Comparison

The Work App vs HeartMath

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

Head to head
About

The Work App

This app guides users through a process of identifying and questioning stressful thoughts. It aims to help users find peace and happiness by undoing these thoughts and returning to a natural, awakened state of mind.

Highlights
  • Identify stressful thoughts
  • Question limiting beliefs
  • Undo thought patterns
  • Experience peace and happiness
  • Return to awakened nature
Features
Read full description

"The Work of Byron Katie is a way of identifying and questioning the thoughts that cause all the anger, fear, depression, addiction, and violence in the world. Experience the happiness of undoing those thoughts through The Work, and allow your mind to return to its true, awakened, peaceful, creative nature. Are you ready? Everything you need in order to do The Work is available for free at thework.com."

About

HeartMath

This app helps you manage stress, improve focus, and achieve optimal performance by aligning your heart, mind, and emotions. It offers guided sessions, immersive journeys, and coherence practices based on over 30 years of research.

Highlights
  • Real-time HRV Coherence Measurement
  • Coherence Training
  • Scientifically Validated Techniques
  • Guided Learning Sessions
  • Progress Tracking
  • Heart-Brain Coherence Benefits
Features
Read full description

Align your heart, mind, and emotions to help you manage stress, improve focus, and perform at your best. Enjoy HeartMath’s free intro experience to access your heart’s natural intelligence and see your heart-brain coherence as real-time feedback. Then start your 7-day free trial to explore a comprehensive collection of guided sessions, immersive journeys, and coherence practices designed to help you experience greater calm, focus, clearer thinking, and a more balanced you. **Inner Balance Coherence Plus sensor owners: Use your sensor to unlock a lifetime subscription.** Built on 30+ years of research on the heart-brain connection and supported by over 500 research studies, HeartMath is used in wellness and resilience programs at organizations including Stanford Healthcare and Kaiser Permanente, as well as in professional sports, the military, law enforcement, leading universities, non-profit organizations, and major corporations. It is used by coaches, trainers, and health professionals for stress education and resilience training. The HeartMath system is more than stress management: it’s a journey to more heart-centered living. This app puts HeartMath’s practical, research-supported tools right at your fingertips. Make mental and emotional well-being an achievable part of your daily life. The HeartMath technology is for stress education and resilience training. It is not a medical device. We encourage you to consult a health professional before making any medical decisions. KEY FEATURES • Real-time HRV coherence feedback: Use your phone’s camera or upgrade to the Inner Balance Coherence Plus sensor for a more precise signal and a free app subscription. • Coherence training: Whether you choose the game or the guided mode, watch your heart-rhythm pattern and coherence change in real time. • Research-Supported: Techniques developed from 30+ years of scientific research to help boost focus, positive feelings, and your ability to manage stress. • Guided learning: Explore guided meditations, courses, and videos led by HeartMath trainers. • Progress tracking: View your progress over time with a variety of chart options. WHAT REGULAR COHERENCE PRACTICE CAN SUPPORT Heart-brain coherence is a balanced, focused state you create yourself through calm breathing and positive focus. Coherence supports the body’s natural ability to shift from tension to calm, helping you manage everyday stress and build inner balance. • SUPPORTS STRESS MANAGEMENT & EMOTIONAL BALANCE • SUPPORTS FOCUS AND MENTAL CLARITY — coherent states are associated with more focus, clarity, and creativity. • SUPPORTS RESILIENCE — regular practice can help you adapt to and recover from challenging situations more quickly. • ENHANCES EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING AND SELF-AWARENESS — practice can support a greater sense of inner calm and a more mindful relationship with your emotions. Subscription terms: • Subscriptions renew automatically at the end of each year. • You can cancel your subscription at any time in your account settings. • You will not be refunded for any unused portion of a subscription. • Price is subject to change. • Subscriptions are not available in all countries. • Full subscription terms: https://my.heartmath.com/terms If you’d like to purchase an Inner Balance Coherence Plus sensor to unlock complimentary lifetime access to the HeartMath app, please visit the HeartMath website.

Screenshots

The Work App4 screens
HeartMath4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: HeartMath at Free against The Work App's $0.99. HeartMath also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.2) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 5 months). The Work App's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5) and chart position (#41 vs unranked). On ads 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

HeartMath is free to download; The Work App costs $0.99 up front. HeartMath sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $39.00 per year. The Work App asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

HeartMath holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: HeartMath has 4.6K ratings behind it against 97, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 54% of The Work App's written reviews are positive against 74% of HeartMath's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

The Work App ships an update every 5 months, HeartMath every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard10 real differences · 1 level
The Work App versus HeartMath: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe Work AppHeartMath
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating4.2 (97 ratings)4.9 (4.6K ratings) — better
Positive reviews54.4% of reviews73.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings974.6K — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
Best chart rank#41 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS11.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size25 MB185 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperByron Katie International, IncHeartMath Inc.

Customer experience

The Work App

All ratings97 ratings
Positive78.4%
Neutral10.3%
Negative11.3%
Written reviews147 reviews
Positive54.4%
Neutral19.7%
Negative25.9%

HeartMath

All ratings4,564 ratings
Positive96.9%
Neutral1.8%
Negative1.3%
Written reviews172 reviews
Positive73.8%
Neutral5.2%
Negative20.9%

User reviews

The Work App

From 97 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ✨ Life-changing impact on thoughts and emotions
  • 👍 Simple, easy, and effective to use
  • 📱 Convenient access to The Work anytime, anywhere
  • 💾 Automatic saving of all worksheets and journal entries
  • 🎯 Excellent guided step-by-step process

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezing issues
  • 📱 App won't open or load properly
  • ⌨️ No landscape/horizontal mode for iPad
  • 👁️ Limited text box visibility - can't see full answers
  • 🔧 Poor app design and outdated interface

HeartMath

From 4.6K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Huge improvement over previous app
  • 👍 Easy to use and highly recommended
  • 💡 Loaded with HeartMath techniques and courses
  • 👍 Powerful tool for nervous system balance and anxiety reduction
  • 👍 Helps achieve a better mental state

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Connectivity issues with sensor
  • 🐛 Sensor not compatible with older devices
  • 🐛 App crashes and freezes on newer devices
  • 🐛 Inaccurate heart rate and coherence readings
  • 🐛 Disruptive screen sleep behavior during sessions

Bugs and requests

The Work App

Reported bugs

17 issues
  • App crashes during or after worksheet completion
  • App won't open or fails to launch
  • Keyboard appears without keys or is non-functional
  • Text disappears when keyboard is open
  • Last letter of belief gets deleted after completing worksheet
Show 12 more
  • Navigation arrows unresponsive or slow
  • Can't scroll back to previous sections without exiting
  • Turnaround section gets stuck, preventing progress
  • Video/audio features don't work or freeze app
  • Email/share function sends but doesn't complete
  • Incomplete worksheets auto-save but can't be resumed properly
  • Belief text doesn't populate correctly in subsequent sheets
  • Auto-capitalization issues with typed text
  • Emotions list too small and difficult to interact with
  • App performance degradation over time
  • Turnaround examples display as actual turnarounds
  • Can't add new turnarounds when editing saved work

Requested features

18 requests
  • Landscape/horizontal mode for iPad keyboard use
  • Dark mode option for nighttime use
  • Password protection for journal entries
  • Ability to delete or clear saved worksheets
  • Cross-device synchronization (phone, iPad, Mac)
Show 13 more
  • Better text box scrolling and visibility
  • Improved keyboard interaction and navigation
  • Audio prompts in Katie's voice
  • Full Judge Your Neighbor worksheet option
  • Ability to add/edit turnarounds after initial completion
  • Landscape mode for iPad Pro with keyboard
  • Better emotions list display (alphabetized, zoomable)
  • Ability to continue incomplete worksheets later
  • Email/share functionality that works properly
  • More screen space in text input areas
  • Voice command option for hands-free use
  • Save/export worksheets as files
  • Return key functionality for line breaks

HeartMath

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Sensor connection issues on newer devices
  • App crashes and freezes on iPhone 16 Pro
  • Inaccurate heart rate and coherence readings
  • Screen sleep behavior disrupting sessions

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add dark mode option
  • Allow playing music/sounds during sessions
  • Provide audio feedback on coherence levels
  • Add session history customization and details
  • Improve sensor compatibility with older devices

In-app purchases

None

The Work App

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

HeartMath

Subscriptions4
  • HeartMath Premium7 Days trial$39.001 Year
  • HeartMath Premium7 Days trial$59.001 Year
  • HeartMath Premium7 Days trial2 variants$79.001 Year
Show 1 more
  • HeartMath Premium7 Days trial$99.991 Year

Questions

Is The Work App free?
The Work App costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is HeartMath free?
HeartMath is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, The Work App or HeartMath?
HeartMath is rated higher. The Work App averages 4.2 out of 5 from 97 ratings, while HeartMath averages 4.9 from 4.6K ratings.
Do The Work App or HeartMath have ads?
Neither The Work App nor HeartMath shows ads.
Which is updated more often, The Work App or HeartMath?
The Work App ships an update every 5 months, and HeartMath every 3 weeks. Most recently, The Work App was updated on October 12, 2026 and HeartMath on October 14, 2026.

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