Pulse vs Surge HIIT
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
Pulse
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Pulse is an interval timer built for people who train seriously. Focus on your workout, not your phone. BUILT TO BE SEEN The countdown fills your screen. Bold color-coded backgrounds shift with each phase โ green for work, indigo for rest, amber for prepare. You'll see it from across the gym without touching your phone. YOUR ROUTINE, YOUR WAY Chain multiple exercises into one continuous session. Each exercise gets its own set count, its own segments, its own timing. Prepare, Workout, Rest, Cooldown. Build it once, run it every time. AUDIO CUES THAT WORK Distinct beeps for transitions, last-3-second countdowns, and session complete. No voice coaching. No music. Just the cues you need, when you need them. FREE FEATURES โข Full interval timer with all segment types โข Audio cues and countdown beeps โข Haptic feedback โข 1 saved routine PULSE PREMIUM โ ONE-TIME โข Unlimited saved routines โข Workout history โ calendar, charts, and yearly heatmap โข Cloud backup via iCloud (no account required) โข All future premium features included No account required. No ads. No subscription. Ever.
Surge HIIT
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HIIT shouldn't start with a fight against a confusing timer. Surge HIIT does the hard part for you: pick a workout, hit start, and move. Your phone โ and your Apple Watch โ call every interval so you never have to look down mid-burpee. Built for people who want to sweat, not fiddle. โ WORKOUTS THAT ARE READY WHEN YOU ARE โ Eight studio-quality HIIT workouts, beginner to advanced. No setup, no guesswork. Warm-up, work, rest, cooldown โ all timed, all coached, all yours from the first tap. โ BUILD YOUR OWN, EXACTLY YOUR WAY โ Drag-and-drop the perfect routine in our custom builder. Set work and rest to the second, name your exercises, pick your colors. Tabata, EMOM, circuits, ladders โ if you can imagine it, you can build it. Frankly, the builder is tremendous. โ YOUR APPLE WATCH BECOMES A COACH โ This is where Surge pulls ahead. Real-time heart rate. Active calories. Haptic taps on every interval change so you feel the switch without breaking stride. Your custom workouts sync straight to your wrist, and your Activity rings close automatically. Leave the phone on the bench. โ SPOKEN CUES, EYES UP โ Surge announces each interval in a crisp neural voice and ducks your music so you hear it clearly. No squinting at a screen between rounds. Choose your preferred accent and gender in Settings โ preview it before you commit. โ NINE THEMES WITH REAL CHARACTER โ From cool Glacier blues to molten Ember, electric Voltage, and a neon Tron-inspired grid. Make the app yours. โ 100% OFFLINE. ZERO ADS. ZERO NONSENSE โ No internet required. No accounts. No ads interrupting your set. Ever. Just you and the work. โ APPLE HEALTH โ Every session saves to Apple Health โ workouts, active calories and heart rate โ so your progress lives where the rest of your fitness data does. โ START FREE โ Two built-in workouts and two custom workouts are free forever. Want it all? Start a 14-day free trial โ no credit card, no commitment. Keep the free workouts as long as you like. Surge Premium unlocks: โข All 8 HIIT workouts โข Unlimited custom workouts and exercises โข Every color theme โข The full Apple Watch experience It's a HIIT timer that respects your time. Believe me โ your next workout starts the second you open it. Download Surge HIIT and go. โโโ Subscription details: A yearly subscription is available after the free trial, or buy Lifetime once and own it forever. Payment is charged to your Apple ID. The yearly subscription auto-renews unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your App Store account settings. Privacy Policy: https://surgehiit.app/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Pulse at 15.1 against Surge HIIT's 17.6. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Pulse sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Surge HIIT sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $29.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on September 8, 2026 and August 17, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pulse | Surge HIIT |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 3 days | Every 3 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod โ better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 โ better | 17.6 |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 47 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Tomas Bezouska | Ralf Koch |
In-app purchases
Pulse
- Pulse PRO$3.99
Surge HIIT
- Surge Hiit Premium - Yearly$29.991 Year
- Surge Hiit Premium - 14-day TrialFree
- Surge Hiit Premium - Lifetime$79.99





