Comparison

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.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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.

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.

Screenshots

Baby Names™4 screens
CDC's Milestone Tracker4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Baby Names™ sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. CDC's Milestone Tracker asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Baby Names™ versus CDC's Milestone Tracker: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBaby Names™CDC's Milestone Tracker
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (6.1K ratings)4.9 (11K ratings) — better
Positive reviews68.6% of reviews — better62.0% of reviews
Number of ratings6.1K11K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 6 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size35 MB61 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperNewsLeapCenters For Disease Control and Prevention

Customer experience

Baby Names™

All ratings6,126 ratings
Positive92.1%
Neutral4.3%
Negative3.6%
Written reviews580 reviews
Positive68.6%
Neutral13.8%
Negative17.6%

CDC's Milestone Tracker

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

User reviews

Baby Names™

From 6.1K App Store ratings

What 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 ratings

What 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

1 purchases

Baby Names™

One-time1
  • Permanently Remove Ads$2.99
None

CDC's Milestone Tracker

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Baby Names™ free?
Baby Names™ is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is CDC's Milestone Tracker free?
CDC's Milestone Tracker is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Baby Names™ or CDC's Milestone Tracker?
CDC's Milestone Tracker is rated higher. Baby Names™ averages 4.7 out of 5 from 6.1K ratings, while CDC's Milestone Tracker averages 4.9 from 11K ratings.
Do Baby Names™ or CDC's Milestone Tracker have ads?
Baby Names™ shows ads; CDC's Milestone Tracker does not.
Which is updated more often, Baby Names™ or CDC's Milestone Tracker?
Baby Names™ ships an update every 3 weeks, and CDC's Milestone Tracker every 6 months. Most recently, Baby Names™ was updated on October 27, 2026 and CDC's Milestone Tracker on October 28, 2026.

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