Comparison

SaunaPulse vs Degree Daddy

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

Head to head
About

SaunaPulse

This app allows users to track their sauna sessions using an Apple Watch. It provides real-time heart rate monitoring, automatic calorie estimations, and a detailed history of past sessions. Data is synced between the watch and iPhone companion app and integrated with HealthKit.

Highlights
  • Live heart rate monitoring
  • Session timer
  • Automatic calorie estimates
  • Session history and stats
  • Apple Watch and iPhone sync
  • HealthKit integration
Features
Read full description

SaunaPulse helps you track sauna sessions on Apple Watch with real-time heart rate and automatic calorie estimates. FEATURES Live heart rate during sessions Session timer and calories Session history and stats Sync between Apple Watch and iPhone companion app HEALTHKIT SaunaPulse uses HealthKit to read heart rate and profile details (age, weight, biological sex) to calculate estimated calories, and to save workouts. Data stays on your device and in the Health app. Disclaimer: Calorie and heart-rate insights are estimates and not medical advice.

About

Degree Daddy

Track your cold plunge and sauna sessions with a dedicated timer and logging system. Build streaks, sync your data to Strava and Apple Health, and share your progress with session cards. Designed for serious recovery enthusiasts.

Highlights
  • Cold plunge and sauna timer
  • Temperature and rating logging
  • Streak tracking with recovery
  • Strava and Apple Health sync
  • Apple Watch app
  • Shareable session cards
  • iCloud sync
Features
Read full description

Log your cold plunge and sauna sessions. Build streaks. Sync to Strava and Apple Health. Degree Daddy is a cold plunge and sauna tracker for people who take their recovery seriously but don't need a lifestyle brand to do it. Timer, logging, streaks, sync. Works on iPhone, iPad, iPhone Duo, and Apple Watch, in light or dark mode. APPLE WATCH — NEW Start a session from your wrist and leave your phone in the locker. A big timer, live heart rate, and a tap on the wrist at each milestone. Set the temperature with the Digital Crown when you finish, and the session lands in your iPhone history and Apple Health. TIMER One tap to start. A big, readable timer counts your session while encouragement messages keep you in. Switch between cold plunge and sauna mode. Stop early by mistake? Tap Continue and the timer picks up where it stopped. Lock your phone and the timer keeps counting on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island. SAFETY CHECK ALARM An optional alarm for each session type that goes off when your chosen time has passed — 5 minutes for cold plunge and 25 for sauna by default. It does not contact emergency services. LOGGING Save temperature, sauna type (dry, steam, or infrared), a 1–5 star rating, and your location after each session. Tag it Home, a nearby venue — gyms, spas, pools — or your city. Everything stays on your device and syncs across your iCloud devices automatically. STREAKS Consecutive day tracking so you can see if you're actually being consistent. Current streak and all-time best, right on the home screen. Miss a few days? If your last session was within 5 days, the app offers to continue your streak, so travel and rest days don't reset your progress. STRAVA SYNC Strava has no cold plunge or sauna activity type. Degree Daddy fills the gap: push any session to Strava as an activity — "Cold Plunge - 2:45 at 42°F" — with your sauna type, location, and streak in the description. Attach your session card as a photo so your followers know what you're about. APPLE HEALTH Every session writes to Apple Health as a workout, with heart rate when you use Apple Watch. Whoop, Oura, Garmin, and anything else that reads HealthKit will pick it up automatically. SESSION CARDS A clean, branded card with your duration, temperature, streak, and location. Share it or save it. PRIVACY No account required. No ads. Your data lives on your device and syncs through iCloud. Anonymous usage analytics via TelemetryDeck and crash diagnostics via Sentry. WHAT'S INCLUDED - Apple Watch app with live heart rate - Cold plunge timer (30–60°F) - Sauna timer (100–220°F) with dry, steam, and infrared types - Lock Screen and Dynamic Island timer - Safety Check Alarm for cold plunge and sauna - Temperature slider with color feedback - 1–5 star session rating - Automatic GPS location with nearby venue picker - Streak tracking with recovery (within 5 days) - Light, Dark, and Auto appearance - Strava sync - Apple Health sync - Shareable session cards - Celsius/Fahrenheit toggle - iCloud sync across devices - VoiceOver accessible Apple rates Apple Watch Ultra for saunas up to 55°C (130°F); other models aren't rated for sauna heat. You can always time a sauna from your iPhone.

Screenshots

SaunaPulse2 screens
Degree Daddy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Degree Daddy at 67% against SaunaPulse's 0%. Degree Daddy also leads on price (Free vs $3.99) and rating (4.3 vs 2.7). SaunaPulse's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 2 weeks). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases 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

Degree Daddy is free to download; SaunaPulse costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Degree Daddy holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 2.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 3 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 0% of SaunaPulse's written reviews are positive against 67% of Degree Daddy's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SaunaPulse ships an update weekly, Degree Daddy every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
SaunaPulse versus Degree Daddy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSaunaPulseDegree Daddy
Price$3.99Free — better
Rating2.7 (3 ratings)4.3 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews66.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings33
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS26.217.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB11 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperJose ValleOutergy Group, LLC

Customer experience

SaunaPulse

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Degree Daddy

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral33.3%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral33.3%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

SaunaPulse

No in-app purchases

None

Degree Daddy

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SaunaPulse free?
SaunaPulse costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Degree Daddy free?
Degree Daddy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SaunaPulse or Degree Daddy?
Degree Daddy is rated higher. SaunaPulse averages 2.7 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while Degree Daddy averages 4.3 from 3 ratings.
Do SaunaPulse or Degree Daddy have ads?
Neither SaunaPulse nor Degree Daddy shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SaunaPulse or Degree Daddy?
SaunaPulse ships an update weekly, and Degree Daddy every 2 weeks. Most recently, SaunaPulse was updated on November 5, 2026 and Degree Daddy on October 31, 2026.

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