Free apps for new parents: a baby monitor, sleep sounds and help from family

The most useful free apps for new parents do a few plain jobs well: let you see the baby from another room, play soft sound at bedtime, and make it easy for the people who love you to help. Here are six, all free with no subscription: Monitor turns two phones into a baby monitor, Still plays white noise with a sleep timer, and four small tools handle the meal train, shared baby costs, family visits and the baby shower RSVP.

All six are OpenApps apps. Each one is its own OpenApp with public source and its own agent, and OpenApps pays for the hosting and the data. None of them asks for a card. The promise behind them is the same: "Free software that is reputable, secure, reliable, and stays free." We explain what that means in free software you can count on.

1. Monitor: a baby monitor from two phones

If you have an old phone in a drawer, Monitor turns it into a baby monitor. Set it up across the room from the crib, open Monitor on your own phone or laptop, and you can watch and listen from another room.

Pair the two devices in seconds with a code or a QR code.
Get a gentle alert when the baby makes noise, with a sensitivity you can adjust.
Talk to your baby, play a lullaby, and switch to night view.
Several people can watch at once: you, your partner, and a grandparent babysitting downstairs.
Video goes directly between your devices, encrypted, and is never recorded or stored.

It runs in the browser on iPhone and Android. Keep the baby station plugged in, on a shelf or dresser out of reach, with the cable well away from the crib.

Please read this part. Monitor is not a medical device. It does not track breathing, heart rate or oxygen, and it does not replace safe sleep practices or an adult's supervision. It lets you see and hear your baby from another room, and nothing more.

For setup tips, see how to use an old phone as a baby monitor. To see how it compares with paid apps and cameras like Nanit, read a free baby monitor app with no subscription.

2. Still: white noise, a sleep timer, and a breather for you

Still is a free app for breathing, meditation and sleep sounds, with something for the nursery and something for you.

For the nursery and your own room:

White, pink or brown noise, plus rain, ocean, wind and fire. Mix them until it sounds right.
A sleep timer that fades the sound out instead of cutting it off.
It works offline after your first visit and installs like an app, which helps at 3 a.m. on a weak connection or at a grandparent's house.
On Android phones and computers, the sound keeps playing with the screen off. On iPhone, Safari may stop sound when the screen locks; Still's Dim the screen keeps the screen on but black.

If you play sound in the nursery, keep the volume low and the phone well away from the crib.

For you: a few minutes of box breathing or 4-7-8 breathing with a gentle guide, while the baby naps or before you try to sleep yourself. Breathing exercises help many people relax. Still also has guided sessions for sleep and stress, and calm stories read aloud for when you finally lie down.

Still is not therapy or medical care. If you feel low or anxious most days, tell your doctor, midwife or health visitor. Feeling that way after a baby is common, and you do not have to wait it out.

More on sound in free white noise and brown noise for sleep, and on breathing in box breathing and 4-7-8, a free guide.

3. Sheets: a meal train or a visit sign-up

People want to help, and many of them ask "What can I do?" A sign-up sheet answers for you. Sheets makes one you can share by link.

Meal train: one slot per evening, like "Dinner, Monday," each needing one person.
Visits: time shifts, like "Saturday, 2 to 3 pm," with how many people each one can take.
A slot never goes over its number, even when two people sign up at the same moment. No two lasagnas on the same night.
People sign up with no account, and they can remove their own sign-up if plans change.
The organizer sees everyone's contact details and can export the list to CSV, and every open page updates live.

A tip: ask a friend to make the sheet and share it, so you are not the one keeping track. SignUpGenius does this too, but its free version shows ads to everyone you send it to. See SignUpGenius for how they compare.

4. Split: share baby costs fairly

A crib, a stroller, a car seat, and a lot of diapers. If you share those costs with a partner, a co-parent or family who want to chip in, Split keeps the numbers straight without anyone keeping a spreadsheet.

Make a group, pick its currency, and share the link. No account and no app to install.
Add costs as they happen. Split equally, by shares, or by exact amounts. A couple splitting by income might use shares of 3 and 2, so one pays 60 percent and the other 40.
Split keeps a running balance that always adds up to zero, and shows the fewest payments that settle everything.

Split never moves money. It tells you who owes whom, and you pay each other however you like. It also has no recurring expenses, so regular costs like diapers go in by hand, one at a time or as a weekly total.

5. When: find a time for family visits

Everyone wants to meet the baby, and newborn days are hard to plan. When lets you suggest a few short visit windows and share one link.

Each person marks yes, if need be, or no for each time. "If need be" tells you who is flexible.
Grandparents in another country see the times in their own time zone, which helps with video calls too.
The best time is highlighted as answers come in, and the chosen time can go into any calendar.
No accounts and no ads.

More on group polls in a free Doodle alternative.

6. Forms: a baby shower RSVP

Forms makes an RSVP form you can share by link, and guests fill it in with no account.

Coming? A yes or no question, marked required.
How many are coming? A number question.
Anything we should know? A long text question for allergies or dietary needs.
Just for fun: a date question to guess the birthday, and a number question to guess the weight.

Add a custom thank-you message, watch answers arrive with a summary for each question, and export to CSV for the headcount. There is no limit on responses. If you are choosing between form tools, see the best free Typeform alternatives.

Coming next: a free baby tracker

A free baby tracker is next on our list for the store. It is not available yet. When it is ready, it will appear on the store alongside the apps above.

Questions

What are the best free apps for new parents?

The most useful cover a baby monitor, sleep sounds and ways for family to help. OpenApps has six free ones: Monitor for a baby monitor from two phones, Still for white noise and a sleep timer, Sheets for a meal train, Split for shared costs, When for visits and Forms for a shower RSVP.

Do new parents need to buy a baby monitor?

Not to get started. OpenApps Monitor turns two phones, tablets or laptops you already have into a free live monitor, with video going directly between them, never recorded. A dedicated monitor with its own radio works without Wi-Fi, which some parents prefer. Monitor is not a medical device and does not track breathing, heart rate or oxygen.

Is there a free white noise app with a sleep timer?

Yes. OpenApps Still has white, pink and brown noise plus rain, ocean, wind and fire, with a sleep timer that fades out. It works offline after your first visit and has no subscription.

How do I set up a free meal train?

Make a sheet in OpenApps Sheets with one slot per evening, each needing one person, and share the link. Friends sign up with no account, and a slot can never be taken twice.

Is there a free baby tracker on OpenApps?

Not yet. A free baby tracker is next on the list for the OpenApps store, but it is not available today.