Search "breastfeeding timer" in the App Store with one thumb (the other arm is busy) and you get a wall of baby trackers that want to log diapers, naps, tummy time, solids and your mood before they'll let you time a feed. Some of them are genuinely great. A few are a subscription wearing a timer costume.

Full disclosure: we make one of these apps, so take our pick with the appropriate pinch of salt. But we checked every price and feature below against the App Store and each company's own help pages in September 2026, and we'll tell you exactly where the others beat us. Because a couple of them really do.

Quick take: Only want a timer on your iPhone? MilkMode ($4.99 once). Want Apple Watch, or a partner on Android? Baby Feed Timer ($9.99 once). Want free? Baby Tracker, if you can live with ads. Sleep is the bigger fight? Huckleberry, as long as you're fine paying for Plus.

What actually makes a breastfeeding timer good

A breastfeeding timer has one job, and it does that job in the worst conditions imaginable: a dark room, one free hand, and a brain running on about ninety minutes of sleep. So the real test isn't how many features an app has. It's how few taps stand between you and "timer started."

It starts without opening the app. A Home Screen widget or a Lock Screen control means you're not hunting through tabs while a hungry baby headbutts you.

It remembers the side for you. This is the reason most of us download a timer in the first place. The hair tie trick works beautifully, right up until the night you forget to move the hair tie.

You can see it running without unlocking your phone. Live Activities put the timer on your Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island, so a glance tells you how long it's been.

It forgives you. You will forget to stop the timer at some point (everyone does). A good app lets you fix a feed afterward without a fuss.

It's honest about price. A one-time purchase, a free app with ads and a subscription are three very different deals. The sneaky version is the free app where the timer is free but the parts that make it fast, the widget and the Lock Screen timer, sit behind a paywall.

The apps at a glance

AppWhat you payWhat it tracksApple WatchAndroid
MilkMode7-day free trial, then $4.99 onceBreastfeeding onlyNoNo
Baby Feed Timer7-day free trial, then $9.99 onceEverythingYesYes
Baby TrackerFree with ads, $4.99 to remove themEverythingYesYes
HuckleberryFree tier, Plus from $58.99/yr, Premium $119.99/yrEverything, plus nap predictionsPlus and Premium onlyYes
Nara Baby7-day free trial, then $9.99/mo or $99.99 lifetimeEverything, plus pregnancy and postpartumYesYes

The picks

1. MilkMode

Our app
Best if all you want is a breastfeeding timer
This one's ours, so weigh it accordingly. MilkMode is a breastfeeding timer for iPhone and nothing else. The Home Screen widget runs the whole feed (start, switch sides, pause, finish) without opening the app, and Live Activities keep the running timer on your Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island. It remembers which side you used last, so the next feed starts on the right one.
It won't track diapers, sleep, bottles or pumping, and there's no Apple Watch app yet. There's also no account and no cloud: your feeds live on your phone and nowhere else.
Whole feed from the widget Lock Screen and Dynamic Island timer Remembers the last side No account, no ads, no subscription
iPhone only No Apple Watch app

Best for: Parents who only need to time breastfeeds and want it to take one tap.

Pricing: Free 7-day trial, then $4.99 one-time.

Download MilkMode on the App Store

2. Baby Feed Timer

One-time
Best for Apple Watch, or a partner on Android
Baby Feed Timer is the veteran here. It has been on the App Store since 2010, has more than 24,000 ratings averaging 4.9 stars, and it started life as exactly what the name says. It has since grown into a full tracker (bottles, pumping, diapers, sleep, medication, growth charts), but the timer is still its heart: big left and right buttons, a reminder when the next feed is due, and a note telling you which breast to start on.
Where it genuinely beats MilkMode: a proper Apple Watch app that works even when your phone isn't nearby, and sync between iPhones and Android phones, which matters a lot if your partner is on a Pixel. The trade-off is scope. More features means more app to get through when all you want is to start a feed.
Apple Watch app Syncs across iPhone and Android Next-feed reminders with the side Sixteen years of refinement
Busier than a timer-only app

Best for: Apple Watch wearers and mixed iPhone and Android households.

Pricing: 7-day free trial, then $9.99 one-time for the full version.

3. Baby Tracker (Nighp)

Free with ads
Best free option, if you can live with ads
Baby Tracker by Nighp Software is the most-rated app on this list by a mile, with over 227,000 ratings. It tracks everything, and its nursing timer records which side you used last and how long you spent on each. It has also quietly caught up on the fast stuff: Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets, Live Activities, an Apple Watch app and Siri Shortcuts.
Core tracking is free with ads, and $4.99 removes them. An optional Plus subscription ($5.99 a month or $49.99 a year) adds on-device AI cues that guess when the next nap or feed is coming. If you want an all-in-one tracker and flatly refuse to pay monthly, this is the one.
Free core tracking Live Activities and widgets Apple Watch, iPad and Android PDF reports for your pediatrician
Ads unless you pay The timer is one section of many

Best for: Parents who want to track everything without a subscription.

Pricing: Free with ads. $4.99 to remove ads. Optional Plus at $5.99/month or $49.99/year.

4. Huckleberry

Subscription
Best if sleep is the bigger problem
Huckleberry is the big one (more than 5 million families) and it's famous for SweetSpot, which predicts when your baby will be ready for a nap. The free tier includes a complete breastfeeding timer for both sides, plus sleep, diapers and growth, synced across caregivers.
Here's the catch if the timer is what you care about: according to Huckleberry's own help center, the Home Screen widgets, the Lock Screen timer and the Apple Watch app all require a Plus or Premium membership. So the free timer is the slow timer. Plus runs $11.99 a month or $58.99 to $68.99 a year, and Premium is $14.99 a month or $119.99 a year. (We dig into whether that's money well spent in Is Huckleberry Worth It?)
Full timer on the free tier SweetSpot nap predictions (Plus) Caregiver sync iPhone and Android
Widgets and Lock Screen timer need Plus Apple Watch needs Plus

Best for: Families who want sleep guidance and don't mind a subscription.

Pricing: Free tier. Plus $11.99/month or $58.99 to $68.99/year. Premium $14.99/month or $119.99/year.

5. Nara Baby

Subscription
Best for a big team of caregivers (and no longer free)
If Nara is on your shortlist because a list somewhere called it the best free baby tracker, look again. Nara's own FAQ now lists two plans after a 7-day free trial: $9.99 a month, or $99.99 for lifetime access.
What you get for that is a calm, well-designed tracker with a breastfeeding timer that notes which side ended the last feed, a pumping timer, Live Activities, Apple Watch and Siri, unlimited caregivers and children, and pregnancy and postpartum tracking for you. It's made by Nara Organics, an infant formula company, which some breastfeeding parents mind and plenty don't.
Unlimited caregivers and children Live Activities and Apple Watch Pregnancy and postpartum tracking No ads
$9.99/month or $99.99 lifetime Account and cloud sync required to share

Best for: Families with lots of caregivers who also want to track pregnancy and recovery.

Pricing: 7-day free trial, then $9.99/month or $99.99 lifetime.

Is there a good free breastfeeding timer?

Sort of. Free exists, but it always costs you something. Baby Tracker is free if you tolerate ads. Huckleberry's free tier gives you a real timer, just without the widget or the Lock Screen timer. Nara isn't free anymore. And the truly free option is the one generations of parents have used: a hair tie moved to the wrist of the side you'll start on next.

If what you really want is to never pay monthly, that narrows things nicely. MilkMode ($4.99), Baby Feed Timer ($9.99) and Baby Tracker (free, or $4.99 without ads) are all pay-once apps.

How to pick in about ten seconds

  • Breastfeeding is the only thing you want to track, on an iPhone: MilkMode.
  • You wear an Apple Watch, or your partner is on Android: Baby Feed Timer.
  • You want to track everything and won't pay monthly: Baby Tracker.
  • Sleep is the real battle: Huckleberry (and budget for Plus).
  • A whole village of caregivers, plus tracking your own recovery: Nara Baby.

Whichever app you pick, the timer is there to show you patterns, not to grade you. Babies feed for wildly different lengths, and a short feed isn't a failed feed. More on that in how long to breastfeed on each side.

Our take

We built MilkMode because every app on this list was built to track a baby, and we wanted one built to time a feed. That's a narrower job, and for a lot of breastfeeding parents it's the only job. If you're also logging bottles, diapers and naps, one of the all-in-one apps above will honestly serve you better, and we'd rather you use the right app than ours.

But if breastfeeding is the thing, try MilkMode free for a week and see whether one tap from your Home Screen feels as good in the middle of the night as it sounds.

The breastfeeding timer that stays out of your way

One tap from your Home Screen, the side remembered for you, the timer on your Lock Screen. Free for 7 days, then $4.99 once.

Download on the App Store

Related reading

Prices and features were checked against the US App Store and each company's help pages on September 16, 2026. Apps change often, so double-check before you buy. This article is general information, not medical advice.