Best Overall
ProbaBaby
Working modern app: ad-free, Apple Watch + Live Activities + Dynamic Island, real genetics predictions, 30+ in-app free tools.
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ProbaBaby vs What to Expect: Which Pregnancy App Wins in 2026?
The community-driven veteran versus the privacy-first newcomer. Here's how they actually compare.
What to Expect is the app companion to the famous book series. Its biggest strength is community: the forums are the largest and most active in the pregnancy-app category. Its biggest weakness is that the app itself leans heavily on content and ads, with shallow tracking and zero iOS-native polish.
ProbaBaby comes at the same problem from the opposite direction. There are no forums. There are no ads. There's a working contraction timer with Live Activity, an Apple Watch app, an interactive hospital-bag checklist, real genetics-based predictions, and offline-first storage of sensitive data.
If you want to read other people's stories and discuss them, What to Expect is the better choice. If you want to track your pregnancy with serious tools and keep your data to yourself, ProbaBaby is.
Best for Forums
What to Expect
What to Expect has the largest active community in the pregnancy-app category — best if you want to read and post with other parents.
View on App StoreFeature-by-feature comparison
| ProbaBaby | What to Expect | |
|---|---|---|
| Pregnancy Tracking | ||
| Week-by-week timeline | ||
| Daily content / tips | ||
| Twin & multiples pregnancy mode | ||
| Track twins after birth (multi-baby) | ||
| 3D fetal model | ||
| Health & Symptoms | ||
| Symptom logging | ||
| Mood tracking | ||
| Weight tracking + trend | ||
| Sleep tracking | ||
| Birth Prep | ||
| Hospital bag (interactive) | ||
| Birth plan builder + PDF | ||
| Contraction timer | ||
| 5-1-1 rule alert | ||
| Kick counter | ||
| Tools & Calculators | ||
| Due date calculator | ||
| 30+ in-app free tools | ||
| Genetics-based predictions | ||
| iOS Native Features | ||
| Apple Watch app | ||
| Live Activities | ||
| Dynamic Island support | ||
| Home Screen widgets | ||
| Privacy & Data | ||
| No ads | ||
| No third-party tracking | ||
| Offline-first storage | ||
| Doctor-grade data export | ||
| Pricing & Localization | ||
| Free tier | ||
| Languages supported | 32 | 3 |
| Turkish (Türkçe) | ||
App-by-app review
ProbaBaby
Genetics-powered pregnancy & baby tracking with deep iOS integration.
- Strengths
- Real Mendelian-genetics baby predictions with AI visualization
- Live Activities + Dynamic Island + Apple Watch companion
- 30+ in-app free tools across pregnancy and postpartum
- Built for twins: multiples mode with twin-adjusted guidance, plus independent tracking for each baby — unlimited, free
- Offline-first with on-device storage of sensitive data
- 32 languages with RTL support
- Weaknesses
- iOS only (no Android)
- No 3D baby model (only Pregnancy+ has one)
- Newer brand — fewer App Store reviews than competitors
- Best for
Parents who want a comprehensive, privacy-conscious app with deep iOS features and accurate science-backed predictions. Excellent for iPhone + Apple Watch users.
- Pricing
Free download. All tracking and 30+ in-app tools are free. Only genetic baby predictions are paid — sold as credit packs with prices set per region by the App Store.
What to Expect
Companion to the famous book series; large active community forums.
- Strengths
- Massive user community — strongest forums in the category
- Trusted brand recognition from the book series
- Available on both iOS and Android
- Daily and weekly content from the same editorial team as the book
- Weaknesses
- Heavy ad load
- No native iOS Live Activity, no Apple Watch
- Limited tracking depth — leans toward content over data
- No way to set a twin pregnancy in the app
- US-centric; weak international localization
- Best for
Parents who want a content-first experience with active community discussion. Less for power-trackers, more for readers.
- Pricing
Free with ads. Optional Premium subscription removes ads; prices set per region by the App Store.
How we tested
We installed What to Expect on a test iPhone alongside ProbaBaby in May 2026 and used both daily for two weeks. We logged the same symptoms, packed the same hospital bag, ran each app's contraction timer, and explored every free tool.
Ratings use the same scale across all our comparison pages: ✅ full (present and well-built), ⚠️ partial (limited, shallow, or paywalled), ❌ none. Some rows show values (price, language count) instead of a rating.
What to Expect leads on community size and brand familiarity (it's the app for the book series). ProbaBaby leads on tracking depth, iOS features, ad-free experience, and privacy. If you want forums and content, choose WTE. If you want a working tracker that respects your data, choose ProbaBaby.
Pricing and feature availability are checked at publish time. We update this page when What to Expect ships a new version.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, with ads — and the ad load is heavy. An optional Premium subscription removes ads. ProbaBaby is free without ads at any tier; only AI baby predictions are paid.
No. ProbaBaby is built around tracking and tools, not user-generated content. If active forums are important to you, What to Expect is the better fit. Many parents use both: ProbaBaby for tracking, What to Expect for forums.
ProbaBaby. What to Expect's tracking is shallow — limited symptom logging, no Apple Watch, no Live Activities, no doctor-grade data export. ProbaBaby treats tracking as the core product.
Yes. Many parents do — ProbaBaby for personal tracking and tools, What to Expect for community and reading. The two don't sync, so any tracking you do in one stays in that app.
ProbaBaby. What to Expect doesn't really support partner participation. ProbaBaby has explicit Dad, Grandparent, and Caregiver roles with real-time sync and assignable checklist items.
ProbaBaby — What to Expect has no way to set a twin pregnancy in the app. In ProbaBaby you mark twins or triplets on your pregnancy profile and get delivery-window guidance adjusted for multiples in your doctor visit summary, twin-specific weight-gain targets, and a hospital bag that scales to your baby count. After birth, each twin gets independent tracking, free.