Comparison

CalmTide vs StrideSafe

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

StrideSafe

Features
Read full description

Walk more together—without turning connection into constant tracking. StrideSafe is a consent-first step tracker for two trusted people. Follow daily steps, goals and streaks, share progress with a partner, and choose when a current walk or commute includes location. WALK MORE TOGETHER • Track daily steps with Apple Health or the iPhone pedometer • Set personal daily and weekly goals • Build personal and couple walking streaks • Share step progress separately from location • Send quick encouragements to your paired partner SHARE ON YOUR TERMS Location sharing is off by default. Starting a stride never silently enables it. Choose Off, Approximate or, with Plus, Precise. Pause, Stop, Arrive and End stay close on iPhone. Your partner sees your approved location only while the pairing and current consent allow it. Stride sharing requires an active walk; continuous sharing is a separate opt-in. An optional live route during an active walk is relayed temporarily and is never saved to the server database. FREE IN STRIDESAFE • Daily walking progress, goals and streaks • One active partner pairing • Approximate location during an active stride • Pause, Stop, Revoke, Arrive, End, sign-out and deletion controls STRIDESAFE PLUS Every new download includes an automatic seven-day Plus Preview. No sign-up or payment is required, and the preview does not charge or renew. After it ends, choose a monthly or annual subscription in the app. Plus unlocks: • Precise location sharing • Full walking Insights and private on-device route history • Apple Watch app and complications • iPhone widgets • Optional continuous sharing and goal-progress notifications One active subscription also unlocks Plus for your current paired partner. PRIVACY BY DESIGN StrideSafe stores only one replaceable latest approved location on the server—not a server-side route history. Private walk routes stay on the walker’s device. Approximate, precise, paused, stale, unavailable, revoked, arrived and ended states are clearly distinguished. StrideSafe supports connection and reassurance. It does not guarantee safety and is not a replacement for emergency services. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://stridesafe.app/privacy/

Screenshots

CalmTide4 screens
StrideSafe4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: StrideSafe at 17.0 against CalmTide's 26.0. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. CalmTide sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and StrideSafe sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Scorecard1 real difference · 5 level
CalmTide versus StrideSafe: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCalmTideStrideSafe
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS26.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB19 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperMichael SmithLuan van der Walt

In-app purchases

3 purchases

CalmTide

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Annual$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$59.99
2 purchases

StrideSafe

Subscriptions2
  • StrideSafe Plus Monthly$4.991 Month
  • StrideSafe Plus Annual$39.991 Year

Questions

Is CalmTide free?
CalmTide is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is StrideSafe free?
StrideSafe is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do CalmTide or StrideSafe have ads?
Neither CalmTide nor StrideSafe shows ads.

Other comparisons