Comparison

Thrive vs Pulse

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

Head to head
About

Thrive

This app offers confidential mental health support, including therapy sessions and evidence-based programs for stress, anxiety, and depression. It uses smart technology for early detection and provides tools for building resilience and emotional well-being.

Highlights
  • Confidential therapy sessions
  • Early detection of mental health conditions
  • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) program
  • Mood tracking and daily check-ups
  • Meditation and relaxation exercises
  • Evidence-based tools and techniques
Features
Read full description

Empowering people to take control of their mental health through accessible and confidential mental health support. Thrive is a mental health and therapy service, delivered via an app. Our NHS-digitally compliant app* uses smart technology to prevent, detect, manage and treat conditions such as stress, anxiety and depression. Using clinically proven tools and techniques, we enable people to take control of their mental health and have access to support when they need it, where they need it, and for as long as they need it. Therapy Therapy is fully confidential and users can access as many sessions as they need without the limits of traditional services. Our certified therapists are available 8am to 8pm UK time, Monday to Friday, to deliver therapy in line with your clinical needs and get you through to full recovery. Available through video, phone call and text - all at the click of a button! Early Detection Designed for early detection, therapists are alerted when users indicate signs of anxiety and/or depression on symptom assessments. A therapist will proactively reach out to offer support - acting as a safety net, before minor issues become crises. CBT Programme Thrive uses the latest Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) techniques to help people manage specific stressors and retrain unhelpful thoughts. Our comprehensive CBT course provides psychoeducation and engaging learning modules, allowing individuals to better understand the connection between thoughts, behaviours and emotions and be better equipped to navigate mental health difficulties. The more these connections are understood, the better they can be controlled. Build Resilience Monitor your emotions and well-being through our daily checkup session and mood tracker. Engage in validated assessments that screen for depression and anxiety levels, guiding you to the appropriate support when needed. By consistently exploring these tools within Thrive, you'll gain insights into emotional trends, enabling valuable self-reflection and learning opportunities. All assessments and trackers are completely confidential, Deep Muscle Relaxation and Breathing Exercises Modules include Meditation, Calm Breathing, Deep Muscle Relaxation and more, with customisable soundscapes and lengths to fit into your daily life. Evidence-Based Every Thrive tool and feature has been validated by research and is continually developed by experts. Evidence is at the heart of everything we do. Please note Thrive is only available through an organisation that has partnered with Thrive Mental Wellbeing. In order to sign up, please ensure you have the unique access code provided to you by your organisation (often by HR or Wellbeing).DISCLAIMER: The app provides information, suggestions and guidance regarding the treatment and management of mental health conditions. The advice presented is for information only. Please always consult a doctor before making any medical decisions *Complies with the NHS Digital Technology Assessment Criteria in the UK

About

Pulse

This app transforms your iPhone and Apple Watch health data into easy-to-understand daily summaries. It presents your sleep, recovery, and other vital metrics in plain English, offering insights into your body's current state without requiring manual logging.

Highlights
  • Daily wellbeing brief in plain English
  • Dashboard of key health metrics
  • 7, 30, and 90-day trend analysis
  • Home screen and watch face widgets
  • On-device AI for data privacy
  • Reads data from Apple Health
Features
Read full description

Pulse turns the data your iPhone and Apple Watch already collect into something you can actually use: a calm, plain-English brief about how your body is doing today. Most health apps show you charts. Pulse explains them. โ€” What Pulse does โ€” THE DAILY BRIEF Open the app and read a short, thoughtful summary of where your body is right now. How you slept. How recovered you are. What today might call for. Written in language you'd hear from a knowledgeable friend, not a clinician. THE DASHBOARD Every metric you'd want at a glance โ€” sleep, HRV, resting heart rate, steps, active energy, exercise minutes, VOโ‚‚ Max, blood oxygen, respiratory rate, wrist temperature, walking heart rate, heart rate recovery, weight, body fat, mindful minutes โ€” pulled from Apple Health into a calm, scannable layout. THE TRENDS See how each metric has moved over the last 7, 30, or 90 days. Long-press to inspect any point in time. Average lines show you what's normal for you, not for a population. THE WIDGET AND COMPLICATIONS Today's brief on your home screen. Today's brief on your watch face. Glanceable, not nagging. โ€” What Pulse does NOT do โ€” โ–ธ It doesn't ask you to log anything. Pulse only reads what your devices already know. โ–ธ It doesn't send your data anywhere. All AI runs on-device using Apple Intelligence. โ–ธ It doesn't try to coach you. No prescriptive workout plans, no nutrition rules, no streaks to break. โ€” Why on-device matters โ€” Your health data is the most personal information you have. Pulse never sends it to a server. The AI that writes your brief runs entirely on your iPhone using Apple's Foundation Models framework. No account, no cloud, no third parties. โ€” What you need โ€” โ–ธ iPhone with iOS 26 or later โ–ธ Apple Watch (recommended, for richest data) โ–ธ About two weeks of usage data so Pulse can establish your baseline โ€” Honest expectations โ€” Pulse is a wellness companion. It is not a medical device. It does not diagnose conditions or replace healthcare professionals. If something in your data concerns you, talk to a doctor. Pulse is built by an independent developer, not a venture-backed startup. There are no growth hacks, no notifications designed to pull you back in, and no plans to sell, share, or monetize your data. Ever. If Pulse helps you understand your body a little better, it's working.

Screenshots

Thrive4 screens
Pulse4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Pulse at 100% against Thrive's 46%. Pulse also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 months). Thrive's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 26.2). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

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

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Thrive ships an update every 2 months, Pulse every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences ยท 3 level
Thrive versus Pulse: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThrivePulse
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews46.2% of reviews100.0% of reviews โ€” better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 days โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo โ€” betterYes
MonetizationFree โ€” betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Vision Pro โ€” better
Requires iOS15.6 โ€” better26.2
Further details โ€” not scored
Size65 MB3 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperThrive Therapeutic Software LtdIndy.inc

Customer experience

Thrive

Written reviews13 reviews
Positive46.2%
Neutral7.7%
Negative46.2%

Pulse

Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Thrive

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Pulse

One-time1
  • Pulse Pro$2.99

Questions

Is Thrive free?
Thrive is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pulse free?
Pulse is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Thrive or Pulse have ads?
Neither Thrive nor Pulse shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Thrive or Pulse?
Thrive ships an update every 2 months, and Pulse every 2 days. Most recently, Thrive was updated on November 3, 2026 and Pulse on October 31, 2026.

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