Comparison

PainFlow vs Headache Detective

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

Head to head
About

PainFlow

Features
Read full description

Living with chronic pain can make every day unpredictable. PainFlow helps you track pain, mood, and energy, notice patterns over time, and plan your day around how you actually feel. PainFlow is a gentle daily companion for people living with chronic pain. It offers practical self-regulation tools for difficult moments without replacing medical care, therapy, diagnosis, or treatment. What you can do with PainFlow โ€ข Track pain, mood, energy, gratitude, and daily notes โ€ข Review your history and simple statistics โ€ข Notice changes and patterns over time โ€ข Create a personal support plan โ€ข Practice energy pacing and explore spoon theory โ€ข Use breathing, grounding, and body awareness practices โ€ข Move through an anxiety wave step by step โ€ข Explore exercises such as circle of control and body connection Support during pain flare-ups When pain feels overwhelming, use the always-free self-help section with gentle audio support and grounding tools. Privacy PainFlow does not connect to Apple Health or other external health services. PainFlow does not sell your data. Access PainFlow includes a 14-day free trial of all features. After the trial, full access is available through a monthly or yearly subscription. The self-help section for pain flare-ups remains free. Important information PainFlow provides general wellbeing and self-regulation support. It is not medical advice and does not diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional about your symptoms, medication, treatment decisions, or urgent health concerns. If you need urgent help, contact your local emergency services. Privacy Policy: https://www.painflow.app/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.painflow.app/terms

About

Headache Detective

Features
Read full description

Headache Detective helps you log, track, and understand your headaches โ€” so you can identify triggers, spot patterns, and share meaningful data with your doctor. A subscription is required to use this app. Features include: Quick Log โ€” Tap any pain level (1โ€“10) to log a headache instantly. No forms, no fuss. Detailed Entry โ€” Log everything about your headache: start/end time, pain severity, triggers, symptoms, medications, relief methods, and notes. Interactive Head Pain Map โ€” Tap exactly where it hurts on an anatomically detailed head silhouette โ€” front and back, 14 zones. Calendar View โ€” See your headache days at a glance with color-coded severity dots. Tap any day to browse entries. Powerful Insights โ€” Discover your personal patterns: most common triggers, weekday trends, time-of-day distribution, pain location hotspots, and how each trigger affects your pain severity. Widgets & Siri โ€” Log from your Home Screen or Lock Screen. Use your voice: "Hey Siri, log a headache." Export & Share โ€” Export all your data as CSV to share with your healthcare provider. HealthKit Sync โ€” Headache episodes are automatically written to the Health app. Headache Detective Pro (Subscription) Unlock unlimited logging, full timing controls, calendar, insights, CSV export, widgets, Siri, HealthKit sync, and iCloud sync across your devices. Privacy: Your health data stays on your device. No accounts or sign-up required. Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

PainFlow4 screens
Headache Detective3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Headache Detective at weekly against PainFlow's fortnightly. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. PainFlow sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Headache Detective sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PainFlow ships an update fortnightly, Headache Detective weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference ยท 5 level
PainFlow versus Headache Detective: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPainFlowHeadache Detective
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyFortnightlyWeekly โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad โ€” better
Requires iOS17.016.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size25 MB15 MB
Age rating12+17+
DeveloperKyrylo YarovyiRiku Kuisma

In-app purchases

2 purchases

PainFlow

Subscriptions2
  • Subscription14 Days trial$5.991 Month
  • Subscription14 Days trial$34.991 Year
2 purchases

Headache Detective

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Yearly$29.991 Year

Questions

Is PainFlow free?
PainFlow is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Headache Detective free?
Headache Detective is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do PainFlow or Headache Detective have ads?
Neither PainFlow nor Headache Detective shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PainFlow or Headache Detective?
PainFlow ships an update fortnightly, and Headache Detective weekly. Most recently, PainFlow was updated on October 24, 2026 and Headache Detective on October 15, 2026.

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