Comparison

FITIV Pulse vs Heart Buddy

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

Head to head
About

FITIV Pulse

This comprehensive health and fitness tracker monitors heart rate zones, HRV, sleep, and recovery. It integrates with popular wearables like Apple Watch and Garmin, offering detailed workout analysis, strength training logs, and medication tracking for GLP-1 users.

Highlights
  • Heart rate zone tracking
  • HRV and recovery insights
  • Sleep tracking
  • Strength training log
  • GLP-1 medication tracking
  • Integration with wearables
  • Live voice coaching
Features
Read full description

TRAIN. RECOVER. ACHIEVE. FITIV is the all-in-one workout and health tracker for heart rate zones, HRV, sleep, recovery, and strength. New: keep Garmin Connect™ and add FITIV, which reads your Garmin workouts, sleep, and heart rate (requires FITIV Pro). Works with Apple Watch, Garmin, Fitbit (including Fitbit Air via Google Health), WHOOP, Oura, and Bluetooth heart rate monitors. NEW: GARMIN CONNECT • Bring in your Garmin workouts, steps, sleep, heart rate, weight, and skin temperature • See them next to Apple Watch, strength, and GLP-1 tracking in one app • Connect under More. Requires FITIV Pro FITBIT AIR AND GOOGLE HEALTH • Connect your Fitbit or Fitbit Air through Google Health • Sync workouts, steps, sleep, heart rate, weight, and vitals into FITIV • Save your FITIV workouts and weight back to Google Health • Health Data Sources: see which app and device recorded each metric, turn sources on or off, and rank your sleep sources HEART RATE MONITOR & ZONE TRAINING • Live heart rate during workouts from Apple Watch, Bluetooth monitors, AirPods Pro (3rd generation), and Powerbeats Pro 2 • Heart rate zone tracking for cardio, endurance, and interval training • Resting heart rate insights • Broadcast heart rate to Peloton, Zwift, Concept2, and compatible gym equipment • Live voice coaching during workouts RECOVERY, SLEEP & READINESS Recovery drives performance. FITIV helps you understand when to push and when to recover. • Sleep tracking with overnight metrics and vitals • HRV tracking and recovery insights • Stress tracking and daily strain monitoring • Training readiness, recovery score, and recovery trends WORKOUT TRACKING FOR EVERY WAY YOU TRAIN • Workout tracking for cardio, gym, intervals, and endurance sessions • HIIT and interval timer • GPS workout maps with pace and heart rate overlays • Advanced workout metrics, including training load and VO2 • Live streaming workout data from Apple Watch to iPhone STRENGTH TRAINING & GYM LOG • Log reps, sets, weight, and training volume • Workout templates with folders, or start an empty session in one tap • Smart exercise search that understands shorthand like RDL • 44 new exercises and rewritten how-tos • Track personal records, strength progress, and progressive overload WEIGHT & GLP-1 MEDICATION TRACKING Lose the weight, not the muscle. Experts recommend strength training while on GLP-1 medications, and FITIV is built to track both. • Log doses for Zepbound, Mounjaro, Ozempic, Wegovy, and other GLP-1 injections and pills • Dose reminders, titration schedules, and estimated medication levels • Daily side effect check-ins to spot patterns • Weight trend, goals, progress per medication, and a shareable milestone at your goal ADVANCED PERFORMANCE & HEALTH METRICS • Training load tracking with TRIMP, TSS, and active calorie-based load • Advanced running metrics, including stride length, running power, and vertical oscillation COMPATIBLE DEVICES & INTEGRATIONS • Apple Watch and iPhone • Garmin devices through Garmin Connect (FITIV Pro) • Fitbit (including Fitbit Air) through Google Health • Bluetooth heart rate monitors: Polar, Scosche, COOSPO, Myzone, and more • AirPods Pro (3rd generation) and Powerbeats Pro 2 • WHOOP and Oura through Apple Health • Google Health, MyFitnessPal, Strava, TrainingPeaks, Lose It!, Peloton, Zwift, and Spotify • Widgets, complications, Live Activities, and Dynamic Island Upgrade to FITIV Pro to unlock Garmin Connect, advanced recovery analytics, training readiness, deeper metrics, and structured workout features. SUBSCRIPTION & TERMS FITIV Pro offers monthly and yearly auto-renewing subscriptions, charged to your Apple ID. Cancel anytime in your Apple ID settings at least 24 hours before renewal. Terms of Service: https://fitiv.com/terms-conditions Privacy Policy: https://fitiv.com/privacy-policy Garmin and Garmin Connect are trademarks of Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries.

About

Heart Buddy

This app continuously monitors your heart rate in real-time, providing alerts for abnormal readings. It offers customizable alarms, historical data visualization, and remote control capabilities for comprehensive heart health tracking.

Highlights
  • Continuous real-time heart rate monitoring
  • Customizable high/low heart rate alarms
  • Heart rate charting and history
  • Remote control via Wi-Fi
  • Optional cloud data saving
  • Share heart rate charts
Read full description

Heart Buddy continuously monitors the heart rate and raises an alarm when it detects a low or high heart rate. This could be indicative of a seizure, a problem with a pacemaker, or other heart problems. Heart Buddy is totally free: no subscriptions, no adverts, complete access to all advanced features. Heart Buddy is already helping people and it can help you too. • Continuous, realtime monitoring of the heart rate throughout the whole night, the day and wherever you go. • Customise Heart Buddy's alarms: including those for high/low heart rates; low battery; signal loss; and more. • Heart rates displayed on charts and updated as each heart rate is collected from the sensor. • Heart Buddy be remotely controlled by a second Apple device over the Wi-Fi network to overcome the 10 metre limitation imposed by Bluetooth. • Heart rates saved on the device and optionally in the cloud. • Review heart rate charts from those saved in your history to spot patterns and gain valuable insight to heart rate behaviour. • Share heart charts to your other devices, family, or email them to healthcare professionals. • The Heart Zones feature keeps you informed of heart rate changes without even needing to look at the app. • Optionally connect your phone/iPad to a bluetooth speaker to allow alarms to be heard remotely, elsewhere in the home. COMPATIBLE HEART RATE SENSOR: • Heart Buddy requires an external sensor to operate, such as: the Wahoo TickR Fit; Polar Heart Sensor; or any low-energy bluetooth (BTLE) heart rate sensor. • The battery life for the Wahoo Tickr Fit sensor is up to 30 hours which means Heart Buddy can monitor the heart rate overnight without interruption. • FitBit devices do not provide a continuous heart rate and are not suitable for monitoring the heart rate in real time.

Screenshots

FITIV Pulse4 screens
Heart Buddy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Heart Buddy at none against FITIV Pulse's 10. Heart Buddy also leads on update cadence (weekly vs fortnightly) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.0). FITIV Pulse's advantage is rating (4.6 vs 4.2) and ratings volume (13K vs 76). On price, review sentiment, ads 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. FITIV Pulse sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Heart Buddy asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

FITIV Pulse holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: FITIV Pulse has 13K ratings behind it against 76, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 76% of FITIV Pulse's written reviews are positive against 83% of Heart Buddy's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

FITIV Pulse ships an update fortnightly, Heart Buddy weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 12, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
FITIV Pulse versus Heart Buddy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFITIV PulseHeart Buddy
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (13K ratings) — better4.2 (76 ratings)
Positive reviews75.9% of reviews83.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings13K — better76
Update frequencyFortnightlyWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS17.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size501 MB27 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperMotiFIT Fitness Inc.Sean Pedley

Customer experience

FITIV Pulse

All ratings12,693 ratings
Positive90.4%
Neutral3.0%
Negative6.6%
Written reviews1,585 reviews
Positive75.9%
Neutral7.1%
Negative17.0%

Heart Buddy

All ratings57 ratings
Positive75.4%
Neutral5.3%
Negative19.3%
Written reviews36 reviews
Positive83.3%
Neutral8.3%
Negative8.3%

User reviews

FITIV Pulse

From 13K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Awesome app!
  • 👍 Great tool for tracking levels of exertion during training
  • 👍 Keeps you motivated and able to track progress easily
  • 👍 Flawless Apple Watch integration
  • 👍 Comprehensive metrics and data analysis

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent disconnects from Apple Watch
  • 🐛 Inaccurate calorie tracking
  • 🐛 Buggy GPS tracking and mapping
  • 🐛 Inconsistent syncing and data loss issues
  • 🐛 Intrusive and frequent review prompts

Heart Buddy

From 76 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use and intuitive
  • ❤️ Excellent for heart rate tracking
  • 🚨 Real-time alerts and alarms
  • ⚙️ Highly customizable thresholds
  • 📈 Accurate record keeping

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Trouble connecting to Apple Watch
  • 🎶 Interrupts music stream
  • 🔄 Incompatible with multitasking
  • ⚠️ Alerts for turned-off notifications
  • ❓ Compatibility questions with Apple Watch

Bugs and requests

FITIV Pulse

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Frequent disconnects from Apple Watch during workouts
  • Inaccurate calorie tracking and data reporting
  • Issues with GPS tracking and mapping, including incorrect distance and route recording
  • Syncing problems leading to data loss and inconsistencies
  • Crashes and performance issues following recent app updates

Requested features

8 requests
  • Add support for more workout types (e.g. rowing, CrossFit)
  • Improve customization options for workouts and data displays
  • Implement a more robust and reliable GPS tracking system
  • Add the ability to edit workout details and duration
  • Improve syncing and data integration with other fitness apps
Show 3 more
  • Provide more detailed sleep and recovery tracking
  • Implement a more intuitive and streamlined user interface
  • Reduce the frequency and intrusiveness of review prompts

Heart Buddy

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Trouble connecting to Apple Watch
  • Interrupts music stream
  • Incompatible with multitasking
  • Alerts for turned-off notifications
  • Sensor disconnect alarms can be false alarms
Show 1 more
  • Connection issues reported by some users

Requested features

4 requests
  • Allow turning off alarms for connection loss
  • Improve Apple Watch compatibility
  • Make compatible with OT beat burn sensor
  • Share information to iPhone Health app

In-app purchases

9 purchases

FITIV Pulse

Subscriptions7
  • FITIV (1 Month)$1.991 Month
  • FITIV$4.991 Month
  • FITIV2 variants$9.991 Year
Show 4 more
  • FITIV Pro Monthly$9.991 Month
  • FITIV7 Days trial$29.991 Year
  • FITIV1 Year trial$29.991 Year
  • FITIV Pro Yearly7 Days trial$59.991 Year
One-time2
  • PRO Membership$4.99
  • PRO Membership$9.99
None

Heart Buddy

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is FITIV Pulse free?
FITIV Pulse is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Heart Buddy free?
Heart Buddy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, FITIV Pulse or Heart Buddy?
FITIV Pulse is rated higher. FITIV Pulse averages 4.6 out of 5 from 13K ratings, while Heart Buddy averages 4.2 from 76 ratings.
Do FITIV Pulse or Heart Buddy have ads?
Neither FITIV Pulse nor Heart Buddy shows ads.
Which is updated more often, FITIV Pulse or Heart Buddy?
FITIV Pulse ships an update fortnightly, and Heart Buddy weekly. Most recently, FITIV Pulse was updated on November 12, 2026 and Heart Buddy on November 11, 2026.

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