Comparison

Camera Heart Rate Variability vs Yinstill

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

Head to head
About

Camera Heart Rate Variability

Measure heart rate variability (HRV) using your phone's camera and flash. Detects heartbeats via photoplethysmography to compute beat-to-beat intervals and HRV in real time. Offers detailed time and frequency domain features, export options, and historical trend analysis.

Highlights
  • Real-time heart rate and pulse waveform
  • RR intervals with artifact correction
  • Time and frequency domain HRV features
  • Analysis windows from 30 seconds to 5 minutes
  • Export data as CSV
  • Write to Apple Health
  • Optional breathing pacer
Features
Read full description

Measure heart rate variability (HRV) with your phone's camera. No chest strap or other sensor needed. Place your fingertip over the back camera and flash. The app detects each heartbeat from small changes in the color of your skin (photoplethysmography, PPG), then computes beat-to-beat intervals and HRV in real time. Camera Heart Rate Variability was the first app to record, plot and export time and frequency domain HRV features from the phone camera alone. It is built by the team behind HRV4Training. The camera method was compared with ECG and a Polar H7 chest strap in a peer-reviewed study (Plews et al., International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 2017). WHAT YOU GET • Live heart rate and pulse waveform while you measure, with rMSSD and signal quality for each window • RR intervals with optional artifact correction • Line charts of RR intervals, heart rate and each feature, plus a Poincaré plot • Time domain features: SDNN, rMSSD, pNN50 • Frequency domain features: LF, HF and LF/HF • Analysis window from 30 seconds to 5 minutes • Record for as long as you need and stop when you are done • Optional breathing pacer • Compare up to three recordings with overlaid histograms of any feature • History of all your recordings with heart rate and rMSSD trends • Export heart rate, RR intervals and features as CSV, to Files, Dropbox, email or any app • Write heart rate and HRV to Apple Health HOW TO GET GOOD DATA Sit or lie still, rest your hand on a surface and cover the camera and flash fully with your fingertip, without pressing hard. The camera preview turns red; then keep still until the end. Signal quality is worked out from the data for each window, as the share of beats that needed correction. WHO IT IS FOR Athletes, coaches, researchers and anyone curious about their stress and recovery who wants raw HRV data without buying a sensor. If you want daily morning measurements with guidance and trends, have a look at HRV4Training. Requires an iPhone with a camera flash. This app is not a medical device and is not intended to diagnose or treat any condition. Questions or feedback: hello@HRV4Training.com

About

Yinstill

Read full description

A supportive space for education, connection, and steadiness along your fertility journey. The Yinstill Patient Hub™ is designed to extend the care and guidance you receive through Yinstill Reproductive Wellness into your daily life. This is not simply another fertility app. It is a calm, structured support environment created to help patients feel informed, connected, and supported between appointments and throughout the broader arc of their journey. Inside the app, you’ll find a growing library of educational resources, community discussions, live events, challenges, and guided support designed to help reduce overwhelm and create greater clarity and consistency. Whether you are trying to conceive naturally, preparing for IVF or IUI, navigating loss, supporting male fertility, or simply looking for a more grounded and informed approach to reproductive wellness, the Yinstill Patient Hub™ was built to support you. Inside the Patient Hub Community & Connection Connect with others walking a similar path through discussion spaces focused on fertility, IVF and IUI support, lifestyle practices, mental-emotional wellness, and general community connection. Educational Resources Access fertility education, wellness guidance, downloads, mini-courses, podcasts, and ongoing content from the Yinstill team. Live Events Join live Q&A sessions, workshops, webinars, and community conversations hosted by the Yinstill team and guest experts. Challenges & Accountability Participate in wellness and lifestyle challenges designed to encourage consistency, engagement, and supportive habits through simple gamification and community participation. Notifications & Updates Stay connected with announcements, upcoming events, new resources, and important community updates through optional notifications. A Calm, Structured Experience The app is designed to support learning, reflection, and connection without pressure, comparison, or urgency. Patients are encouraged to participate at their own pace, whether that means actively engaging or simply listening and learning quietly at first. Who This App Is For The Yinstill Patient Hub™ may be helpful for individuals and couples who are: • Trying to conceive naturally • Preparing for or undergoing IVF or IUI • Navigating fertility uncertainty or recurrent loss • Looking to improve lifestyle and wellness foundations • Supporting male fertility and reproductive health • Seeking a more connected and informed fertility experience About Yinstill Yinstill Reproductive Wellness is a fertility-focused clinic and educational platform dedicated to supporting patients through a whole-person approach to reproductive health and fertility care. The Yinstill Patient Hub™ is intended to complement ongoing medical and fertility care, not replace it. We’re grateful to be part of your journey. END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Camera Heart Rate Variability4 screens
Yinstill4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Yinstill at Free against Camera Heart Rate Variability's $6.99. Yinstill also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 4 months). On ads, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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

Yinstill is free to download; Camera Heart Rate Variability costs $6.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Camera Heart Rate Variability ships an update every 4 months, Yinstill every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 13, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Camera Heart Rate Variability versus Yinstill: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCamera Heart Rate VariabilityYinstill
Price$6.99Free — better
Rating2.8 (8 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews27.8% of reviews—
Number of ratings8 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS17.616.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size23 MB49 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperA.S.M.A. B.V.Yinstill

In-app purchases

None

Camera Heart Rate Variability

No in-app purchases

None

Yinstill

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Camera Heart Rate Variability free?
Camera Heart Rate Variability costs $6.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Yinstill free?
Yinstill is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Camera Heart Rate Variability or Yinstill have ads?
Neither Camera Heart Rate Variability nor Yinstill shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Camera Heart Rate Variability or Yinstill?
Camera Heart Rate Variability ships an update every 4 months, and Yinstill every 3 weeks. Most recently, Camera Heart Rate Variability was updated on November 13, 2026 and Yinstill on November 5, 2026.

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