Comparison

Steady vs Protocol

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

Head to head
About

Steady

Features
Read full description

Two weeks after surgery, your pain is a 5 out of 10. Is that normal? Your discharge papers don't say. Searches turn up best-case timelines next to worst-case horror stories. One benchmark would settle it. Steady is a recovery tracker that maps your progress against the typical recovery curve for your procedure โ€” so "is this normal?" finally has an answer. THE RECOVERY CALCULATOR โ€” FREE โ€ข Pick your procedure, enter your surgery date, and tap your current pain level. โ€ข Steady instantly places you on the typical recovery curve for your week โ€” see whether your pain is inside the expected band, ahead of it, or behind. โ€ข It also lays out the usual recovery milestones for your procedure, and where you are against them. WANT TO TRACK IT OVER TIME? STEADY PREMIUM โ€ข Check in by voice or text, day by day. Steady reads your own check-ins against the benchmark and keeps "where you stand" current โ€” instead of a one-off snapshot. โ€ข The patterns you can't feel day to day: flares getting shorter, what sets you back, milestones arriving on schedule. Plus your full history and a one-tap summary for your physical therapist. โ€ข Steady does not diagnose, prescribe, or give medical advice. It shows you where you stand against typical recovery data. Free to start. Steady Plus: Recovery Pass ($99, 12 months, one payment) or Monthly ($14.99/month, auto-renews until canceled). Manage or cancel anytime in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use: https://growsteady.me/terms Privacy Policy: https://growsteady.me/privacy

About

Protocol

Read full description

Protocol is your recovery accountability coach. Recovering from an injury or surgery is a long, lonely grind โ€” and it's easy to lose track of where you are or drift off your plan. Protocol gives you a single place to stay on top of it, every day. How it works - Tell Protocol about your injury and when it happened. Your recovery is tracked day by day, so you always know where you stand. - Upload photos or PDFs of your clinical documents โ€” discharge summaries, scan reports, physio notes. Protocol reads them and keeps the key details in context. - Do a quick daily check-in: how you're feeling, pain, swelling, what you managed. Build a streak and stay consistent. - Chat anytime with your AI coach. It remembers your history, your reports, and your goals, so the conversation picks up where you left off โ€” not from scratch. Built for the long haul Protocol is designed for daily use across weeks and months of recovery. It keeps you accountable, helps you make sense of what your clinicians have told you, and keeps you moving forward between appointments. Important Protocol is an accountability and coaching tool. It is not a medical device and does not provide medical diagnosis or treatment. It does not replace your doctor, surgeon, or physiotherapist. Always follow the advice of your own healthcare providers, and seek professional care for any medical concern. You must agree to an in-app disclaimer before using the coach. Protocol is intended for adults (18+). Your messages and uploaded documents are processed by a third-party AI provider to generate coaching responses. See our Privacy Policy: https://protocol-ai.net/privacy

Screenshots

Steady4 screens
Protocol3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Protocol at none against Steady's 2. Steady's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence, ads 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. Steady sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month. Protocol asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Steady ships an update every 4 days, Protocol weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 4, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
Steady versus Protocol: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSteadyProtocol
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 4 days โ€” betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo โ€” better
DevicesiPhone, iPod โ€” betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.1 โ€” better17.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size46 MB6 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperSamy NaaymaNaman Sharma

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Steady

Subscriptions1
  • Steady Plus Monthly$14.991 Month
One-time1
  • 12-Month Unlock$99.00
None

Protocol

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Steady free?
Steady is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Protocol free?
Protocol is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Steady or Protocol have ads?
Neither Steady nor Protocol shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Steady or Protocol?
Steady ships an update every 4 days, and Protocol weekly. Most recently, Steady was updated on September 4, 2026 and Protocol on September 23, 2026.

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