# Period vs First Fork

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Period at none against First Fork's 2. Period also leads on ratings volume (2.4K vs 1) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 26.0). First Fork's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs monthly). On price, rating, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. First Fork sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per month. Period asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Period against 5.0 for First Fork. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Period has 2.4K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Period ships an update monthly, First Fork every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Period | First Fork |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.9 (2.4K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/period-tracker/id6480586681/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/first-fork-gdm-tracker/id6810401121/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **2.4K** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 53.8% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Every 5 days** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Freemium |
| Size | 56 MB | 40 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 26.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, Apple Watch |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [SPD Development Company Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/976408511) | [Chufeng Huang](https://appshunter.io/developer/1291405938) |

## What reviewers say

### Period

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/period-tracker/id6480586681)

Track your menstrual cycle, log period dates, ovulation test results, and symptoms. Gain insights into fertility probability based on your cycle length. This app helps predict periods and monitor cycles.

**Highlights:** Menstrual cycle tracking, Period logging, Ovulation test logging, Symptom tracking, Fertility probability insights, Cycle length comparison

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Accurate tracking
- 🚀 Easy to use
- 💡 Helpful for fertility tracking

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Notifications not working as expected
- 🐛 Data loss after updates
- 🐛 Broken links in the app
- 💡 No option to log basal body temperature

**Reported bugs**

- Dates and data getting changed after updates
- Calendar not populating after updates
- Whole calendar getting erased after updates

**Requested features**

- Add option to log basal body temperature
- Improve notification customization


### First Fork

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/first-fork-gdm-tracker/id6810401121)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly | $12.99 | per month |
| Lifetime | $19.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Period free?

Period is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is First Fork free?

First Fork is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Period or First Fork?

First Fork is rated higher. Period averages 4.9 out of 5 from 2.4K ratings, while First Fork averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do Period or First Fork have ads?

Neither Period nor First Fork shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Period or First Fork?

Period ships an update monthly, and First Fork every 5 days. Most recently, Period was updated on October 15, 2026 and First Fork on October 16, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*