Comparison

Breathful vs PatternMD

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

Head to head
About

Breathful

This app helps you track the effectiveness of your mindfulness meditation practice by quantifying your progress. It allows you to log sessions, count distractions, and monitor improvements over time to validate your chosen meditation techniques.

Highlights
  • Track meditation effectiveness with data
  • Quantify focus improvement
  • Log 10-minute mindfulness sessions
  • Count 'distractions' during sessions
  • Monitor average distractions dropping
  • Archive sessions by date and time
Features
Read full description

Breathful tracks the effectiveness of your meditation with data. Watch the numbers change as you develop your ability to focus and quantify your improvement over time. Rather than endorse a particular method for practicing mindfulness meditation, Breathful acknowledges that there is a common theme amongst all techniques: Focus on being mindful of your breathing - Breathful. ------------------------------------------------------------ Mindfulness 101 The object of mindfulness is witnessing one’s own present experience without any attachment or reactivity... In other words, any thoughts that arise during mindfulness practice are acknowledged, and then allowed to pass. Directing one's attention to breathing helps maintain a present state of mind. ------------------------------------------------------------ So what is Breathful and how is it different from other meditation timer apps? Breathful is a useful tool that allows users to engage in ten-minute “sessions” of mindfulness practice. Actively monitor each session by attaching a number of “distractions” - when the session ends, it will be archived in the session log by date and time, along with the number of distractions encountered during the session. When you see the average number of distractions dropping, you'll know your method of mindfulness is an effective one. INSTRUCTIONS FOR USING BREATHFUL: - A new session is started by tapping on the timer circle, which will then start a ten minute countdown. - If at any point the user taps on the screen while the timer is running, then a "distraction" will be recorded. *Note: It is up to the user to decide what constitutes a "distraction" and you may not want to record minor distractions lasting only a split-second... what constitutes a minor vs. major distraction is up to you. Improve your focus with mindfulness training and let Breathful quantify your progress! If you've had your doubts about meditation in the past, here's your chance to gather your own statistics and come to your own conclusion.

About

PatternMD

Log symptoms, discover triggers, and connect anonymously with others experiencing similar health issues. This app uses AI to help you understand your patterns and offers private journaling and optional provider sharing.

Highlights
  • Anonymous symptom logging
  • AI-powered pattern discovery
  • Community support ('Say ME TOO')
  • Private health journal
  • Medication tracking
  • Optional doctor connection
  • Wellness mini-games
Features
Read full description

PatternMD is a free, anonymous symptom tracker and chronic illness journal. Log migraines, flares, pain, fatigue, anxiety, long COVID, fibromyalgia, endometriosis, lupus, IBS, PTSD or any symptom in seconds, discover what triggers it, and connect with people who feel exactly what you feel — without ever revealing who you are. You are not alone in this. WHAT PATTERNMD DOES Log your symptoms. Track headaches, fatigue, anxiety, joint pain, brain fog, nausea, insomnia — anything. Add an optional trigger note like "ate dairy" or "barely slept." It takes 10 seconds. Say ME TOO. Tap ME TOO on any community post that matches your experience. The more people who say it, the clearer the pattern becomes — and you instantly see you are not the only one. Talk to Alyssa. Alyssa is our in-app AI companion. Type a message and she will help you put words to what you're feeling, reflect on a pattern in your logs, or route you to a crisis resource if you need one. Alyssa is a support tool, not a doctor — she does not diagnose, treat, or prescribe. Discover your patterns. The Pattern Engine analyzes your logs against the entire community to surface real insights: Top community-reported triggers Time-of-day and day-of-week patterns Environmental correlations — weather, air quality, and pollen Severity escalation alerts Personalized recommendations Automatic cross-language search across all four languages Public or private. Every symptom you log can be Public, so the community can say ME TOO, or Private, so it stays in your journal, your patterns, and your connected doctor's view only. Private journal. Keep a private health diary alongside your community posts. Your journal is yours alone and never visible to anyone else. Medication tracking. An optional private medication list with dosage, frequency, and notes. Only you — and your connected provider, if you choose — can see it. Connect to your doctor. Optionally share your tracked data with a verified healthcare provider through the secure Provider Portal. You stay in control and can connect or disconnect anytime. Pediatric posts. Parents and legal guardians can log symptoms on behalf of a child in their care. Posts are clearly marked, and the child never has an account. TAPMD wellness games. Two science-backed mini-games — MedMatch and BrainRx — help reduce stress and anxiety, with a bonus of medical-terminology learning. WHY PATTERNMD IS DIFFERENT 100 percent anonymous. You get a PMD-XXXXXXXX ID. No name, no photo, no real-world identity ever shown. Multilingual. Full support for English, Spanish, German, and Vietnamese, with automatic cross-language translation and search across all four. No targeted ads. Sponsored posts are clearly labeled and never use your personal data. HIPAA-aligned security. Encrypted storage, row-level access controls, and data minimization. Never sold. Your email and data are never sold to anyone, ever. WHO PATTERNMD IS FOR People living with chronic conditions. Migraine sufferers. People with fatigue, fibromyalgia, long COVID, anxiety, autoimmune conditions, or unexplained symptoms. Parents tracking pediatric symptoms. Service members and veterans. Anyone who has ever felt "I just want to know if anyone else feels this too." You are not crazy. You are not making it up. Your symptoms have patterns. Let us find them together. IMPORTANT PatternMD does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider for medical decisions. If you are in crisis, call 988 (US, 24/7, free and confidential) or your local emergency services immediately. PatternMD is for adults 18 and older only. Questions? Email contact@patternmd.app

Screenshots

Breathful3 screens
PatternMD4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: PatternMD at 5.0 against Breathful's 3.0. PatternMD also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 67%) and update cadence (monthly vs every 6 months). Breathful's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PatternMD holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PatternMD has 25 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of Breathful's written reviews are positive against 100% of PatternMD's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Breathful ships an update every 6 months, PatternMD monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Breathful versus PatternMD: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBreathfulPatternMD
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (3 ratings)5.0 (25 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings325 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPod, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB7 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperCookies & MilkPatternMD LLC

Customer experience

Breathful

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews15 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

PatternMD

All ratings25 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Breathful

No in-app purchases

None

PatternMD

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Breathful free?
Breathful is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PatternMD free?
PatternMD is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Breathful or PatternMD?
PatternMD is rated higher. Breathful averages 3.0 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while PatternMD averages 5.0 from 25 ratings.
Do Breathful or PatternMD have ads?
Neither Breathful nor PatternMD shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Breathful or PatternMD?
Breathful ships an update every 6 months, and PatternMD monthly. Most recently, Breathful was updated on October 2, 2026 and PatternMD on September 18, 2026.

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