Comparison

How Far vs PatternMD

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

Head to head
About

How Far

Features
Read full description

Tapping into your activity in the Health.app we can see how many Icelandic mountains, trails and roads you've climbed walked and biked. You can reset your challenges and start fresh. You can see how long it takes you to climb Hvannadalshnúkur, Iceland's tallest mountain. Workout with friend or as a team by resetting together and seeing who's the first to complete a bike ride around the entire country!

About

PatternMD

Log symptoms, discover triggers, and connect anonymously with others experiencing similar health issues. This app uses AI to help you understand your patterns and offers private journaling and optional provider sharing.

Highlights
  • Anonymous symptom logging
  • AI-powered pattern discovery
  • Community support ('Say ME TOO')
  • Private health journal
  • Medication tracking
  • Optional doctor connection
  • Wellness mini-games
Features
Read full description

PatternMD is a free, anonymous symptom tracker and chronic illness journal. Log migraines, flares, pain, fatigue, anxiety, long COVID, fibromyalgia, endometriosis, lupus, IBS, PTSD or any symptom in seconds, discover what triggers it, and connect with people who feel exactly what you feel — without ever revealing who you are. You are not alone in this. WHAT PATTERNMD DOES Log your symptoms. Track headaches, fatigue, anxiety, joint pain, brain fog, nausea, insomnia — anything. Add an optional trigger note like "ate dairy" or "barely slept." It takes 10 seconds. Say ME TOO. Tap ME TOO on any community post that matches your experience. The more people who say it, the clearer the pattern becomes — and you instantly see you are not the only one. Talk to Alyssa. Alyssa is our in-app AI companion. Type a message and she will help you put words to what you're feeling, reflect on a pattern in your logs, or route you to a crisis resource if you need one. Alyssa is a support tool, not a doctor — she does not diagnose, treat, or prescribe. Discover your patterns. The Pattern Engine analyzes your logs against the entire community to surface real insights: Top community-reported triggers Time-of-day and day-of-week patterns Environmental correlations — weather, air quality, and pollen Severity escalation alerts Personalized recommendations Automatic cross-language search across all four languages Public or private. Every symptom you log can be Public, so the community can say ME TOO, or Private, so it stays in your journal, your patterns, and your connected doctor's view only. Private journal. Keep a private health diary alongside your community posts. Your journal is yours alone and never visible to anyone else. Medication tracking. An optional private medication list with dosage, frequency, and notes. Only you — and your connected provider, if you choose — can see it. Connect to your doctor. Optionally share your tracked data with a verified healthcare provider through the secure Provider Portal. You stay in control and can connect or disconnect anytime. Pediatric posts. Parents and legal guardians can log symptoms on behalf of a child in their care. Posts are clearly marked, and the child never has an account. TAPMD wellness games. Two science-backed mini-games — MedMatch and BrainRx — help reduce stress and anxiety, with a bonus of medical-terminology learning. WHY PATTERNMD IS DIFFERENT 100 percent anonymous. You get a PMD-XXXXXXXX ID. No name, no photo, no real-world identity ever shown. Multilingual. Full support for English, Spanish, German, and Vietnamese, with automatic cross-language translation and search across all four. No targeted ads. Sponsored posts are clearly labeled and never use your personal data. HIPAA-aligned security. Encrypted storage, row-level access controls, and data minimization. Never sold. Your email and data are never sold to anyone, ever. WHO PATTERNMD IS FOR People living with chronic conditions. Migraine sufferers. People with fatigue, fibromyalgia, long COVID, anxiety, autoimmune conditions, or unexplained symptoms. Parents tracking pediatric symptoms. Service members and veterans. Anyone who has ever felt "I just want to know if anyone else feels this too." You are not crazy. You are not making it up. Your symptoms have patterns. Let us find them together. IMPORTANT PatternMD does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider for medical decisions. If you are in crisis, call 988 (US, 24/7, free and confidential) or your local emergency services immediately. PatternMD is for adults 18 and older only. Questions? Email contact@patternmd.app

Screenshots

How Far3 screens
PatternMD4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: How Far at 11.2 against PatternMD's 15.0. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

How Far ships an update every 2 months, PatternMD monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
How Far versus PatternMD: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHow FarPatternMD
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (25 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—25 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS11.2 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB7 MB
Age rating4+17+
Developer(optional.is)PatternMD LLC

In-app purchases

None

How Far

No in-app purchases

None

PatternMD

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is How Far free?
How Far is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PatternMD free?
PatternMD is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do How Far or PatternMD have ads?
Neither How Far nor PatternMD shows ads.
Which is updated more often, How Far or PatternMD?
How Far ships an update every 2 months, and PatternMD monthly. Most recently, How Far was updated on October 29, 2026 and PatternMD on October 28, 2026.

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