K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to use
- 🔍 Extensive name selection
- 💡 Helpful name categories
- 🔍 Detailed name information
- 👍 Favorite name saving feature
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and app not opening
- 💸 Paywall for basic features
- 🔍 Outdated name data
- 🔍 Inconsistent name origins and meanings
- 🔍 Overwhelming ads
CDC's Milestone Tracker
From 11K App Store ratingsWhat 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)
Bugs and requests
Baby Names™
Reported bugs
3 issues- App crashes on opening
- Saved favorites disappearing after updates
- Paid upgrade not recognized across devices
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to organize favorite names
- More advanced search and filtering options
- Pronunciation guides for names
- Gender-neutral name categories
- Frequent name data updates
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
In-app purchases
Baby Names™
- Permanently Remove Ads$2.99
CDC's Milestone Tracker
No in-app purchases






