Best Ways to Track Your Menstrual Cycle: Apps, Methods, and Benefits

Tracking your menstrual cycle significantly benefits your physical, emotional and mental well-being. From recognizing that your unwavering irritance with everyone around you is most likely due to your luteal phase PMS or that your irregular periods with abnormally large blood clots may be a sign of an underlying issue, tracking your menstrual cycle and symptoms can allow you to be in control and remain responsive to your own body.

With both modern technology and traditional methods available, tracking your period has never been easier. But like many things in the modern age, the choices for period tracking apps and methods can seem overwhelming to the point that a quick Google search results in no decision at all. 

Instead of feeling fatigued by all of the options out there, we’ve put together a comprehensive guide of the various apps, and methods used to track your cycle effectively so you can feel proactive and productive in your cycle tracking. 

Why Should I Track My Menstrual Cycle? 

Your body and your menstrual cycle is a unique and dynamic process. Fracking the ebbs and flows of your cycle can allow you to feel more in control and informed about what is happening within you. 

Recognize the patterns and abnormalities

The changes that occur in your cycle, whether normal or abnormal, are reflections on your hormone levels, your overall health and nutrition, as well as indications that something larger is at play. Regardless of what your cycle looks like and feels like, any and all symptoms are vital information from your body that act as lines of communication on how you are doing. 

Allow yourself to feel in control

Keeping track of my cycle and symptoms has definitely allowed me to feel prepared for various phases of my cycle. It has allowed me to reflect on my diet, daily habits, exercise routine and social calendar in an informed way that helps me optimize my energy throughout the month. 

Recommended Apps for Tracking Your Menstrual Cycle

A menstrual cycle tracking app can be a vital tool for keeping a record of symptoms, behaviors, feelings, and other pieces of information that relate to your unique monthly phases. All the apps below can be used for free, however, many of their comprehensive features are only available in their premium versions which are around 40-60 CAD a year, which can most definitely be worth it for more in depth insights.  

1. Clue: Adaptable and Inclusive 

Clue is a widely popular app for tracking menstrual cycles. This app is gender neutral in its aesthetic and language, which can allow all of its users to feel comfortable and accepted. It tracks your period, symptoms, emotions, energy levels, and sleep patterns. Over time, Clue generates personalized insights based on your data, predicting when your period, PMS, or ovulation will occur. This is the app that I am personally using at the moment, and I am enjoying how comprehensive it is in terms of detailed options when responding to prompts about your overall energy levels, emotions and even bad hair days. There are various modes you can put the app into based on whether you are tracking your period, ovulation, pregnancy or perimenopause. You can even share your data with a partner through the app so they can follow your stats. 

2. Flo: Predictive and Conversational

Flo is another highly rated period tracking app that also provides comprehensive features similar to Clue, such as fertility tracking, symptom logging, and health insights. It also offers expert articles on reproductive health, fitness, and mental well-being. I have used this app in the past and I have found it very user friendly. I particularly enjoyed the predictions based on collected data from other users and scientific research, as well as the blogs, PCOS quiz, and user based forums on a variety of menstrual health topics. 

3. Period Tracker by GP Apps: Simple and Straightforward

This app is simple and sweet, mimicking more of a notebook than a database. Most of the symptom tracking is based on pictorial scales, making this a great app for younger users who have perhaps just started menstruating. This app would be perfect for someone who wants to track their cycle on their device but finds the wealth of information such as blog posts, forums, and courses that apps such as Clue and Flo have, distracting and unnecessary. 

4. Eve by Glow: Communal and Comprehensive

Eve is more than just a period tracker—it's a community-focused app that blends cycle tracking with relationship and sexual health advice. Eve offers customizable tracking options for symptoms and fertility, but it also promotes user discussions about sexual wellness, making it a great app for those who want a more comprehensive view of reproductive health. This app has a great forecasting feature that tells you the likelihood of experiencing certain symptoms such as bloating, cramps, and fatigue throughout the following week. 

Non-Digital Methods of Menstrual Cycle Tracking

Apps aren’t for everyone; I sometimes find that apps can feel slightly too automated and less introspective. If that’s the case for you too, traditional tracking methods are always there when the phone and devices seem too technological. 

1. Calendar Method

One of the simplest methods is marking your period start and end dates on a physical calendar. Over time, you'll notice patterns and be able to predict your next period. This method works well for those with regular cycles. 

2. Basal Body Temperature (BBT) Method

Your basal body temperature slightly rises after ovulation. By tracking your BBT every morning, you can determine when you’ve ovulated. This method is often used by people tracking fertility or practicing natural family planning.

3. Cervical Mucus Method

Monitoring the changes in your cervical mucus throughout your cycle can give clues about ovulation. Cervical mucus tends to become clearer and more slippery during ovulation, signaling a fertile period. This method can also be helpful for those tracking fertility or understanding their cycle's phases. 

4. Symptothermal Method

This method combines monitoring basal body temperature, cervical mucus, and other physical symptoms (such as breast tenderness or cramping) to provide a comprehensive understanding of the menstrual cycle. It’s often used by those who want a more natural approach to birth control or fertility tracking. 

Whether you’re using a high-tech app or a simple calendar, having a practice of tracking your cycle and your symptoms brings a sense of awareness and curiosity that allows you to feel more empowered in your own body and cycle. Your symptoms, whether they are normal or not, are vital messages from your body that when recorded, can act as crucial information when in the process of getting a diagnosis or just trying to find out when best to do your high-intensity cardio training throughout the month. We hope you remain curious and reflexive with the way that you track your unique cycle. 

Much love.

Ella Adkins is a writer, teacher and occupier on the ancestral homelands of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh  and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm Nations. Her work has been featured in Femme Art Review, Peripheral Review, SAD Mag, ReIssue and Public Parking.