Comparison

CalmTide vs Lower Cortisol

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

Head to head
About

CalmTide

Features
Read full description

CalmTide estimates stress load from your Apple Health data — it does not measure cortisol. See your stress load clearly, and settle it. CalmTide reads the Apple Health data you already have — sleep, HRV, workouts, resting heart rate, mindful minutes — and turns it into one clear picture: an HPA Balance Score today, a weekly balance trend, and a Breathe tab for when you want to settle. SEE TODAY CLEARLY • HPA Balance Score (0–100) from a named model with its sources cited — tap any number to see the research behind it • Today's estimate says how much data backs it, and a signal CalmTide couldn't measure reads "Not measured" — never as a bad day • Pick a focus — less stress, better sleep, avoiding burnout or training without overtraining — and Today and Insights lead with it • Your HRV and resting heart rate against typical ranges for your age and sex, once you confirm your age (Pro) BREATHE • A Breathe tab: cyclic sighing (Balban 2023) and resonance breathing (Shaffer 2020), in 2, 5 or 10-minute sessions, suggested for the moment you're in — free • Follow a session with your eyes closed: a gentle tap at each breath, the screen kept awake for the session only, and a pacer bar instead of the orb when Reduce Motion is on • Your mindful minutes this week from Apple Health, with no target and no streak to keep • More practices (Pro): NSDR / yoga nidra, a short cold finish for the morning, and a post-meal walk — each guided, each naming the study behind it • Sessions save to Apple Health as Mindful Minutes and count down on your Lock Screen FIND YOUR PATTERNS • Morning-after insights: what caffeine, alcohol, late meals and hard workouts did to your HRV, sleep and readiness • A one-time note when CalmTide first spots a pattern in your own check-ins — an association, never a cause • What your check-ins reveal (Pro): whether how you feel tracks your sleep, HRV and training UNDERSTAND YOUR WEEK • A weekly retrospective that ranks what moved your balance — only signals measured in both weeks (Pro) • Workouts with heart-rate data labelled reducing, neutral or spiking for their estimated load. Sessions without it still count toward your weekly dose, never guessed at • Training load as plain figures: acute-to-chronic ratio, monotony and strain (Pro) • Your weekly HPA balance over 8 weeks, with life events pinned to it, and a 7-day forecast of your load estimate (Pro) • An appointment summary: one page and a CSV of what CalmTide measured, and nothing it couldn't (Pro) ON YOUR WATCH FACE • Two complications: CalmTide balance and CalmTide readiness, each showing when it last updated (scores with Pro) • Haptic-paced breathing with your live heart rate, and check-ins that sync to your iPhone • Double Tap starts and finishes a breathing session on Apple Watch Series 9 and later • Ask Siri "What's my cortisol today in CalmTide?" for today's estimated load (Pro), or start a session from Control Center or the Action button PRIVATE BY DESIGN • On-device analysis, including the optional Calm Coach explainer • App Privacy label: Data Not Collected • On iPhone Duo, Breathe and Insights use both pages when open, and sessions adapt to every pose Scores need an Apple Watch, or another app that writes sleep, HRV or resting heart rate to Apple Health. CalmTide is free to use daily. CalmTide Pro unlocks everything marked (Pro), plus 60- and 90-day history, score & forecast widgets and Calm Coach — as a monthly or annual subscription, or a one-time lifetime purchase with no subscription. The annual subscription includes a 1-month free trial for new subscribers. Subscriptions auto-renew until cancelled; the price and any trial are shown before you confirm. CalmTide is a wellness tool. It does not diagnose or treat any medical condition. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://twisteddatastudios.com/calmtide-privacy.html

About

Lower Cortisol

Features
Read full description

Cortisol Calmer turns a steadier day into a short daily checklist and one simple number to watch. Eight small, science-backed habits, the kind linked to a steadier daily stress rhythm, laid out as a quick tick: • Morning light • Consistent bedtime • Screen wind-down • Caffeine cutoff • Breathwork • Light movement • Protein breakfast • Evening magnesium Tick what you did and your Calm Score fills in: a single 0–100 read of how much of your routine you kept that day. It's a guide to your habits, not a medical measurement of your cortisol. SEE IT WORK The Trends dashboard lines every habit up on one timeline with your Calm Score on top, so your steady stretches and your rough ones show at a glance, across two weeks, a month, three months, or all of it. It lines the days up; the pattern is yours to read. BUILT TO STAY SIMPLE • Free, with everything unlocked. • Fully on-device: no account, no sign-up, no sync. Your data never leaves your phone. • No ads, no tracking, no spam. One quiet daily reminder, only if you want it. • A share card to post your progress, whenever you feel like it. Cortisol Calmer is a wellness and habit-tracking app. It does not diagnose, treat, or measure any medical condition, and nothing in it is medical advice. If stress is affecting your health, please talk to a qualified professional.

Screenshots

CalmTide4 screens
Lower Cortisol4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Lower Cortisol at none against CalmTide's 3. Lower Cortisol also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 3 weeks) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. CalmTide sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Lower Cortisol asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

CalmTide ships an update every 3 weeks, Lower Cortisol every 2 days. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences Ā· 3 level
CalmTide versus Lower Cortisol: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCalmTideLower Cortisol
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS26.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB22 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperMichael SmithAshley Weyers

In-app purchases

3 purchases

CalmTide

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Annual$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$59.99
None

Lower Cortisol

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is CalmTide free?
CalmTide is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Lower Cortisol free?
Lower Cortisol is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do CalmTide or Lower Cortisol have ads?
Neither CalmTide nor Lower Cortisol shows ads.
Which is updated more often, CalmTide or Lower Cortisol?
CalmTide ships an update every 3 weeks, and Lower Cortisol every 2 days. Most recently, CalmTide was updated on October 24, 2026 and Lower Cortisol on October 24, 2026.

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