# Stral vs HydroBuddy

The clearest difference is update cadence: Stral at every 3 weeks against HydroBuddy's every 2 months. HydroBuddy's advantage is iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Stral sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and HydroBuddy sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Stral ships an update every 3 weeks, HydroBuddy every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Stral | HydroBuddy |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 weeks** | Every 2 months |
| Size | 14 MB | 33 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 | **16.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Nichful](https://appshunter.io/developer/1871193294) | [Shubham Jada](https://appshunter.io/developer/1887669015) |

## What reviewers say

### Stral

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/stral/id6760584409)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Stral Pro | $0.99 | per month |
| Stral Pro | $4.99 | per year |


### HydroBuddy

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hydrobuddy-ai-water-tracker/id6761210383)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly | $1.99 | per month |
| Yearly | $14.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Stral free?

Stral is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is HydroBuddy free?

HydroBuddy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do Stral or HydroBuddy have ads?

Neither Stral nor HydroBuddy shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Stral or HydroBuddy?

Stral ships an update every 3 weeks, and HydroBuddy every 2 months. Most recently, Stral was updated on October 31, 2026 and HydroBuddy on November 9, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*