Comparison

PainTrail vs Cura

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

Head to head
About

PainTrail

Read full description

Living with chronic pain means remembering details your doctor needs β€” right when you're least able to. PainTrail is a private, calm way to log pain, symptoms, and medications as life happens, so you walk into every appointment with the full picture instead of scattered notes and guesswork. PainTrail is a calm, structured place to record pain as life happens. Log where you feel pain, rate the intensity, add context, and include a note only when it helps. Review a dated history by day, week, month, or all time so the details do not have to live in scattered notesβ€”or in memory alone. WHAT YOU CAN RECORD β€’ Pain location and 0–10 intensity β€’ Context such as sleep, stress, activity, weather, and medication taken β€’ Optional notes β€’ Medication name, dose as entered, time, and notes β€’ Questions for an upcoming visit REVIEW YOUR OWN HISTORY See daily entries, simple trends, common locations, and descriptive observations based only on what you entered. PainTrail may flag a logged day whose average pain is at least two points above the selected period's average. This is a descriptive comparison, not a medical assessment. PainTrail does not diagnose causes or recommend care. PREPARE A USER-ENTERED SUMMARY Create a PDF with pain averages and peaks, locations, context, and medication records for the selected date range. Questions saved for an upcoming visit remain in the app and are not included in the PDF. PRIVATE, WITHOUT AN ACCOUNT Your records are stored in local app storage. PainTrail has no product account, backend server, advertising, or analytics integration. Files leave local app storage only when you choose to share a PDF or manually export a JSON backup. FREE β€’ Unlimited pain and medication logging β€’ Day, week, month, and all-time history and summary views β€’ PDF exports up to 30 days β€’ Manual JSON backup and restore for pain check-ins and medication records PAINTRAIL PRO β€” ONE-TIME PURCHASE β€’ PDF ranges longer than 30 days β€’ Optional free-text notes in PDF exports β€’ Descriptive tag comparisons PainTrail is intended for personal tracking and informational purposes. It is not a medical device and does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, treatment recommendations, medication guidance, or emergency support. Consult a qualified healthcare professional about medical decisions.

About

Cura

Features
Read full description

Track migraines in one tap. Cura is the migraine and headache diary designed for when you're in too much pain to think. Pure black screen. One button. Zero questions during an attack. Unlike other trackers that bombard you with surveys while you can barely see, Cura captures everything silently β€” barometric pressure, location, time patterns β€” so you can add details later when you feel better. Or don't. No guilt, no nagging, ever. WHY CURA IS DIFFERENT - One-tap logging: Start tracking a migraine with a single tap. That's it. No wizards, no required fields, no 15-screen questionnaires during an attack. - Pure black OLED display: Every screen is true black. No white backgrounds stabbing your light-sensitive eyes. Designed by migraine sufferers, for migraine sufferers. - Silent background capture: When you tap "start," Cura automatically records barometric pressure, weather conditions, time of day, and location. You never have to answer a question during pain. - Add details when you recover: Two hours after your attack ends, a gentle prompt lets you optionally add symptoms, medications, and triggers. Everything is optional. Always. - Voice notes during attacks: Can't type? Hold one button and mumble. Listen back and annotate when you feel better. - Multi-wave attack tracking: Migraines aren't always one-and-done. Log intensity fluctuations without ending your session. Perfect for chronic sufferers with attacks that ebb and flow. - Weather and pressure alerts: See how barometric pressure changes correlate with your attacks. Get optional heads-up when conditions match your personal trigger patterns. - Doctor-ready PDF reports: Generate clean, professional reports showing attack frequency, duration trends, medication efficacy, and identified triggers. Share directly with your neurologist. BUILT FOR THE WORST MOMENTS - Works completely offline β€” no internet needed to log an attack - Extra-large touch targets for when fine motor control is impaired - Reduced motion mode respects your system accessibility settings - No bright colors, no animations during active attacks - Haptic feedback confirms every action without requiring you to look PRIVACY FIRST - Your data syncs securely to your private cloud account - No ads. No data selling. No analytics packages mining your health data - Sign in with Google or Apple β€” your data belongs to you TRACK AND UNDERSTAND YOUR PATTERNS - Calendar heatmap shows attack frequency at a glance - Trigger correlation identifies your personal patterns over time - Medication efficacy tracking shows what actually works for you - Weekly and monthly insights delivered without guilt or judgment Cura is a subscription app. We charge a fair price because your health data deserves better than being sold to advertisers. No free tier with ads. No "upgrade to remove limitations." Just a simple, powerful tool that respects both your pain and your privacy. Terms of Use: https://curamigraine.web.app/terms-of-service.html Privacy Policy: https://curamigraine.web.app/privacy-policy.html

Screenshots

PainTrail2 screens
Cura4 screens

Verdict

The call

PainTrail and Cura are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters β€” price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them β€” neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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

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

Both are free to download. PainTrail sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Cura sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PainTrail ships an update every 3 weeks, Cura every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
PainTrail versus Cura: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPainTrailCura
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 10 days β€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad β€” betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.416.4
Further details β€” not scored
Size21 MB61 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperJonathan BritoRohit Kaul

In-app purchases

1 purchases

PainTrail

One-time1
  • Pro Unlock$9.99
2 purchases

Cura

Subscriptions2
  • Cura Pro Monthly1 Month trial$2.991 Month
  • Cura Pro Yearly1 Month trial$24.991 Year

Questions

Is PainTrail free?
PainTrail is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Cura free?
Cura is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do PainTrail or Cura have ads?
Neither PainTrail nor Cura shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PainTrail or Cura?
PainTrail ships an update every 3 weeks, and Cura every 10 days. Most recently, PainTrail was updated on November 5, 2026 and Cura on November 6, 2026.

Other comparisons