Comparison

Undercurrent vs Pain Patterns

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

Head to head
About

Undercurrent

Features
Read full description

You know something is off, but what? Headaches that seem random. Energy that crashes for no reason. You suspect a pattern, but every time the doctor asks "have you noticed any patterns?" you draw a blank. Undercurrent is a private symptom log and food diary for the small things, and the patterns hiding inside them. Use it as a headache log, a food symptom diary, or a flare journal for a chronic illness. LOG IN FOUR TAPS OR FEWER Symptoms, food, medications, activities, and observations. Quick chips for what you log most. Voice if you'd rather. Or just tell the on-device AI assistant in plain language: "headache after lunch" and it handles the rest. WHAT WE'VE NOTICED Once you've logged enough events, the Insights page surfaces co-occurrences in your own data, phrased in soft language. None of it claims to cause anything. You decide if it's signal or noise. • Pre-window pattern: what tends to show up in the hours before symptoms • Time-of-day cluster: when symptoms tend to gather • Day-of-week peak: which days run hottest • Recurring sequence: a familiar arc, repeated • Co-occurrence: tags that appear alongside symptoms • Seasonality: a year, at a glance (Pro) • Environment: weather, barometric pressure, humidity, air quality, for migraine weather and pressure patterns (Pro) • Long-term cycles and intervention effectiveness (Pro) A REPORT YOU CAN HAND TO YOUR CLINICIAN One tap exports an editorial PDF: auto-numbered observations, frequency tables, time-of-day distributions, and an event log. Black-and-white printable, sized for a five-minute appointment. No portal login on the other end. READINGS: GLUCOSE, HEART RATE, BLOOD PRESSURE, WEIGHT Your numbers sit on the same timeline as everything you log. Log a reading by hand in a couple of taps, or import from Apple Health with Pro, including a CGM's glucose every five minutes. ON YOUR WRIST Log what you log most with one tap on Apple Watch. Set severity with the Digital Crown, mark a symptom improved later, or start from its watch face complication. MEDICINE CABINET AND PILL BOX Set a dose schedule once and the medications you take regularly log themselves. A daily pill box shows what's taken and what's still due. APPLE HEALTH INTEGRATION Pull in workouts, mindful sessions, and readings automatically (Pro). TRACK MULTIPLE PEOPLE (PRO) Separate threads for yourself, your kids, or anyone you care for. 100% PRIVATE BY DEFAULT • No account required, start logging immediately • All data stored locally on your device • AI runs on-device using Apple Intelligence; nothing is sent to a server to be analysed • Optional iCloud backup, protected by Apple's encryption • No analytics, no tracking, no ads BUILT ON PUBLISHED RESEARCH Across 85 clinical studies, self-monitoring was the most effective technique in digital health interventions for chronic conditions. FREE FOREVER • Unlimited logging, medicine cabinet, and manual readings • Today, Timeline, and Calendar views • AI chat assistant for plain-language logging • Basic Insights: pre-window, time-of-day, day-of-week, sequences, co-occurrences UNDERCURRENT PRO · ONE-TIME PURCHASE · $19.99 Pay once, keep everything forever. No subscription, no recurring charges. • Weather, pressure, and humidity correlations • Long-term cycles, seasonality, intervention effectiveness • Full clinician PDF report • Multiple people • Apple Health sync, including CGM glucose • iCloud backup Whether it's what shows up before your migraines or which foods leave you uncomfortable, Undercurrent gives you a quiet place to write it down. NOT A MEDICAL DEVICE Undercurrent describes statistical co-occurrences in your self-logged data. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Observations are informational only, not medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional about symptoms, medications, or treatment decisions. In an emergency, call your local emergency number. Notice what's quietly shaping how you feel.

About

Pain Patterns

Features
Read full description

Pain Patterns helps you understand your chronic pain. Log a check-in in seconds: Over time, the app finds statistically significant patterns in your data: which activities make pain worse, what time of day it peaks, how sleep and stress affect you. Real insights, backed by your real data. Track what matters: Log pain intensity, location, and context in seconds. No long forms, no friction. Discover what's driving it: Pain Patterns runs statistical analysis on your entries to surface only meaningful correlations. See the bigger picture: Timelines, heat maps, and trend charts make months of data easy to understand at a glance. Bring data to your appointments: Arrive at your next doctor's visit with actual evidence — not just memory.

Screenshots

Undercurrent4 screens
Pain Patterns4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Pain Patterns at none against Undercurrent's 1. On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Undercurrent sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Pain Patterns asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard1 real difference · 5 level
Undercurrent versus Pain Patterns: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterUndercurrentPain Patterns
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyWeekly—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS16.415.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size73 MB6 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperLloyd RowatGINA JAY HEIDEL

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Undercurrent

One-time1
  • Undercurrent Health: Pro$19.99
None

Pain Patterns

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Undercurrent free?
Undercurrent is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pain Patterns free?
Pain Patterns is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Undercurrent or Pain Patterns have ads?
Neither Undercurrent nor Pain Patterns shows ads.

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