Comparison

Playback Health vs Willow®

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

Head to head
About

Playback Health

This app streamlines communication between healthcare providers and patients. It allows clinicians to curate, create, and share personalized medical information, including videos and notes, directly with patients and their care teams. Patients can then easily access and review their health data anytime, anywhere.

Highlights
  • Curate medical information
  • Create personalized video/audio notes
  • Share with patients and care teams
  • Access medical information on mobile
  • Review diagnosis and treatment details
  • Share health data with family
Read full description

Playback Health helps organizations improve care outcomes by simplifying communication among providers and patients, ensuring all parties have the right information, at the right place and right time. We believe that true “personalized” patient care requires providers to deliver medical records in real time that is not only comprehensive, but also understandable, timely, easily accessible and shareable on a mobile device. By allowing providers to use their mobile devices at the point of care to "Curate, Create & Share," Playback Health will radically alter the healthcare environment and prove the value of technology to revolutionize both provider to patient and provider to provider communication. Playback Health is mobile and cloud technology that enables healthcare providers to: - Curate medical information including lab results, medical images and discharge instructions, - Create personalized video, audio or text notes to more clearly explain what it all means, - Share with patients, families and an extended care team of providers so all are informed and engaged. And allows patients to: - Access personalized medical information directly from a doctor, nurse or care provider - Playback personalized video, audio and pictures that pertain to their diagnosis, treatment and care...anytime, anywhere - Share directly with family and other care providers Imagine how great healthcare would be IF... - In an office visit, the doctor explains your diagnosis with a film review of your x-rays, MRIs, or CT scans, - In the hospital, before discharge, the nurse creates a video review of your discharge instructions explaining your wound care, your medications, and your post hospital care, - ...And downloads directly to your smartphone for you to review and share with others!!! Playback Health is NOW! So now, when your loved one asks "What did the doctor say? " You can simply show them on your mobile phone app. Better yet, you can invite them to the care team and they can download the app and see it all themselves!

About

Willow®

Manage your Willow breast pump, track milk output, and access expert advice for pumping and postpartum care. Features include personalized pump control, session history, and AI-powered support.

Highlights
  • Control Willow pumps remotely
  • Track milk output and session history
  • Manage digital milk stash (SmartStash)
  • Access expert articles and videos
  • AI-powered women's health chat
  • Book expert consultations
Features
Read full description

More than a pump app. A support system. Control your pumps with a tap from your phone or your wrist, track your session history, and view your pumping trends and metrics. Scan and manage Willow SmartStash Bags in your fridge and freezer. Plus, get access to expert guidance from educational content, live services, and our specialized, AI-powered chat—a virtual support system designed to support you across pumping, feeding, and postpartum care. Who can use the Willow app? This app is compatible with all connected pumps, including Willow Go, Sync, 360, and 3.0. Willow Wave users can manually add manual pump sessions to their session history. And anyone wanting to manage their milk stash can keep track in our SmartStash inventory tracker. All of the pumping, feeding, maternal healthcare, parenting and baby development resources in the app are free for anyone to use! Operate your pumps with a tap. Start and stop your session, switch between modes (Go and Sync), adjust suction levels, and view your pumping duration, all from your phone or smart watch. Set up your own Pumping Preferences, including suction levels and custom timer settings, and set reminders so every session works just the way you like. Get the only app that lets you control your session from your Apple Watch. NEW! You can now control your Go pumps, in addition to Willow 360 and 3.0. Track your sessions. Understand your output. Follow your milk output, session durations, add manual pump sessions and more for a complete picture of your pumping history. Spot trends, optimize your routine, and pump with confidence. With SmartStash, you can quickly and easily scan Willow Milk Bags into your digital stash to manage your inventory in the app. Get your questions answered. Access a comprehensive library of expert-backed articles and videos on all things pumping, feeding, and postpartum care, from establishing supply and building schedules to combo-feeding and more. The Willow app also includes our conversational AI, specially dedicated to women’s health, designed by moms for moms. With both expert resources and AI-powered support, you always have trusted guidance at your fingertips. Book expert sessions for personalized guidance. Connect with lactation consultants, pelvic floor therapists, mental health professionals, Willow sizing experts, and more. Because we know it takes a village. Visit onewillow.com to learn more about the app and explore accessories, content, and more.

Screenshots

Playback Health2 screens
Willow®4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Playback Health at none against Willow®'s shown. Playback Health also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and update cadence (every 9 days vs monthly). Willow®'s advantage is ratings volume (2.8K vs 36) and rating (4.5 vs 4.2). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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

Willow® holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Willow® has 2.8K ratings behind it against 36, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 29% of Playback Health's written reviews are positive against 13% of Willow®'s, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Playback Health ships an update every 9 days, Willow® monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Playback Health versus Willow®: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPlayback HealthWillow®
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (36 ratings)4.5 (2.8K ratings) — better
Positive reviews28.6% of reviews — better13.5% of reviews
Number of ratings362.8K — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterMonthly
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS15.615.6
Further details — not scored
Size162 MB103 MB
Age rating17+12+
DeveloperPlayback Health, Inc.Willow Innovations, Inc.

Customer experience

Playback Health

All ratings30 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral6.7%
Negative10.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive28.6%
Neutral14.3%
Negative57.1%

Willow®

All ratings2,756 ratings
Positive85.8%
Neutral4.7%
Negative9.4%
Written reviews289 reviews
Positive13.5%
Neutral15.6%
Negative70.9%

Bugs and requests

Playback Health

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Willow®

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App frequently disconnects from pumps
  • Timer and session data not always accurate
  • Pumps sometimes stop working mid-session

Requested features

3 requests
  • Add ability to log pumping volume and history
  • Allow customization of pump timer
  • Improve app responsiveness and reliability

In-app purchases

None

Playback Health

No in-app purchases

None

Willow®

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Playback Health free?
Playback Health is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Willow® free?
Willow® is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Playback Health or Willow®?
Willow® is rated higher. Playback Health averages 4.2 out of 5 from 36 ratings, while Willow® averages 4.5 from 2.8K ratings.
Do Playback Health or Willow® have ads?
Willow® shows ads; Playback Health does not.
Which is updated more often, Playback Health or Willow®?
Playback Health ships an update every 9 days, and Willow® monthly. Most recently, Playback Health was updated on November 3, 2026 and Willow® on November 7, 2026.

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