Comparison

Waves vs Bump Pulse

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

Head to head
About

Waves

Effortlessly track labor contractions and other important birth events with elegant graphs and detailed logs. Designed for parents, birth teams, midwives, and doulas, this app provides precision and insight during your birthing journey. Supports PDF and CSV exports for sharing with your care team.

Highlights
  • One-tap contraction timing
  • Elegant graphing and smart averages
  • Track multiple birth events
  • Low light mode for labor environments
  • Editable event logs
  • PDF and CSV exports
  • Designed for birth teams
Features
Read full description

Time contractions with one tap, and let your partner, midwife or doula follow along live. Waves is a contraction timer built for the whole birth team. Start and stop with a single tap, see how long and how far apart at a glance, and share your labor in real time with the people supporting you. No sign-up, and your name never leaves your device. FOR PARENTS AND PARTNERS • One-tap timing Start and stop each contraction with a single tap. Your timeline, averages and chart build themselves. • Share live with your birth team Invite your partner, doula or midwife by link or QR code. They see each contraction as it happens and get a notification when one starts. • Time together With a collaboration connection, either of you can start and stop contractions, so a partner can take over the phone. • Share where you are, when you choose Send your location to your birth team so they can get directions to you. Only the people you pick see it, and it turns itself off. • Lock Screen, Dynamic Island and widgets Keep the timer in view and start or stop without opening the app. • Apple Watch Time from your wrist. Your Watch stays in sync with your phone. • Charts and averages See labor progress on a clear chart, with averages for recent contractions. • Intensity Rate each contraction from mild to very strong. Intensity is color-coded on your chart. • More than contractions Log water breaking, nausea, shaking, notes and the birth itself. Everything is editable, because labor isn't always linear. • Sessions Keep separate sessions for different pregnancies or labor attempts, and hand a session's data to the person it belongs to. • Give Waves Pro as a gift Buy Waves Pro for someone else. They get a link to redeem it. • PDF and CSV exports Share a report with your chart, intensity and notes with your care team. FOR MIDWIVES, DOULAS AND NURSES • Client dashboard Follow every client in one place: who is in labor, who is contracting now, and your own notes on each. • Alerts when it matters Be notified when contractions are close together, when labor looks active, when waters break and when the baby is born. • Invite a client in one link Your client connects to you in a tap. • On my way Send your location to one client when you're heading to them, only when you choose. • Built for professional use Clinical Terms are in the app, and a Business Associate Agreement is available online for practices that need one. PRIVATE BY DESIGN • No account needed. An optional recovery code restores your data on a new phone, without an email address. • Names and notes stay on your device. They are never stored on our servers in readable form. • Delete your account and all of your data at any time from Settings. DESIGNED FOR LABOR A calm, dark interface that's easy on the eyes at night, on iPhone and iPad. Available in English and Spanish. Waves is a timing and communication tool, not a medical device. Always follow your doctor's or midwife's guidance, and call them or emergency services when you need care. Questions or ideas? Use Settings → Help & feedback in the app, or email dev@theorian.com. Sharing with your birth team and some features require a Waves plan. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Bump Pulse

This labor tracking app helps expecting parents monitor contractions with a simple one-tap timer. It provides real-time progress sharing and helpful summaries to identify active labor, all without ads or subscriptions.

Highlights
  • One-tap contraction timer
  • Smart labor trend tracking
  • Real-time progress sharing
  • Offline functionality
  • Siri and App Shortcut integration
  • Apple Watch support
  • Live Activity display
Features
Read full description

Track contractions with confidence. Simple, smart, and built for labor. Bump Pulse is a fast and accurate contraction timer made for expecting parents. Log each contraction with a single tap and instantly view duration, frequency, and patterns that help you recognize active labor. Stay connected and supported. Share your real-time progress with your partner, doula, or midwife, no matter where they are. Why choose Bump Pulse? • One-tap contraction timer with no setup • Clean, distraction-free design for focus during labor • Smart timeline to track duration, intervals, and labor trends • Real-time sharing with your birth partner or care team • Helpful summaries to know when it may be time to go • Works offline with no account required Made to be easy to reach when you need it most • Start or stop the timer with Siri • Use App Shortcuts for even faster access • Add widgets with quick buttons to open the app fast • Start or stop from the Lock Screen without unlocking your phone • Use Live Activity to keep the timer visible and quickly jump back into the app • Track contractions from Apple Watch, including start and stop controls, quick stats, and recent contractions No ads. No subscriptions. Just clarity, calm, and control. Bump Pulse was built to give you peace of mind, so you can focus on what truly matters: bringing your baby into the world. Bump Pulse is not a medical device and does not replace the advice of your midwife or doctor.

Screenshots

Waves4 screens
Bump Pulse4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Bump Pulse at free against Waves's paid. Bump Pulse also leads on ratings volume (80 vs 6) and update cadence (weekly vs fortnightly). Waves's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and review sentiment (100% vs 81%). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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. Waves sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 6 months and Bump Pulse sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Waves holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bump Pulse has 80 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of Waves's written reviews are positive against 81% of Bump Pulse's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Waves ships an update fortnightly, Bump Pulse weekly. Both last shipped on October 28, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Waves versus Bump Pulse: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWavesBump Pulse
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (6 ratings) — better4.7 (80 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better81.3% of reviews
Number of ratings680 — better
Update frequencyFortnightlyWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, Apple Watch
Requires iOS18.018.0
Further details — not scored
Size42 MB59 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperTheorianAURIMAS PRUSOVAS

Customer experience

Waves

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bump Pulse

All ratings79 ratings
Positive92.4%
Neutral1.3%
Negative6.3%
Written reviews16 reviews
Positive81.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative18.8%

In-app purchases

11 purchases

Waves

Subscriptions5
  • Waves Pro$1.996 Months
  • Clinical Starter$9.991 Month
  • Clinical Professional$19.991 Month
Show 2 more
  • Clinical Starter (Annual)$95.001 Year
  • Clinical Professional (Annual)$189.991 Year
One-time6
  • +1 Client Slot$1.99
  • +1 Connection$1.99
  • Waves Pro gift$4.99
Show 3 more
  • Waves Pro Lifetime$4.99
  • +5 Client Slots$7.99
  • +10 Client Slots$14.99
1 purchases

Bump Pulse

One-time1
  • Birth Certificate$5.99

Questions

Is Waves free?
Waves is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Bump Pulse free?
Bump Pulse is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Waves or Bump Pulse?
Waves is rated higher. Waves averages 5.0 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while Bump Pulse averages 4.7 from 80 ratings.
Do Waves or Bump Pulse have ads?
Neither Waves nor Bump Pulse shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Waves or Bump Pulse?
Waves ships an update fortnightly, and Bump Pulse weekly. Most recently, Waves was updated on October 28, 2026 and Bump Pulse on October 28, 2026.

Other comparisons