If you aren’t using a migraine app to track your migraines, stop what you are doing and download a migraine tracking app. Knowing what triggers your migraine is the first step to reducing the frequency of your migraine attacks. Which migraine tracking app is the best? While app store reviews are nice, having people test and try multiple apps can give us better insight into which app to choose. We asked 4 migraineurs to use and compare three of the bestselling migraine apps on android and iOS.
Here is a summary of their findings: Information pulled January 2017. Best viewed on a desktop computer.
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| Migraine Buddy | Migraine Coach | Migraine eDiary | iHeadache | iMigraine | |
| Platform | IOS/Android | IOS | IOS/Android | IOS | IOS/Android |
| IOS Reviews | 1,343 Reviews | 399 Reviews | 12 Reviews | 355 Reviews | 12 Reviews |
| IOS Stars | 5 Stars | 4.5 Stars | 3 Stars | 3 Stars | 3 Stars |
| Android Installs | 100-500k | – | 5-10k | – | 1-5k |
| Android Reviews | 15,331 | – | 17 | – | 16 |
| Android Stars | 4.7 Stars | – | 3.7 Stars | – | 4.3 Stars |
| Axon’s ‘Overall’ Rating | 4.75 | 3 | 3.75 | 3 | 3.6 |
| ‘Ease of Use’ Rating | 4.5 | 2.5 | 3 | 5 | 4.3 |
| ‘App Features’ Rating | 4.75 | 3 | 3.6 | 3 | 4 |
1) Migraine Buddy
Axon Optics Reviewers 4.75
iOS App Store Reviewers: 5
Google Play Reviewers: 4.7
App Store Description: Migraine Buddy is an advanced migraine headache diary and tracking app designed by neurologists and data scientists. More than a migraine journal, Migraine Buddy helps users record and identify triggers of migraine, migraine symptoms, migraine medication, migraine frequency and duration, pain intensity and location, medications for migraine, and other lifestyle factors so users can improve their migraine condition. Migraine Buddy provides an easy to read summary report for users to take appropriate action. Migraine Buddy also features an intelligent sleep diary that allows users to see the correlation between their sleep and migraines via a newly introduced sleep graph.
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Summary:
- Best tracking tool
- Step-by-step migraine tracking packed with features
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The Good:
- The app is easy to use, even when you have a headache and has the most tracking features
- Goes above and beyond by providing many features and allows users to connect with other users
- Can track migraine duration, positioning, medication, relief, symptoms, affected activities, etc
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The Bad:
- There really is not a bad associated with this app. It tracks everything. If I had to say, it would be that there are a lot of fields to fill in, which can be overwhelming with a headache.
- The positives of this app can also be a negative. It offers a lot of features, but it might be too much for some.
- Hard if you don’t like changing screens during periods of pain. Reports based on goal rather than overall data.
- The colors on the page are brutal during a migraine
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Bottom Line:
- Hands down, this is the best tracking app. It really helps you determine what causes your migraines, what your triggers are and what your symptoms are.
- If you are looking for a way to track your migraines and/or connect with other users, Migraine Buddy might be the answer.
- Great for step-by-step tracking of all kinds of migraine data. Would absolutely recommend.
- Good app, and cheery “hope you feel better” message is sweet.
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Ease of Use:
- The app is extremely easy to use and follow, even if you are not tech savvy.
- No-brainer. Takes you step-by-step for each migraine.
- Very easy.
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App Feature:
- Users can log migraines and their onset, triggers, medications, pain location, and more.
- This app has the most features by far. It lets you track everything. Where exactly the pain is located, triggers, sleep timer, amount of stress, etc.
Most helpful Review from app store: “I have had chronic daily migraines for nearly 17 years and have tried many ways of calendaring and tracking them over time. With apps, I thought this would become easier but this was not the case…until Migraine Buddy, this is the first app that I have found that works for someone with chronic migraines. The format of this app is very user friendly and customizable, it also tracks things like sleep patterns and weather conditions that I normally wouldn’t track on my own. I especially like that I can enter the start time of the migraine and then the app lets me leave the detailed entry until later if necessary because let’s be honest, when you have a migraine the last thing you want to do is look at a screen and have to enter detailed information about how you feel. But the other great feature of this app is that it checks back in with you periodically so you don’t forget to track that important headache information later on when you’re feeling better. Also, have found that it helps me keep track of the number of times a week that I treat a migraine and can enter in the ‘notes’ the exact treatment information which is very important tracking information for anyone who suffers from migraines. This app has made tracking my migraines easier and I highly recommend it for anyone with migraines and especially if you have chronic migraines.”
2) Migraine Coach
Axon Optics Reviewers: 3 iOS App Store Reviewers: 4.5 StarApp Store Description: Receive personalized migraine warnings, insights, and preventive coaching focused on seeing you through to a clear head and brighter day. Unlike a typical migraine tracker or eDiary, Migraine Coach scientifically tests and deciphers your migraine triggers and works with you to replace habits that contribute to your migraine with those that promote your health through education, guidance, support, and accountability.
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Summary:
- Some reviewers liked this migraine app while it really turned off another reviewer
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The Good:
- Migraine Coach is helpful because it has a lot of features and it also helps prevent future migraines.
- It gave descriptions and identified the kind of headaches and migraines
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The Bad:
- This app is free, but it includes in app purchases which make it less desirable and might turn people away from downloading the app
- The flashing colors and fonts were annoying
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Bottom Line:
- If you are looking for an app that allows you to track and/or prevent migraines, then this might be a good app
- If you didn’t have a migraine this would give you one
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Ease of use
- It may take time for users to learn how to navigate the app
- It was complex and clumsy
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App Feature
- Users get a “migraine forecast” and are able to log all components of migraines
- Very annoying, wouldn’t recommend
Most helpful Review from app store: “A Few Flaws But Still Essential: With chronic migraines, I find this app indispensable for logging as well as sharing information with my doctors. What I love most is the predictive feature, where I can see at a glance the likelihood of having a migraine today. This has helped my work and family life considerably. The challenges do require you to input information each day, but it only takes about 5 minutes each night–and it pays off in spades as the more information you provide about the days you have migraines and those you don’t, the more accurate the app becomes. The only drawbacks I’ve found in 2.5 months are: 1) twice it has frozen while loading/refreshing and 2) the latest update requires every item in recording a migraine to have a quantity. The first is easily solved by deleting and then reinstalling the app (as long as you created an account, your data will still be there). The second is just annoying–it’s a bit ridiculous to invent quantities or guess the duration for exposure to sunlight or poor sleep. Overall, though, this app has become an essential tool in my migraine management arsenal, and recently upgraded to the paid subscription. Well worth it.”
3) iMigraine
Axon Optics Reviewers: 3.6
iOS App Store Reviewers: 3
Google Play Store Reviewers: 4.3
App store description: iMigraine is a simple migraine journal and tracking app designed to help you keep track of your migraines, migraine medication, pain medications, headaches. It is designed using inputs and feedback from medicine practitioners, general physicians who require a simple and effective tool for their patients.
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Summary:
- Varying opinions based on operating system
- Wouldn’t Recommend (iOS)
- Must-Have app for migraines (Android)
- Best one tested (Android)
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The Good:
- Easy to use and can help you track when you have a headache
- Helps sufferers track migraine frequency, severity, duration, positioning, medication effects and timing all on one screen
- Provides informative reports
- Great visuals and easy to use
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The Bad:
- It deletes migraines and doesn’t have enough tracking information to make it useful
- It would have been nice to track concurrent physical side effects
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Bottom Line:
- The free version of this app simply does not work well. It’s great for a casual user, but not for someone taking the information to a doctor (iOS)
- This app allows me to give my doctor a very specific set of data related to my migraine progress. It also helps me detect patterns. Must-have! (Android)
- This is well rounded and has many different ways to track the migraines
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Ease of Use
- Would be higher if it didn’t delete things. (iOS)
- Totally user friendly (Android)
- Very easy to use
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App Features
- The app tracks when migraines occur, triggers, causes and medications
- Trigger and side effects tracking missing, otherwise excellent
- Great visual features of where the pain occurs – Helped me create a plan
Most Helpful App Store Review: “Great App!: My doctor recommended this app to me and love it! Sometimes it deletes migraines if you don’t put an end timing soon, so gave it 4 stars. Would be nice if there were a section to write what you were doing at that time”
4) Migraine eDiary
Axon Optics Reviewers: 3.6
iOS App Store Reviewers: 3
Google Play Reviewers: 3.7
App Store Description: The Migraine eDiary app is a free, convenient smartphone app designed for those who need to track migraines, anytime, anywhere. An interactive calendar, medicine recorder, and report generator collect and organize the details of your migraine experiences. Tracking your experiences over time can help reveal your migraine patterns.
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Summary:
- Simple yet helpful
- Excellent tracker
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The Good:
- Migraine eDiary is simple and allows its users to record their migraines
- Users can stay on the same screen and can record various components of their migraine
- Helps sufferers track migraine frequency, duration, triggers, medication timing, certain symptoms
- Provides reports based on personal data.
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The Bad:
- This app does not offer as much other apps
- When recording a migraine, it is harder to log the start time and end time
- Doesn’t track positioning (area of head affected) and requires too much flipping between screens
- Complex to use and tiny fonts
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Bottom Line:
- If you are looking for a migraine app you should ask yourself what you are looking for in the app as this doesn’t offer as much
- Very helpful if you need to track your symptoms and durations
- Can be difficult to use during a migraine due to small type and screen back-and-forth.
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Ease of Use
- Straightforward – just too much back and forth
- It had a lot of screens to toggle back and forth
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App Features
- Users can log their migraine and other information such as triggers, and meds
- Would have been nice to track positioning and a few other challenges
- It handled all the basics- triggers, symptoms reports and itemizations
- Loved the detailed trigger list
Most helpful App Store Review “Decent but needs improvement: App is obviously written by someone that has never suffered from a migraine. If your blinded by pain you end up entering all the info and taping back instead of remembering to scroll to the bottom to find the save button. The back is much too easy to hit on that final page where you have to scroll down to tap save. This is just nuts. The app needs to be easy to use when blinded by pain. Might also be nice to have reminders to enter details after migraine, and if it treatment worked or not, and if the pain returned 24 hours etc. Not bad for free but needs more work.”
5.) iHeadache
Axon Optics Reviewers: 3
iOS App Store Reviewers: 3
App Store Description: Do you suffer from recurring headaches? Maybe you’ve tried countless things to relieve your pain. Wouldn’t it help you to keep track of your headaches, disability, medications taken, and triggers as you have your headaches? Use the most popular headache diary on the app store (over 180,000 downloads to date)! iHeadache.
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Summary:
- Mediocre
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The Good:
- The app has a simple interface that allows you to enter information quickly and easily
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The Bad:
- The app is a little too simple
- You can’t pinpoint the level of pain and where the pain is located with this app, nor can you log everything that is needed to determine why you are having headaches
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Bottom Line:
- This is a simple app that can help you to identify simple patterns to when your headaches occur and why
- You can’t differentiate different pain levels or headache locations
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Ease of Use
- The app is easy to use
- It is very simple.
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App Features
- Headache start and end time, severity of the headache, symptoms, triggers, medications
Most helpful App Store Review “Love it!! Extremely helpful!: I have been having migraines since was about 10 years old. I have tried different ways of tracking them but could never keep up with any of them. This app makes it sooo easy!! As soon as the aura starts, I can log it. I love having the notes section because I can detail EVERYTHING that happened prior to the headache. Then I can go back later and finish the details of the headache. My log is always with me! I did have a problem with the app choosing the type of headache for me – even after changing the setting for selecting migraine first, Iit would sometimes choose tension headache even when it was migraine. So I’ve now turned off the option for choosing headache type, since I only log migraines. Also, a calendar style log would be nice. But other than that, I am extremely satisfied!”
6) Curelator
iOS App Store Reviewers: 4 Stars – After speaking with the app creators, Curelator is primarily used for clinical studies rather than for consumer use to track their migraine. If you are participating in a migraine study, you may be using Curelator. App Store
Description: Curelator Headache guides each user to generate their Individual Protector Map™,Individual Trigger Map™ and a list of factors unassociated with their migraine attacks that they may be avoiding unnecessarily. What distinguishes Curelator Headache from other migraine applications? “The Curelator approach is unique in that it is specifically designed to allow migraine patients to identify and manage the factors that influence the day-to-day variation in their risk of attacks.”- Richard B. Lipton,M.D.,Director Montefiore Headache Center,Professor,The Saul R. Korey Department of Neurology,Albert Einstein College of Medicine Member,Clinical Advisory Board Curelator Headache
None of our reviewers included this app in their review, so here is the most helpful review from the app store: “An essential tool for migraine management: I’ve been using the Curelator app for about nine months and it is, by far, the best headache/migraine management app I’ve tried (& I’ve tried a LOT). Because it works best for you to log data every day–not just on migraine days–a full picture of my health and patterns has been painted. I will say, it takes some time to get the best payoff: your thorough and data-supported trigger and protector maps. I’ve been able to reincorporate factors into my life that I thought were triggers and turns out not to be. Also I have learned about my protectors, favors that may help me stave off or even prevent migraine attacks. In short, I feel more empowered than ever regarding my migraine illness. Highly recommended.”
Bonus: Migraine Pal Web App
While MigrainePal isn’t an app or free, it is a very helpful migraine diary available through a website. It gives you personalized reports, one page summaries to give your doctor as well as access to a community of experienced migraineurs to talk with. It’s free to use, and with the help of partners, MigrainePal has helped prevent 2,295 attacks.
Final Word on Migraine Apps:
Migraine Buddy is by far the most used and well-reviewed migraine app. With over 1,000 reviews on iOS and 15,000 reviews on Android, it is the clear leader. Among Axon’s reviewers, Android ratings, and iOS ratings, it also has the best reviews. Migraine coach scores fairly well on the app store, though our reviewers didn’t like it as much as Migraine Buddy. Imigraine is the newest kid on the block and scores well with Android users but iOS users have had difficulty. Whichever app you end up using, just use it. Identify your triggers. See a migraine care professional. Get migraine relief.
Thanks to our migraine tracking app reviewers: Amanda N (age 31): I don’t remember when I started getting migraines. What I can recall, is that they range in frequency and intensity. Symptoms vary from migraine to migraine. Carrie C (Age 35): I have been suffering from migraines for as long as I can remember. I was a young child when I started experiencing them. I have met with doctors, had CT scans, and take prescription medication to help with migraines. I have done pain management classes, kept a hand-written diary to identify causes and triggers and yet, despite this all, I still get migraines. Kassandra (age 34): Lupus patient — I suffer roughly three debilitating migraines every two weeks. They often knock out my vision in one eye, cause pain-induced vomiting and keep me from regular functioning. Marie S (age 60). Years ago, I had an accident that broke my neck, slightly. This break resulted in brutal migraines. Although I’ve learned to avoid certain situations and foods, the migraines still appear.
