Best basal thermometers

The Easy@Home brand name is well known in the TTC community, and their smart basal body thermometer has one killer feature that makes it the favorite: It syncs with your phone via Bluetooth, so you don't have to manually record your own temperature.

When you wake in the morning, you'll reach for your thermometer first thing. Turn it on, put the smooth, flexible tip under your tongue, then wait until it beeps 90 to 120 seconds later to confirm your temperature. You're done for the day, no need to get your phone or write anything down. 

The Premom app automatically and clearly charts your temperatures, highlighting the chart with a purple column on the days that have been calculated as best for conception. You can improve the calculation with other fertility information you input manually, like ovulation test results (which Premom reads and calculates when you use the app's automatic camera feature on your test strips). 

Moms love that the Easy@Home readout screen is backlit, big, and easy to read in a dark room. Fans say it's a lot easier to go back to sleep after taking their temperature since they don't need to think about recording it. But if you use another fertility tracking app (such as Fertility Friend), and still need to manually enter information, the Easy@Home thermometer has a memory function and will recall up to the last 30 readings, displaying the date of each. 

Heads up

Connecting your thermometer with the app can be tricky the first time, parents say. 

Parents say

“I started with an iProven BBT thermometer from Amazon, but I just got an easy@home smart basal thermometer and I love it. The display is big and lights up and it syncs to the Premom app."

"This is the one I used. Easy to read and syncs with the Premom app. Then I’d input the temp and time into the Fertility Friend app when I was fully awake later in the day."

"I have the Easy@Home Smart Basal Thermometer that has auto sync on it…. It's a little spendy but i like that i can take it and then can sync it to my phone later. I don't have to look at it right away."

Specs

• Reading time: 90-120 seconds

• Batteries: Lithium metal battery, included

Push a button and this thermometer is ready to go. Then 60 seconds later (faster than other basal body thermometers that give readings to the hundredths of a degree), your result is ready and you can then add it to a paper chart or app. If you forget to chart your temperature (something many women only remember when they wake up the following day), there's a memory function that recalls your last reading. 

Moms like that this thermometer's "ready" beep is extra-soft so it won't wake up anyone else in the room. They also like the large, clear display, which is easy to read without the aid of contacts or glasses. If you don’t like this thermometer, iProven offers a 100-day full refund policy, so you can try it risk-free.

Heads up

We wish the display were backlit so it would be readable in a dark room. 

Parents say

"This is the one I'm using. It does beep, but I don't think it's too loud. It has yet to wake my partner up or anything. No backlight. I usually just use my phone for light to read it as that's what I use for my alarm to temp at the same time. I also check the memory sometimes on my lunch break to make sure my sleep eyes read it right."

"I've only been temping 2 months, but I like it so far. And I thought the price was pretty reasonable."

"I’m a big fan of my iProven BBT thermometer. I figured out my elevated temps this month have been from the Midwest heatwave (our bedroom is several degrees warmer as a result), but my thermometer is dead-on. The only negative is it doesn’t have a backlight, but I’ll take accuracy over a momentary convenience."

Specs

• Reading time: 60 seconds

• Batteries: LR41, included

Tempdrop is different from traditional oral basal body thermometers, since it's a wearable device that takes your body's temperature automatically as you sleep. The wearable is about the size of an elevator button and snaps into a fabric band. You wear the band on your upper arm at night, then in the morning you press a couple of buttons to sync the wearable with your phone, which displays your recorded temperature on the companion app. 

"I knew I would have problems with the 'wake and take,' so having a wearable was much more my style," says Jeanne Beacom, BabyCenter's Senior Campaign Reporting Manager. Jeanne wound up loving her Tempdrop, and liked that she didn't have to remember to charge it. The battery is replaceable, but it lasted long enough for Jeanne to get pregnant with her daughter, no charging needed. 

One thing she didn't like was the "itchy elastic-y" armband that came with Tempdrop when she used it in 2021, but the band has since been upgraded to softer fabric. 

Heads up

You must wear TempDrop for at least three hours for an accurate result, with at least two hours of sleep time. 

Parents say

"I have used a tempdrop for 2+ years and I highly recommend. I often have kids waking me up at night (or I just wake up for some reason) and it still gives me a nice temperature line. I don't go to bed at the same time every night and I don't wake up at the same time, either. I've only had one cycle in those 2 years where I couldn't pinpoint ovulation and it's possible I didn't ovulate that cycle."

"It's been working well for me since the first cycle (though the instructions say it can take up to like 90 days to adjust to you). I don't get uninterrupted sleep either, my 15mo old gets especially restless in the later half of the night/morning so traditional temping was impossible for me. I find it really comfortable to wear, too, and hardly notice it anymore."

"I used the Tempdrop for 5 cycles to conceive…. I love it, it makes temp recording much simpler."

"I got the Tempdrop because I still had a nursling (and still do). But I will use it even after she is weaned because it’s just so much easier than trying to wake up at the same time everyday and taking my temp before talking or moving around too much."

Specs

• Reading time: 15 seconds (after wearing 3+ hours)

• Batteries: CR2032, included

Easy@Home’s oral basal thermometer is a reasonably priced option that makes it easier to measure and track your temperature. This is largely due to the display, which is very clear, large, and has a backlight, so you can read it in darkrooms. 

You don’t even need to turn on a light to record your temperature: This thermometer stores your last 30 readings in its memory with the date each was taken. If you forget to record a reading, you can easily note it later without accidentally canceling it out with your latest temperature (a typical downside of thermometers that only store one day's temperature). Parents appreciate that the beeps that announce a finished reading are quiet and won't wake anyone nearby. 

Heads up

This thermometer does not sync with an app; you must manually record information. 

Moms say

"Super easy to use." 

"I use an Easy@Home thermometer and the Fertility Friend app. I had three pregnancies with that pair."

Specs

• Reading time: 90 seconds

• Batteries: CR1632, included