Paternal vs Tide
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Paternal
This app provides expectant fathers with weekly pregnancy updates, daily tips, and practical advice to help them support their partners and prepare for their baby's arrival. It offers guidance on pregnancy, labor, birth, and newborn care, empowering dads to feel confident throughout the journey.
- Weekly pregnancy development updates
- Daily tips and advice for dads
- Guidance on supporting partners
- Information on labor, birth, and newborn care
- Milestone tracking
- Contraction timer (Pro)
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Becoming a dad is one of life's biggest adventures—but it can also feel overwhelming. Paternal is the pregnancy app built specifically for expectant fathers, giving you the knowledge, confidence, and practical guidance you need to support your partner and prepare for your baby's arrival. Whether you've just seen a positive pregnancy test or you're counting down to delivery day, Paternal helps you understand what's happening every step of the way. Everything you need to become a confident dad Weekly Pregnancy Updates Follow your baby's development week by week with easy-to-understand explanations about what's happening with your baby, your partner, and what to expect next. Support Your Partner Learn what your partner may be experiencing throughout pregnancy and discover practical ways to support her during each stage. Daily Tips & Advice Receive bite-sized daily guidance designed specifically for dads, helping you feel prepared without information overload. Practical Learning Explore helpful articles with Paternal Pro, covering pregnancy, labour, birth, newborn care, and everything in between. Stay Prepared Keep track of important milestones and know what to expect before, during, and after the birth. Built for dads, not an afterthought Most pregnancy apps are designed for mums. Paternal is different. Every piece of advice is written with expectant fathers in mind, helping you understand your role, support your growing family, and build confidence as you prepare for fatherhood. What's included with Paternal Pro? - Access to all weekly tasks - Access to all of our lessons - Access to our pro tools (E.g. contraction timer) You don't need to have all the answers—you just need the right guidance. Download Paternal today and become the supportive partner and confident father your growing family deserves. Medical disclaimer Paternal does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Our lessons are for informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional. Our support team is just an email away, contact us at info@paternalapp.com Terms & Conditions: https://paternalapp.com/terms-of-use/ Privacy Policy: https://paternalapp.com/privacy-policy/
Tide
This app simplifies tracking labor contractions with a single tap. It allows real-time sharing of progress with a private link and creates a lasting birth story. Designed for calm and presence during labor, it offers hands-free updates and an Apple Watch app.
- Single-tap contraction timing
- Real-time progress sharing
- Hands-free voice dictation
- Birth story journal
- Apple Watch app
- Home Screen widget
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Tide is a beautifully simple contraction timer and labor companion — built to keep you calm and present while everyone you love follows along. When labor starts, the last thing you want is a cluttered app. Tide gives you one big button: tap to start a contraction, tap when it eases. It quietly tracks how long each one lasts and how far apart they are, so you always know where things stand — without squinting at your phone mid-wave. And when everyone keeps asking "any updates?", Tide answers for you. Share one private link with your partner, doula, or whole family, and they can follow your progress in real time — no more juggling a dozen text threads. WHAT YOU CAN DO Time contractions with a single, calming tap — duration and spacing tracked automatically Share a private link so your birth team can follow along live Post updates as you go — notes, photos, and videos in one running feed Add updates hands-free with voice dictation Announce baby's arrival with the details that matter Keep it all as a birth story you can revisit for years to come PRIVATE BY DESIGN No accounts. No ads. No tracking. Everything you log stays on your device unless you choose to share it — and your share link expires on its own once things settle down. ALWAYS A GLANCE AWAY Tide includes an Apple Watch app and a Home Screen widget, so your timer is right where you need it. A ONE-TIME UNLOCK Unlock everything with a single purchase. No subscriptions, ever. Tide is a personal timer and journal to help you record and share your labor. It is not a medical device and does not provide medical advice. Always follow the guidance of your doctor, midwife, or other qualified healthcare provider, and in an emergency call your provider or your local emergency number. ——— Privacy Policy: https://katiep.me/privacy Terms of Use (Apple Standard EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
Paternal and Tide both sit at 5.0 stars, but that hides the real split: 86% of Paternal's written reviews are positive against 52% of Tide's. Paternal also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 weeks) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). Tide's advantage is ratings volume (332 vs 7). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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. Paternal sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month and Tide sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Paternal against 4.9 for Tide. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Tide has 332 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 86% of Paternal's written reviews are positive against 52% of Tide's.
Paternal ships an update every 5 days, Tide every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Paternal | Tide |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (7 ratings) — better | 4.9 (332 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 85.7% of reviews — better | 52.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 7 | 332 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days — better | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 72 MB | 29 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | The Podly App Ltd | B Gilmore, LLC |
Customer experience
Paternal
Tide
In-app purchases
Paternal
- Paternal Pro: Monthly7 Days trial$7.991 Month
- Paternal Pro: Yearly7 Days trial$39.991 Year
Tide
- Tiny Voices Yearly$19.991 Year
- Tide Contractions and Labor Pro$9.99









