Important medical disclaimer
Educational tools only — not medical care
Migraine Trail is not a healthcare provider, medical service, or medical device. These tools use information you enter and simplified educational rules. They may be incomplete or wrong and cannot examine you.
- Results do not diagnose, rule out, confirm, or predict any disease, headache type, trigger, emergency, or personal medical risk.
- Do not start, stop, combine, delay, or change a medicine or treatment—and do not delay professional care—because of a result.
- Labels such as “pattern,” “alignment,” “score,” “threshold,” “risk,” or “urgency” are educational summaries, not clinical findings or probabilities.
Discuss symptoms and decisions with a licensed healthcare professional who knows your history. For a child, involve a parent or guardian and an appropriate pediatric clinician.
If symptoms may be an emergency, stop using this site. Call your local emergency number or seek emergency care now. Never wait for or rely on a tool result.
Migraine vs Tension Headache Checker
Compare duration, pain characteristics, associated symptoms, and attack history with recognized headache patterns.
New or unusual severe headaches require caution.
Select any warning signs below first. Emergency selections override the symptom comparison and direct you to immediate care.
Track different attack types
Record duration, pain characteristics, symptoms, and treatment response in Migraine Trail to give your clinician a clearer recurring history.
Migraine and tension-type patterns at a glance
| Feature | Migraine pattern | Tension-type pattern |
|---|---|---|
| Duration | 4–72 hours in adults | 30 minutes–7 days |
| Location | Often one side | Often both sides |
| Quality | Often pulsating | Pressing or tightening |
| Intensity | Moderate or severe | Mild or moderate |
| Routine activity | Often worsens pain | Does not worsen pain |
| Other symptoms | Nausea/vomiting or both light and sound sensitivity | No nausea/vomiting; no more than one of light or sound sensitivity |
Criteria and safety sources
Frequently asked questions
Can migraine happen on both sides?
Yes. One-sided pain is typical but is not required by itself, and migraine in children and adolescents is more often bilateral.
Can tension headache cause light sensitivity?
It can include either light sensitivity or sound sensitivity. The ICHD-3 tension-type pattern allows no more than one of the two and does not include nausea or vomiting.
Can I have both headache types?
Yes. Migraine and tension-type headache can coexist. A diary helps document whether recurring attacks have meaningfully different characteristics.
When should I seek emergency help?
Seek emergency care for a sudden extremely painful headache, new neurological problems, severe headache with fever and stiff neck, or a severe or worsening headache after serious head injury.
Printable Migraine Diary
Document recurring headache characteristics.
Migraine Frequency Checker
Compare three months with frequency thresholds.
Detailed Comparison Guide
Read more about the two headache patterns.
Private by design: this comparison runs entirely in your browser. Your answers are not sent to us.