Comparison

Vanessa vs First Fork

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

Head to head
About

Vanessa

Features
Read full description

Built by someone who lived through gestational diabetes at home, for the person living it now. Pregnancy already gives you plenty to remember: the glucose reading after lunch, this week's blood pressure, the weight from your last visit, the lab work your doctor asked for. Vanessa keeps it all in one place, works with no internet, and turns your entries into the report your clinic asks for. TRACKING YOUR DOCTOR CAN READ • Glucose from your own meter: fasting, before and after meals, with targets • Blood pressure and weight, with charts and the recommended gain range • Reminders for readings and medication at the times you choose • A PDF report ready to hand over at your appointment THE WHOLE PREGNANCY, WEEK BY WEEK • Your baby week by week, from size to what just developed • Appointments and lab work, with reminders and addresses • Lab results stored and organized • Contractions and kicks with a timer, and history by day • Diary, bump photos and birth plan • Baby registry with ready-made checklists • After birth: feedings, sleep, diapers and recovery WORKS WITH NO INTERNET What you log stays on your device. The app opens the same in the elevator, on the subway, and in a waiting room with no signal. The internet is only for signing in, for backup, and for finding the address of your appointment. YOUR PRIVACY Lab files stay on your device only. You can export or delete your data whenever you want, and the whole account too. WHO IT IS FOR For anyone managing gestational diabetes who has to show the numbers at every visit. For anyone who wants to follow the pregnancy week by week without a paper notebook. FREE AND PREMIUM Everyday tracking is free: glucose, blood pressure, weight, water, appointments, reminders, contractions and kicks. Premium unlocks the full history (the free account keeps the last 60 days), the PDF report, lab results, the birth plan, the baby registry, unlimited diary entries, postpartum and cloud backup. The subscription is monthly or yearly and renews automatically. The price is shown in the app before you buy, and you can cancel any time in your account settings. Available in 14 languages. Questions or ideas? Reach us through Support, inside the app. Vanessa is not a medical device: it organizes the readings you enter yourself and does not diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any condition. Always talk to your doctor or your prenatal team before making a decision. License: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

First Fork

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
Read full description

First Fork is a glucose logger built for gestational diabetes — the two-hour window after every meal, the reading, and the grid your clinic wants to see. Try First Fork free for 7 days. After that, the app requires a Monthly subscription or a one-time Lifetime purchase. Every feature described below is part of that plan. Log a reading in seconds. Photograph your meter and First Fork reads the number for you, or type it in by hand. See your countdown without opening the app. A Live Activity on your Lock Screen and Dynamic Island shows exactly how long is left in your two-hour post-meal window — something no other gestational diabetes app offers. Add the Apple Watch complication to check it from your wrist. Walk into every appointment with the exact grid your clinic hands out — generated from your real readings, ready to print or share as a PDF. No ads. No account. No cloud. Everything you log stays on your device — nothing is ever uploaded, shared, or sold. First Fork is a logging tool, not medical advice. Always follow your care team's guidance for testing, targets, and treatment. Terms of use: https://firstfork.app/terms

Screenshots

Vanessa4 screens
First Fork4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Vanessa at 16.4 against First Fork's 26.0. On price, update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Vanessa sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and First Fork sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Vanessa ships an update every 3 days, First Fork every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
Vanessa versus First Fork: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVanessaFirst Fork
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 5 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS16.4 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size76 MB40 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperAnderson Alves de JesusChufeng Huang

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Vanessa

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Premium3 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Premium Anual3 Days trial$19.991 Year
2 purchases

First Fork

Subscriptions1
  • Monthly7 Days trial$12.991 Month
One-time1
  • Lifetime$19.99

Questions

Is Vanessa free?
Vanessa is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is First Fork free?
First Fork is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Vanessa or First Fork have ads?
Neither Vanessa nor First Fork shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Vanessa or First Fork?
Vanessa ships an update every 3 days, and First Fork every 5 days. Most recently, Vanessa was updated on November 6, 2026 and First Fork on October 31, 2026.

Other comparisons