Comparison

HotCold vs SaunaFlow

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

Head to head
About

HotCold

This app assists with contrast bath therapy by providing a customizable timer. It also includes informational articles to help users understand the process and its variations. Always consult a doctor before starting any new treatment.

Highlights
  • Customizable timer for contrast bath therapy
  • Informational articles on CBT
  • Assists with recovery from injuries
  • Supports understanding of CBT variations
Features
Read full description

Build a consistent contrast-therapy routine with a timer designed for hot and cold sessions. HotCold keeps every interval simple and visible, whether you are alternating a sauna and cold plunge, taking a contrast shower, or following your own routine. Choose a preset, customise the timing, and let clear visual and audio cues keep you moving. TRAIN YOUR WAY • Use Shower, Morning Energy, Sore Muscle, and Deep Sleep presets • Adjust hot and cold intervals, repetitions, countdown, and finishing phase • Pause and resume without losing your place • Receive interval alerts while using other apps TAKE APPLE WATCH INTO THE SESSION • Run the timer from your wrist • Capture heart-rate data during supported sessions • Keep your iPhone available as a live session monitor • Sync completed Watch sessions back to your phone SEE YOUR PROGRESS • Review completed and interrupted sessions • Explore hot/cold time, streaks, and completion trends • Inspect heart-rate response across each cycle • Export detailed session data when you need it THERMAL RESILIENCE INSIGHTS With compatible Apple Watch and Health data, HotCold can present heart-rate recovery, HRV-based trends, a rolling personal baseline, and session-by-session thermal response. These measurements are informational and depend on available sensor data. HotCold integrates with Apple Health to read relevant workout and heart-rate information. Health access is optional and controlled by you. Some customisation and insight features require HotCold Premium. Monthly, three-month, and yearly subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled. A lifetime purchase is also available. Prices are shown before purchase and may vary by region. Manage or cancel subscriptions in your Apple Account settings. HotCold is not a medical device and does not diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any condition. Contrast exposure can involve risk. Consult a qualified healthcare professional before beginning a new routine, especially if you have a medical condition. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

SaunaFlow

Features
Read full description

No need to watch the clock. Apple Watch automatically guides you through sauna>cold plunge>rest right on your wrist. Build routines on iPhone, run them on your Watch, and refine your flow with every session. ◆ Start instantly with built-in presets Choose from classic presets like 60-min standard, quick single round, or short cold plunge. Changes made on iPhone sync automatically to Apple Watch. ◆ Complete sessions from Apple Watch No need for your smartphone inside the sauna. Phase transitions are notified by haptic feedback, and you can check time remaining and the next phase on your wrist. Use the Digital Crown to skip or add 30 seconds to the current phase; pause has its own on-screen button. ◆ Build your personal routine from history History shows completion rate, best session, notes, and score trends. Re-run great sessions or save them as new presets. ◆ Designed for consistent use Favorite and recommended presets are easy to find on Watch. This isn't just a one-off timer — it's built for repeated use. ◆ Heart rate from Apple Watch Your Watch records heart rate through the whole session and charts the climb in the sauna and the drop during the cold plunge and rest. The deeper the recovery, the higher your Session Score. Each session is saved to Health as a workout. ◆ Streaks, badges and place logging A weekly streak, badges at 10, 50 and 100 sessions and a monthly summary show how consistently you go. Log the venue name, sauna, cold plunge and outdoor temperature, and whether there was löyly. Add days you didn't wear the Watch by hand. You can also start with Siri. ◆ Backup, editing and deleting Save every preset and session to a single file and restore it on your new phone. Edit any session's start time and rounds, or delete it, so one wrong entry doesn't skew your stats forever. ◆ Premium (one-time purchase) Try it free, buy once if you need more. No subscription. [Free] · Up to 5 presets · Your latest 10 sessions in History · Score, notes, streak and backup [Premium] · Unlimited presets · Unlimited history and comparison · Watch display/haptic customization · Re-run and save sessions from history ◆ Safety Notice Displayed times are guidelines. In high-heat environments, always prioritize your health and stop immediately if you feel unwell. ◆ Requirements · iPhone: iOS 17 or later · Apple Watch: watchOS 10 or later · All data stored on-device. No personal data collected or sent to external servers.

Screenshots

HotCold4 screens
SaunaFlow4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: HotCold at none against SaunaFlow's 1. SaunaFlow's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 10 months) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, 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

Both are free to download. SaunaFlow sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. HotCold asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

HotCold ships an update every 10 months, SaunaFlow fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
HotCold versus SaunaFlow: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHotColdSaunaFlow
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 10 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS26.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size17 MB9 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperGil PadroYANGLI CHEN

In-app purchases

None

HotCold

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

SaunaFlow

One-time1
  • SaunaFlow Premium$4.99

Questions

Is HotCold free?
HotCold is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is SaunaFlow free?
SaunaFlow is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do HotCold or SaunaFlow have ads?
Neither HotCold nor SaunaFlow shows ads.
Which is updated more often, HotCold or SaunaFlow?
HotCold ships an update every 10 months, and SaunaFlow fortnightly. Most recently, HotCold was updated on October 20, 2026 and SaunaFlow on October 25, 2026.

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