Comparison

Duffy vs HeartRate++

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Duffy

This app displays your daily step count directly on your Apple Watch face as a complication. It offers a full watch app for detailed stats and goal notifications, plus a companion iPhone app for deeper data analysis and trends. Access your fitness data at a glance without opening the Activity app.

Highlights
  • Watch face complication for step count
  • Full watch app for steps, flights, distance
  • Daily step goal notifications
  • Companion iPhone app for trends
  • HealthKit data integration
Features
Read full description

Duffy provides quick access to your step count directly on your Apple Watch face as a complication. I was surprised to find that a steps complication wasn’t included on Apple Watches out of the box. Being a veteran iOS developer, I decided to build one in my spare time. I really loved my prototype version and thought there were more people who would love it too. So I put in the extra effort to release it to the App Store for everyone! Duffy is completely free, has no ads, and is even open source so if you’re also a developer, you can help me enhance it. Duffy is a simple app, but it will probably turn into the most used app on your Apple Watch. No more opening the Activity app and scrolling around to find your steps. It’s now available at a glance. Duffy is more than just an elegant Apple Watch complication. Use the full watch app for easy access to your steps, flights climbed and distance travelled for today and the past week. Set a daily steps goal and be notified on your watch when you reach it. The companion iPhone app provides the same access to your steps, flights and distance on a much larger, easier-to-read surface while also allowing you to dig deeper into your data to see trends and statistics over time. Duffy reads the steps, flights climbed, distance travelled, and activity energy from your iPhone and Apple Watch from the Health app (via the HealthKit API).

About

HeartRate++

Display your current heart rate directly on your watch face with real-time updates. This app provides a detailed overview of your heart rate, including resting heart rate, and historical data for the past four hours. Optimize your watch face space with a functional and informative complication.

Highlights
  • Real-time heart rate complication
  • Up-to-date resting heart rate
  • 4-hour heart rate histogram
  • Average, highest, lowest heart rate data
  • Complications for various watch styles
Features
Read full description

A simple heart rate complication which gives you an up-to-date overview of your current heart rate on your watch face. The app integrates with the Health app on your iOS device and provides useful information about your heart rate along with a heart rate complication that you can use instead of using the built-in heart rate complication that just displays a Heart Icon without the current heart rate reading, you can use this one to make good use of your watch face space. The app provides a complication for almost every watch, Inforgraph, Infograph Modular, Modular Compact, Modular, and much more. Features: - Heart Rate Complication with an up-to-date heart rate reading. - The app screen gives you real-time reading for your heart rate. - Up-to-date measurement for your current resting heart rate. - 4 hours histogram of your heart rate. - Average, Highest, Lowest Heart Rate for the past 4 hours.

Screenshots

Duffy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Duffy at Free against HeartRate++'s $2.99. Duffy also leads on rating (4.7 vs 2.4) and review sentiment (84% vs 42%). HeartRate++'s advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 5 months). On ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Duffy is free to download; HeartRate++ costs $2.99 up front. Duffy sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. HeartRate++ asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Duffy holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Duffy has 757 ratings behind it against 17, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 84% of Duffy's written reviews are positive against 42% of HeartRate++'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Duffy ships an update every 5 months, HeartRate++ every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Duffy versus HeartRate++: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDuffyHeartRate++
PriceFree — better$2.99
Rating4.7 (757 ratings) — better2.4 (17 ratings)
Positive reviews83.8% of reviews — better42.1% of reviews
Number of ratings757 — better17
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, Apple WatchiPhone, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS18.613.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size8 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperThink Tank ProductionsAhmed Hussein

Customer experience

Duffy

All ratings757 ratings
Positive92.3%
Neutral2.6%
Negative5.0%
Written reviews376 reviews
Positive83.8%
Neutral5.1%
Negative11.2%

HeartRate++

All ratings17 ratings
Positive35.3%
Neutral5.9%
Negative58.8%
Written reviews19 reviews
Positive42.1%
Neutral5.3%
Negative52.6%

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Duffy

One-time4
  • Tip $1$0.99
  • Tip $2$1.99
  • Tip $3$2.99
Show 1 more
  • Tip $5$4.99
None

HeartRate++

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Duffy free?
Duffy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is HeartRate++ free?
HeartRate++ costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Duffy or HeartRate++?
Duffy is rated higher. Duffy averages 4.7 out of 5 from 757 ratings, while HeartRate++ averages 2.4 from 17 ratings.
Do Duffy or HeartRate++ have ads?
Neither Duffy nor HeartRate++ shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Duffy or HeartRate++?
Duffy ships an update every 5 months, and HeartRate++ every 3 weeks. Most recently, Duffy was updated on October 19, 2026 and HeartRate++ on October 10, 2026.

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