In this review, we’ll compare ovulation trackers by Ava, Mira and OvuSense to help you decide if a new, technology-enabled ovulation tracker can help you get pregnant.
There’s an optimal window of 4 to 7 days each month to try to have a baby. Sounds simple enough — all you have to do is, you know, get it on during those days. But if you’ve struggled to conceive, you know it’s actually a lot more complicated than that. And the first, surprisingly-hard thing to figure out is when those days are each month.
According to the American Pregnancy Association, ovulation for most women occurs anywhere between day 11 to day 21 of their menstrual cycle. That’s a ten day window…which is huge if you are trying to get the timing perfectly right. Ovulation can occur at various times during a cycle, potentially on a different day each month, making things more complicated than it seems.
Ovulation is divided into two phases: the follicular phase and the luteal phase. The follicular phase starts on the first days of the last menstrual period (LMP) and continues through ovulation. It can differ greatly for every woman and last from 7 – 40 days. The second half of the cycle is called the luteal phases which begins the day of ovulation until the next period begins. This phase is a bit more precise and is usually only 12-16 days from the day of ovulation.
But of course, all women’s cycles are different. They can be irregularly short or long, include unstable hormones, or even Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). With these irregularities, optimizing the timing for conception can be tricky. Fortunately ovulation trackers have become affordable enough to allow you to know exactly when your fertile and infertile days are coming up next. Aspiring mothers now have a number of technology-driven options. Let’s review three of the most popular ovulation trackers on the market: Ava vs Mira vs OvuSense.
So which ovulation tracker is the best: Ava, Mira, or OvuSense?
When it comes to conceiving, you want to be sure that you are using the tracker that will work best for you and your body. Fortunately, you have a variety of options to choose from with Ava, Mira, and OvuSense. Beyond the cost differences, there are some meaningful differences in how these devices track and estimate your fertility, ranging from a bracelet, to a urine test, to a vaginal sensor. Let’s dive into how each of them could work for you!
Best Ovulation Trackers: Mira vs Ava vs OvuSense | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $259 (Or $50/month) | $199 (Or $33/month) | $299 for an annual subscription $129 for 2-months Use code FINVSFIN20 for 20% off |
| Device / Hardware | Ava Fertility Bracelet | Mira Analyzer + 10 Urine Test Wands | Vaginal Sensor |
| Cycle Tracking and Ability to Identify Fertility Window | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Measures Hormone Concentrations | ❌ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Tested for PCOS | ❌ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Advance Ovulation Prediction | ❌ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| FDA/CE Registered | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| FSA/HSA Qualified | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| IOS/Android compatible app | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Website |
As you can see, each has their own way of measuring ovulation and tracking fertility. And they all have apps for your phones, making it easier for you to know how your cycle is progressing. Now that we have broken down the trackers by Mira, Ava and Ovusense, let’s explore them each in a bit more detail.
Review of Ava Bracelet
Ava has been pushing to make advancements in the field of women’s health through their flagship product, the Ava bracelet. The company has published a few clinical studies in peer reviewed journals (one example here) that have shown that it can be used to detect and track physiological signals that indicate the most fertile days for a woman in a month: skin temperature, resting pulse rate, heart rate variability, perfusion and breathing rate. We like the fact that Ava is getting real scientific research conducted on their product; the study we looked at was legit, but we’d love to see more research on a larger test group of women.
How does Ava’s ovulation tracking bracelet work?
With Ava, all you have to do is wear the adjustable ovulation bracelet at night and select your tracking mode: fertility, cycle, or pregnancy. When you wear Ava at night, the sensors in the device collect data 25 times a second. In the morning, when you wake up, you sync the bracelet to the Ava app on your phone. That information is then used to calculate your fertility window, and it will allow you to learn the five best days to conceive in real-time.
It will also fill you in on your sleep and stress levels, which may also help you find the best window to make a baby. And once you are pregnant, the Ava bracelet will continue to offer you insights for updates on your physiological stress, sleep patterns, and cardiovascular health.
When you purchase Ava, 20% of your sale will go toward women’s health research and development. In addition to the bracelet and your in-app tracking, you will also become a member of Ava’s exclusive online community. Pretty neat!
Ava works best for women who have consistent cycles and can be used for women who are currently breastfeeding, have endometriosis, or are using an alternate conception method. Their device is not for women taking birth control, who have PCOS, who have significant variance in their monthly cycle length — and it’s not intended to be used as a contraceptive device. There are three options you can choose from when purchasing the Ava bracelet — Basic, Plus and Premium — each with slightly different bells and whistles.
| Ava Basic | Ava Plus | Ava Premium |
| $259 | $299 | $359 |
| Ava Bracelet | Ava Bracelet | Ava Bracelet |
| In-app cycle, fertility, and pregnancy tracking | In-app cycle, fertility, and pregnancy tracking | In-app cycle, fertility, and pregnancy tracking |
| Membership in Ava’s exclusive online community | Membership in Ava’s exclusive online community | Membership in Ava’s exclusive online community |
| 24-hour customer support | 24-hour customer support | 24-hour customer support |
| Free Shipping | Free Shipping | Free Shipping |
| A full refund if you’re not pregnant within 12 months | A full refund if you’re not pregnant within 6 months | |
| The Ultimate Guide to Getting Pregnant ebook | The Ultimate Guide to Getting Pregnant ebook |
If you sign up now, you can get their COVID-19 resource guide, and $20 off Ava Plus / Premium.
Review of Mira Fertility and Ovulation Tracker
Founded by Sylvia Kang and Zheng Yang, Mira’s mission is to help women understand and stay on top of their health in the comfort of their own home. As the first comprehensive women’s health tracker, Mira takes the guesswork out of your ovulation cycles by providing you with specific fertility hormone concentration levels.
How does Mira’s fertility tracker work?
With Mira’s tracker, you will receive the Mira Fertility Analyzer and 10 individually packaged single-use Mira fertility test wands. At the most basic level, you collect a urine sample (so you are peeing into a cup), and you insert a wand into the urine. Then, you put the wand into the Mira device. It will analyze your hormone levels, and after a number of tests, the company says it can predict your upcoming fertility window.
The science behind Mira’s tracker is that the device is measuring your hormone levels. The specific hormone that they talk about is the “LH” hormone, or the Luteinizing hormone. This hormone varies during the month depending on when you ovulate.
That said, LH typically spikes too late in your cycle for you to time your intercourse — which isn’t helpful. The special science that Mira brings to the equation is that they are able to build a predictive model on your LH cycle, meaning they can hopefully help you predict ahead of time when your ovulation is approaching, so you can hit that special window to conceive. Mira’s algorithms provide you with personalized fertility insights so you can know exactly when your fertile days are.
Mira doesn’t seem to have published as much scientific research as Ava; however, tracking LH is a well-understood and researched tool for understanding ovulation. So, we believe that there is legitimate science behind the Mira device and wands. The trick will be, how well will their patented AI-algorithm can predict your particular fertility window.
The company also says that they are working on additional hormone tests for estrogen, which they say will help more exactly measure all fertile days and progesterone, which indicates that ovulation has happened already (Mira says that this may be useful to women who want to avoid pregnancy in a natural way). These additional tests may add to the accuracy of the Mira device’s results. Mira is taking pre-orders for the “Mira Plus,” which includes these two additional tests. You can get on a waiting list for the device here.
Your first order with Mira comes with the analyzer device and 10 test strips/wands, all for $199. You will probably want to purchase additional wands, since you are likely to use 10 to 15 in your first month. Additional wands cost $45 for a 20 pack — something to keep in mind when you are trying to evaluate the all-in cost of Mira’s ovulation kit.
In addition, Mira’s app provides an advanced calendar, which records specific health details about your ovulation (including hormone concentration that are as accurate as any lab’s) and cycles so you can predict your fertile windows more precisely. Even if you have irregular cycles, you can still use Mira because you can still see when ovulation happens as long as you ovulate. You may need to test a bit more frequently, but you will still get the same results!
