Comparison

SMART vs IBD Aide

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

Head to head
About

SMART

This app helps individuals manage Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) through evidence-based self-management tools. It allows users to track symptoms, medications, and appointments, providing visual insights into their health over time.

Highlights
  • Symptom tracking (mood, pain)
  • Medication reminders
  • Doctor visit tracking
  • Adherence monitoring
  • Progress graphs
Read full description

The SMART app incorporates evidence-based self-management intervention that will help you manage your IBD. SMART was created by a team of experts in adherence and self-management. It is designed to help you track your symptoms like mood and pain in daily diary entries. You can also conveniently track and receive reminders for your medications and doctor visits. The SMART app will allow you to view your responses and medication adherence over time in easy to understand graphs.

About

IBD Aide

This app helps individuals manage Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis by tracking symptoms, food triggers, medications, and appointments. It offers features like barcode scanning for food safety and a public restroom finder, all while prioritizing user privacy with on-device data storage and no ads.

Highlights
  • Symptom and flare tracking
  • Food trigger scanning and identification
  • Medication and appointment reminders
  • Public restroom finder
  • Private, on-device data storage
  • PDF summary generation for doctors
Features
Read full description

Living with Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, or IBD-unclassified means tracking a lot: symptoms, flares, foods, medications, infusions, and appointments. IBD Aide puts all of it in one private place — designed so logging takes seconds, not minutes. IBD Aide was created by Trisha Samanpure with one goal: to give the IBD community the companion it deserves — fast, clinically grounded, and truly private. TRACK IN SECONDS • Bristol Stool Chart quick-tap, pain, urgency, fatigue, weight, sleep, and mood • Automatic daily activity score (modified Harvey-Bradshaw Index for Crohn's, SCCAI for UC) to discuss with your care team • Trends and charts that surface possible flare patterns and food-symptom correlations CHECK FOODS BEFORE YOU EAT • Scan a barcode to check packaged foods against ingredient guidance compiled from the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation and IOIBD dietary recommendations • Point your camera at a dish — on-device intelligence estimates likely ingredients and flags common IBD triggers • Look up any food, dish, or ingredient in the built-in guide, plus your own personal trigger list • Flare mode applies stricter rules when you need them STAY ON TOP OF TREATMENT • Medications and biologics with reminders, adherence streaks, and refill alerts • Doctor visits, labs, and recurring IV infusion appointments with reminders and a colonoscopy prep checklist • Capture questions for your next visit the moment you think of them • Your care team's contacts, addresses, and portals in one place SHARE WITH YOUR DOCTOR — ON YOUR TERMS • Generate a clean PDF summary of symptoms, scores, adherence, triggers, and your visit questions • Share it yourself by email or text — the app never transmits your health data MORE HELP DAY TO DAY • Public restroom finder for when urgency strikes • Curated news on IBD treatment advancements • Two-week quality-of-life check-ins PRIVATE BY DESIGN • All health data stays on your iPhone, encrypted at rest — no accounts, no cloud database, no analytics, no ads, ever • Face ID / Touch ID app lock; notifications never show health details • Data survives phone upgrades through your encrypted device backup, plus passphrase-protected export • Free. Completely. IMPORTANT: IBD Aide is a tracking tool, not a medical device. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Food results are informational estimates and can be wrong or incomplete — tolerance varies from person to person. Always consult your healthcare team before changing diet, medication, or treatment. If you have severe symptoms, seek medical care immediately.

Screenshots

SMART4 screens
IBD Aide4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: IBD Aide at 5.0 against SMART's 4.0. SMART's advantage is ratings volume (4 vs 1) and device support (3 vs 1). 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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

IBD Aide holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SMART ships an update every 4 months, IBD Aide every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
SMART versus IBD Aide: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSMARTIBD Aide
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (4 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings4 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size13 MB2 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperCincinnati Children's Hospital Medical CenterRitesh Samanpure

Customer experience

SMART

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

IBD Aide

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

SMART

No in-app purchases

None

IBD Aide

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SMART free?
SMART is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is IBD Aide free?
IBD Aide is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SMART or IBD Aide?
IBD Aide is rated higher. SMART averages 4.0 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while IBD Aide averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do SMART or IBD Aide have ads?
Neither SMART nor IBD Aide shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SMART or IBD Aide?
SMART ships an update every 4 months, and IBD Aide every 2 months. Most recently, SMART was updated on October 12, 2026 and IBD Aide on October 15, 2026.

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