Comparison

SimpleHR vs Beat Watcher

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

Head to head
About

SimpleHR

Displays your current heart rate in large, easy-to-read text on your Apple Watch. Integrates with Apple HealthKit to provide real-time heart rate data, ideal for activities like running or cycling. Customize target zones and activity settings via the companion iPhone app.

Highlights
  • Large heart rate display
  • Apple HealthKit integration
  • Customizable heart rate zones
  • Activity and location settings
  • Companion iPhone app
Read full description

Just your heart rate on your Apple watch in the largest text that will fit! When you are running or cycling and you want to see your heart rate, tiny text just will not do. That's why we built Simple Heart Rate to provide easy-to-read access to your current heart rate by integrating with Apple HealthKit. You use the iPhone app to create multiple heart rate target zones with optional settings for activity and location to enhance your training experience. Simple Heart Rate makes a great companion app to a workout tracker running on your iPhone.

About

Beat Watcher

This app monitors your heart rate and alerts you with sound and vibration when it goes above or below custom thresholds. It integrates with the Health app and offers background monitoring for continuous tracking, useful for stress management, breathing exercises, and conditions like POTS.

Highlights
  • Customizable heart rate thresholds
  • Audible and haptic alerts
  • Background monitoring
  • POTS and ME/CFS symptom tracking
  • Integration with Health app
  • Bluetooth chest strap support
Features
Read full description

Beat Watcher helps you stay aware of your heart rate on Apple Watch with customizable high and low BPM threshold alerts. Beat Watcher integrates with the Health app to read your heart rate. Use Beat Watcher for: - listening to your body during daily routines - stress awareness and breathing exercises - meditation and mindfulness - workouts and pacing - sleep or rest check-ins - staying aware of high or low heart rate readings Some users with POTS or ME/CFS use Beat Watcher as part of their own pacing and body-awareness routines. Beat Watcher is not a medical device and does not diagnose, treat, prevent, or manage any condition. Turn the Digital Crown on Apple Watch to set the desired BPM threshold. Then, you will hear a sound and feel a vibration when your heart rate goes above the threshold, and a different sound and vibration when your heart rate goes back below the level you set. Enable Low Alerts in Settings to also get notified when your heart rate drops below a second threshold you set. Stay aware of high and low heart rate readings at the same time. Get fewer alerts with Range Mode. Beat Watcher alerts once above your High threshold, then once below your Low threshold, and stays quiet between those crossings. After the Low alert, the cycle starts again. Install the free Beat Watcher companion app on your iPhone to receive phone alerts when your heart rate crosses a threshold. Turn on Critical Alerts to hear a loud sound even when your phone is on silent or Do Not Disturb, so you or someone nearby can notice the alert during sleep. The iPhone companion also keeps a local Alert History so you can review saved alerts, add a note and preset context tags, and export saved history as a CSV file. Full-access users can invite trusted contacts with Alert Sharing. Contacts can accept invites, receive shared High and Low alert notifications, set their preferences, and view shared history for free. Each person controls High and Low separately; a notification is sent only when both enable that alert type. Alert Sharing is not an emergency or medical alert service. Optionally turn on Background Mode to continue getting haptic and audible feedback in response to your heart rate after you drop your wrist or leave the app. Enable the Persistent Alerts setting to continue getting haptic and audible feedback every two seconds while your heart rate remains above or below your set thresholds. Or, if you just want a continuous heart rate display without the haptic and audible feedback, you can turn Alerts off entirely. Beat Watcher also works with Bluetooth chest straps, such as the Polar H10, paired with Apple Watch. This can improve Watch battery life and lets you hear alerts or view heart rate on the Watch while it charges. Note: Background Mode will not work at the same time as a Workout started in another app. For example, if you start Background Mode in Beat Watcher and then start an Outdoor Run Workout in the built-in Workouts app, Beat Watcher will not continue to run in the background. SUBSCRIPTION Beat Watcher is free to download. Heart rate alerts, Background Mode, creating invites, sending shared alerts, and other premium features require full access through the annual subscription, its 1-month free trial, a one-time Lifetime Access purchase, or a grandfathered purchase. Trusted contacts can accept, receive, manage, and review shared alerts for free. After the free trial, the annual subscription renews automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel it in your device’s Settings under your Apple ID. If you purchased Beat Watcher before the subscription transition, you keep full access to all features. No subscription required. Privacy Policy and Terms of Service: https://beatwatcher.app/terms Requires an Apple Watch running watchOS 9 or later.

Screenshots

SimpleHR2 screens
Beat Watcher4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Beat Watcher at Free against SimpleHR's $0.99. Beat Watcher also leads on review sentiment (86% vs 43%) and rating (4.5 vs 3.8). SimpleHR's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2). 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

Beat Watcher is free to download; SimpleHR costs $0.99 up front. Beat Watcher sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $24.00 per year. SimpleHR asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Beat Watcher holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Beat Watcher has 86 ratings behind it against 14, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 43% of SimpleHR's written reviews are positive against 86% of Beat Watcher's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SimpleHR ships an update every 4 months, Beat Watcher weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
SimpleHR versus Beat Watcher: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimpleHRBeat Watcher
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating3.8 (14 ratings)4.5 (86 ratings) — better
Positive reviews42.9% of reviews86.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1486 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFreemium — better
DevicesiPhone, Apple WatchiPhone, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS17.015.2 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB47 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAaron SullivanGanotis Holdings, Inc.

Customer experience

SimpleHR

All ratings13 ratings
Positive69.2%
Neutral15.4%
Negative15.4%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive42.9%
Neutral28.6%
Negative28.6%

Beat Watcher

All ratings85 ratings
Positive85.9%
Neutral5.9%
Negative8.2%
Written reviews44 reviews
Positive86.4%
Neutral2.3%
Negative11.4%

In-app purchases

None

SimpleHR

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Beat Watcher

Subscriptions1
  • Annual Access1 Month trial$24.001 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Access$50.00

Questions

Is SimpleHR free?
SimpleHR costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Beat Watcher free?
Beat Watcher is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, SimpleHR or Beat Watcher?
Beat Watcher is rated higher. SimpleHR averages 3.8 out of 5 from 14 ratings, while Beat Watcher averages 4.5 from 86 ratings.
Do SimpleHR or Beat Watcher have ads?
Neither SimpleHR nor Beat Watcher shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SimpleHR or Beat Watcher?
SimpleHR ships an update every 4 months, and Beat Watcher weekly. Most recently, SimpleHR was updated on October 21, 2026 and Beat Watcher on October 25, 2026.

Other comparisons