Comparison

HeartMath vs Sati

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

Head to head
About

HeartMath

Manage stress, improve focus, and enhance emotional well-being with real-time heart-brain coherence feedback. Explore guided sessions and practices based on over 30 years of research to achieve greater calm and balance.

Highlights
  • Real-time HRV coherence feedback
  • Guided coherence training
  • Research-supported techniques
  • Guided meditations and courses
  • Progress tracking
  • Stress management and emotional balance support
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.

About

Sati

This app offers a personalized mindfulness experience with guided meditations, authentic teachings, and mood tracking. It features a unique visual garden that grows with your practice and integrates with Apple Health. All data stays on your device for ultimate privacy.

Highlights
  • Living mind garden visualization
  • Authentic sourced teachings
  • Mood-matched reflections and practices
  • Four meditation types
  • Apple Watch integration
  • Optional Apple Health sync
  • Gentle check-ins and reminders
Features
Read full description

Sati (Pali: "mindfulness") is a quiet companion for everyday practice, and everything stays on your phone. No account, no tracking, no cloud. Ever. A LIVING MIND GARDEN Your home screen is a pond that grows with your real practice. Every check-in adds grasses, every meditation a stone, every teaching a ripple, and every walk a lily pad, laid one by one into a path across the water. Nothing is faked. An empty garden is a still pond, waiting. AUTHENTIC TEACHINGS, PROPERLY CREDITED A daily teaching drawn from over 230 verses and quotes: the Dhammapada in Bhikkhu Sujato's clear modern translation, alongside brief words from teachers like Thich Nhat Hanh and Shunryu Suzuki. Every entry is sourced; nothing is invented. A full Sources page is built in. WISDOM FOR HOW YOU ACTUALLY FEEL Choose what's present, whether calm, heavy, grateful, restless, afraid, hopeful, lost or joyful, and where it lives (work, relationships, health, money, change). Sati answers with a matched teaching, a short reflection, and a practice you can begin with one tap. MEDITATION, FOUR WAYS - Breathing guides: Box, 4-7-8, and calming breath, with a gentle animated circle and soft haptics - A sit timer with a synthesized temple bell and an ambient soundscape generated on your device - Guided text meditations: body scan, loving-kindness, present moment, gratitude - Walking meditation at three paces, from an everyday walk to ultra slow, with a wooden block keeping time so your phone can stay in your pocket ON YOUR WRIST Breathe, sit, walk, and check in from Apple Watch, with haptic cues and without your phone nearby. Your practice syncs back to grow the same garden. APPLE HEALTH, IF YOU WANT IT Sati can add your completed sessions to Apple Health as Mindful Minutes, and your walks as walking workouts. It only ever writes, never reads, and the setting stays off until you turn it on. GENTLE CHECK-INS Morning, midday, and evening check-ins on your schedule, plus the optional Bell of Mindfulness: a few unplanned one-line reminders to return to the present. HONEST INSIGHTS After enough check-ins, Sati shows your mood rhythms and an honest comparison of days you sat versus days you didn't. No streak-shaming, no red charts. A widget brings today's teaching and your streak to your home screen. The day shifts around you, and Sati shifts with it: first light, morning, afternoon, dusk, and night, each with a light of its own.

Screenshots

HeartMath4 screens
Sati4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: HeartMath at Free against Sati's $1.99. HeartMath also leads on ratings volume (4.8K vs 2). Sati's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and update cadence (every 8 days vs every 3 weeks). On rating, 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

HeartMath is free to download; Sati costs $1.99 up front. HeartMath sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $79.00 per year. Sati asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for HeartMath against 5.0 for Sati. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: HeartMath has 4.8K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

HeartMath ships an update every 3 weeks, Sati every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
HeartMath versus Sati: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHeartMathSati
PriceFree — better$1.99
Rating4.9 (4.8K ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews73.8% of reviews—
Number of ratings4.8K — better2
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 8 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium — betterPaid
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS26.018.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size381 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHeartMath Inc.Craig Anthony Perkins

Customer experience

HeartMath

All ratings4,768 ratings
Positive96.9%
Neutral1.8%
Negative1.3%
Written reviews172 reviews
Positive73.8%
Neutral5.2%
Negative20.9%

Sati

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

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

Sati

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

HeartMath

Subscriptions2
  • HeartMath Premium7 Days trial$79.001 Year
  • HeartMath Premium7 Days trial$99.991 Year
None

Sati

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is HeartMath free?
HeartMath is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Sati free?
Sati costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, HeartMath or Sati?
Sati is rated higher. HeartMath averages 4.9 out of 5 from 4.8K ratings, while Sati averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do HeartMath or Sati have ads?
Neither HeartMath nor Sati shows ads.
Which is updated more often, HeartMath or Sati?
HeartMath ships an update every 3 weeks, and Sati every 8 days. Most recently, HeartMath was updated on November 7, 2026 and Sati on November 5, 2026.

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