Parental leave, maternity benefit, Elterngeld, Kindergeld: duonido tells you week by week what to do, with the date, the application and the documents. In English, with the German terms alongside, so you can focus on what matters.
Every week you see how big your baby is and what it is learning. And right below, what you should get done this week.
Alongside all the joy, pregnancy in Germany brings a lot of bureaucracy, spread across a dozen offices and in a language that is not always your own. duonido turns every open question into a task with a date.
8 open questions, 12 offices & contacts1 list that thinks ahead
You answer five questions about your due date, federal state, marital status, work and insurance. duonido shows only what applies to you.
How big your baby is, what it is learning and which tasks are due this week. No searching, no lists in your head.
Some deadlines cost real money. Elterngeld, for example, is only paid three months retroactively. duonido works out every deadline as a specific date.
In six questions, duonido calculates your parental allowance (Elterngeld) using the method of the official calculator and compares Basis, Plus and the partnership bonus month by month.
Non-binding estimate. The Elterngeld office (Elterngeldstelle) makes the binding decision.
Elterngeld is tax-free but raises your tax rate. duonido estimates whether you will have to pay back the following year or are more likely to get something back.
Rough, non-binding estimate. Not tax advice.
Kindergeld, Elterngeld, child supplement (Kinderzuschlag) and your federal state's benefits: everything families with a newborn are entitled to, for all 16 federal states.
No birth certificate, no Elterngeld. No tax ID, no Kindergeld. duonido shows what you can do now and what is still waiting for a document.
The right list for every application. Tick off, scan, and share as a ready-made application folder with a cover sheet in one tap.
Announcing the pregnancy, notifying parental leave, requesting part-time work: templates with your details and the right deadlines, ready to copy or share. The letters themselves are in German, as your employer expects.
Templates without review of your individual case.
Hospital bag, recognising labour, breastfeeding, postpartum, safe sleep: short tips at the right time, based on public health sources.
If an important deadline is due within the next two days, you see it without opening the app.
One list for both of you. Whoever gets something done ticks it off for both, synced via your private iCloud accounts.
When deadlines, amounts or rules change, duonido shows you after the update which of them affect you.
The whole app in English, with the German terms alongside, so you recognise them on every form and in every letter.
Your week on the home screen, deadlines straight in your iPhone calendar if you like.
Enter the birth, and duonido welcomes your baby by name, recalculates every deadline with the real birthday and shows what's next.
Due date, income, documents: this is very personal information. That's why it stays on your iPhone. There is no account with us and no server reading along.
So that no family misses a deadline, all deadlines, reminders and benefits come without a purchase. If you want more, buy the Parent Pack once, right in the App Store.
For all expecting parents
For everyone who wants to get the most out of Elterngeld and parental leave
The purchase runs through Apple on the App Store, including VAT. With Apple Family Sharing, both parents can use the Parent Pack. Price in Germany; it may differ in other countries.
The key answers at a glance. In the app, you get them with your own dates, week by week.
duonido is an iPhone app for expecting parents in Germany. Week by week, it shows which applications and deadlines are coming up, from parental leave (Elternzeit) and maternity benefit (Mutterschaftsgeld) to parental allowance (Elterngeld) and child benefit (Kindergeld), each with a specific date, reminder, responsible office and the documents you need. The whole app is available in English. The core features are free, with no account and no tracking.
At the latest 7 weeks before the desired start if the leave falls before the child's 3rd birthday, otherwise 13 weeks before. If the partner's parental leave is to start at birth, that means 7 weeks before the due date. If the mother's parental leave follows directly after maternity protection, notice is due 7 weeks before maternity protection ends, usually about one week after the birth. For children born on or after 1 May 2025, text form is enough, for example an email. § 16 BEEG (German)
For at most the last three months of the child's life before the month in which the application is received. To avoid losing a month, apply within the child's first three months. Each parent submits their own application. Familienportal: applying for Elterngeld (German)
6 weeks before the expected due date. It ends 8 weeks after the birth, or 12 weeks after a premature or multiple birth. If the baby comes early, the period after the birth is extended by the days that were missed before. § 3 MuSchG (German)
Within one week of the birth, at the registry office of the place of birth. For a hospital birth, the hospital reports it; you bring the documents and collect the birth certificates. Without a birth certificate you cannot apply for parental allowance, child benefit or the child's health insurance. § 18 PStG (German)
For the last six months before the month in which the application is received. To lose nothing, apply no later than the sixth month after the month of birth. You need your child's tax ID (Steuer-ID), which arrives by post after the birth has been registered. § 70 EStG (German)
The app is free, including all deadlines, reminders and benefits. The optional duonido Parent Pack is a one-time in-app purchase of €29.99 on the App Store, with no subscription. With Apple Family Sharing, both parents can use it.
On your iPhone. There is no account, no server of our own, no tracking and no advertising. If you use the shared list, the data syncs via your own private iCloud accounts; we have no access to it.
As of October 2026. General information, not legal advice. The responsible office makes the binding decision.
We are a married couple from Hamburg, and duonido came about between our first and second child. We know how much paperwork comes your way alongside all the joy, and we built duonido to make it easier for you.
duonido is coming soon to the App Store, free and without an account. Questions? Write to us in English or German: kontakt@duonido.de
Coming soon to theApp Storeduonido explains and reminds, but does not replace legal, tax or medical advice. The responsible office always makes the binding decision, for example your Elterngeld office, health insurer or family benefits office (Familienkasse). Amounts and calculations in the app are non-binding estimates; the example calculation above is based on sample data.
