napnap vs Nara Baby: what napnap does better

Nara Baby is a free, clean log of a baby's day. The difference with napnap fits in one line: Nara records, napnap records and tells you the time as well.

WhatnapnapNara Baby
Predicts the next napYes, with its confidenceNo
Forecast of future days14 days with a marginNo
Alerts before the hourYes, three momentsFixed reminders
Notes on the rhythm and the stagesYes, from their own recordsNo
Starting solids with a planYes, a year longNo
Open APIYes, documentedNo
Siri shortcutsYesNo
PriceFree, no paid tierFree with paid extras

Recording is half the job

A log tells you what happened. What you need at five in the afternoon is what time the next nap is due, and that is a calculation on top of what was recorded.

napnap does both with the same gesture: one tap when they fall asleep and another when they wake.

And it tells you at the moment it is any use

A few minutes before, on the hour, and a nudge if they are still awake twenty minutes later. Each one once and no more, and it keeps quiet at night if you ask it to.

It is not a reminder at a fixed hour: it is the hour it has worked out for today.

It also reads what has been recorded

The notes say whether they are staying awake longer than two weeks ago, whether the naps are coming out short, how far they are from a day with one nap fewer fitting, and which stage is coming up.

None of them says what to do: this knows about hours, not about babies.