Best heart rate monitor apps for Android: what works with your phone and your watch

Short answer

On Android, the best heart rate app depends on what you have: a phone alone, or a phone plus a watch. With only a phone, a camera app measures your pulse from your fingertip: Google Fit offers this "on some Android phones" (1), and Welltory does it on many Android phones but not on any Google Pixel (2; see Welltory for Android). With a watch, use its own free app: Samsung Health for Galaxy Watch, the Google Health app (formerly the Fitbit app) for Fitbit and Pixel Watch, or Garmin Connect for Garmin (3, 4).

Choose an app that asks for your fingertip on the camera, not your face in front of it. In a study of 108 patients, contact apps, which use a fingertip on the camera, did better than apps that read your face; some apps were off by more than 20 beats per minute in over 20% of measurements (5). And if all you need is your pulse right now, you don't need an app: two fingers on your wrist and a 30-second count work on every phone.

If a heart rate app gave you a strange number and you've been worrying since, you're not overreacting — but one app reading isn't a diagnosis either. Below is how to get a number you can trust.

Note: this guide is for general education and is not medical advice. App and device details were checked on the companies' own pages on November 6–8, 2026; features change, so check the store page before you pay. This guide is published by Welltory, which makes one of the apps listed. Welltory is a general wellness product: it does not diagnose or treat any condition. Product names are trademarks of their owners; this guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.

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How an Android phone measures your heart rate

Your phone doesn't have a heart rate sensor. Camera apps use a trick called photoplethysmography (PPG): the flash lights up your fingertip, and the camera picks up tiny changes in color as blood pulses through it with each heartbeat. Count the pulses, and you have a heart rate.

There are two kinds of camera apps:

1. Contact apps. You cover the rear camera, and usually the flash, with a fingertip. This is how Google Fit and Welltory work (1, 2).

2. Non-contact apps. You hold the phone in front of your face and the camera looks for color changes in your skin. These were less accurate in testing, especially at higher heart rates and lower body temperatures, and tended to overestimate high heart rates (5).

A watch uses the same light-based principle, but its sensor sits on your wrist all day. That's why a watch can track your resting heart rate overnight, while a phone only gives you a spot reading when you stop and measure.

The Android heart rate apps compared

Here are the free options most Android users have, by what they need. Each row was checked against the company's own page on November 6–8, 2026.

Health Connect, Android's built-in health data hub, isn't in the table because it doesn't measure anything itself. It lets apps share data, so a reading from your watch can show up in another app. Our guide to Health Connect explains how to set it up.

If you only have a phone: camera apps

Google Fit

Google's help center describes the steps: open Google Fit, tap Home, scroll to Heart rate and tap Add, then "touch and lightly hold your finger on the back camera lens" and keep your hand still. Use a well-lit room, or the flashlight in dim light. Google says you can do this "on some Android phones" without listing them, and that heart rate tracking "is not intended to diagnose, cure, mitigate, prevent or treat any disease or condition" (1).

Google Fit shows your heart rate only. It doesn't calculate HRV.

Welltory

Welltory measures heart rate and HRV from your fingertip covering both the camera and the flash. Its help center lists all Google Pixel models as unsuitable for camera readings, and says phones where the camera and flash are far apart can have trouble; modern Samsung models with the two close together are listed as suitable. If your phone doesn't work, it suggests a compatible heart rate monitor or a Samsung Watch instead (2). On the free version you get one camera or sensor reading a day (7).

The two apps complement each other: Google Fit's reading is described for some Android phones, while Welltory's camera reading doesn't work on Pixel. If you have a Pixel, a watch-based option below is the more reliable route to regular readings.

What a camera app can't do

A camera reading is a snapshot. It can't track your heart rate while you sleep, exercise or go about your day, it can't alert you to anything, and it needs you to sit still. For a resting heart rate trend, that's fine: one reading at the same time every morning is enough. For anything continuous, you need something on your wrist or chest.

If you have a watch: start with its own app

Samsung Health and Galaxy Watch

A Galaxy Watch measures your heart rate with its sensor and uses heart rate variability to estimate your stress level; you can start an on-demand stress reading in Samsung Health (8). Samsung's Galaxy Watch8 page lists heart rate and blood oxygen during sleep among its sleep features and doesn't mention a subscription for them. It also says some features aren't available with non-Samsung Android phones (9).

Google Health app with Fitbit or Pixel Watch

Google lists heart rate, HRV, blood oxygen, sleep score and core alerts for high and low heart rate as included with a compatible Fitbit or Pixel Watch. Google Health Premium, "from $9.99," adds a health coach, detailed sleep insights and advanced metrics (3).

Garmin Connect

Garmin watches track heart rate all day, and mid-range models such as the vívoactive 6 add HRV status measured during sleep, Body Battery and stress tracking (10). Garmin says all existing Connect features "will remain free" alongside its optional Connect+ plan (4).

If you're still choosing a watch for heart health on Android, our Android smartwatch guide compares the options.

How accurate are heart rate apps?

The most quoted study on this, by Coppetti and colleagues in 2017, tested four commercial heart rate apps in 108 patients against ECG and a fingertip pulse oximeter. Three findings are still useful when you pick an app (5):

• Fingertip apps did better than face-scanning apps. The non-contact apps were less accurate, especially at higher heart rates and lower body temperatures.

• Two apps using the same method can still differ. One contact app performed close to a medical pulse oximeter; another contact app was not accurate.

• Big misses happen. Some apps differed from ECG by more than 20 beats per minute in over 20% of measurements.

The lead author's advice was practical: measure with a specific question in mind, such as whether your heart rate is too high during an unusual sensation or too low when you feel dizzy (5).

For HRV rather than heart rate, the picture is narrower but similar. In a 2022 study of 26 elite cyclists measured at rest, HRV from two smartphone apps — one using a chest strap and Welltory's camera reading — did not differ significantly from ECG, with strong correlations (r = 0.77 to 0.94) (11). That was a still, seated or lying check in a lab, not everyday use. Welltory's own help center notes that accuracy drops with movement and that PPG is unreliable for people with arrhythmias (2).

What this means: an app on your phone can give you a reasonable resting number if you measure carefully. It can't replace a medical device, and a reading that seems very wrong deserves a recheck by hand.

How to take a heart rate reading on Android, step by step

1. Sit down and rest for five minutes first. Avoid caffeine and smoking beforehand (12).

2. Warm your hands if they're cold. Cold fingers have less blood flow near the surface, which weakens the signal.

3. Find the rear camera and flash. In Welltory, cover both with one fingertip; in Google Fit, cover the camera lens (1, 2).

4. Press lightly. Pressing hard squeezes the blood out of your fingertip. Welltory's guidance is "don't press too tightly" and "don't move your finger" (2).

5. Rest your hand on a table. Hold the phone, not your breath, and keep talking to a minimum.

6. If the flash gets hot, Welltory suggests keeping your finger 2–3 mm from the flash while still touching the camera (2).

7. Use the same finger on the same hand, at the same time each day. That's what turns single readings into a trend.

How to check your pulse without any app

This works on any phone, and it's how to double-check an app reading that seems off (12):

1. Hold one hand out, palm up, elbow slightly bent.

2. Place the index and middle fingers of your other hand on the inside of your wrist, at the base of your thumb. Press lightly; press slightly harder if you feel nothing.

3. Feel the beat for 30 seconds and notice whether it's steady or irregular.

4. Count the beats for 60 seconds, or count for 30 seconds and double it.

5. If it feels irregular, count for a full 60 seconds.

Use your phone's stopwatch for timing. For more detail, including the neck pulse, see our guide on how to check your pulse.

What your number means

For adults, a resting heart rate of 60 to 100 beats per minute is typical. Athletes, people who are asleep and people taking beta-blockers may be lower (12, 13). A reading taken right after climbing stairs, a coffee or an argument isn't a resting heart rate, so don't compare it with that range.

What matters more than one number is your trend. A resting heart rate that's noticeably higher than your usual for several mornings in a row is more informative than any single reading inside or outside the range. Our guide to a normal resting heart rate explains what moves it.

Common mistakes with heart rate apps on Android

• Using a face-scanning app for anything that matters. Fingertip apps did better in testing (5).

• Measuring right after moving. Walking to the kitchen raises your heart rate for a while. Sit for five minutes first.

• Pressing too hard on the camera. Light contact gives a better signal.

• Trying a camera app on a Pixel and giving up on the idea. Welltory's camera reading doesn't work on Pixel; Google Fit's camera reading or a watch may.

• Comparing a watch reading taken during a walk with a phone reading taken sitting down. They measure different moments.

• Installing five apps. One method, used the same way every day, beats five methods used once.

• Ignoring symptoms because the app says "normal." How you feel outranks the number.

Living with a heart rate app on Android: the questions people ask next

Can my Samsung phone check my heart rate without a watch?

Yes, with a camera app. Welltory lists modern Samsung models, where the camera and flash are close together, as suitable for camera readings (2). For continuous tracking, Samsung Health uses a Galaxy Watch.

Why doesn't Welltory's camera reading work on my Pixel?

Welltory's help center lists all Google Pixel models as unsuitable for camera readings (2). On a Pixel, Welltory can still use a Samsung Watch or a chest strap for readings, and a Pixel Watch brings activity and sleep data but not HRV readings (6).

Are free heart rate apps accurate?

They can be, but they vary. In testing, some apps were off by more than 20 beats per minute in over 20% of measurements, while one fingertip app performed close to a medical pulse oximeter (5). Check an unusual reading by counting your pulse by hand.

Can a heart rate app detect AFib?

The camera apps in this guide aren't designed to. Google says its heart rate tracking isn't intended to diagnose any condition (1), and Welltory says PPG is unreliable for people with arrhythmias (2). If your pulse feels irregular, count it for 60 seconds and talk to a doctor (12).

What's the difference between heart rate and HRV?

Heart rate counts beats per minute. HRV measures how much the time between beats varies, which reflects how your nervous system is coping. Google Fit shows heart rate; Welltory, the Google Health app and Garmin also show HRV.

Do I need Health Connect?

Only if you want apps to share data. If your watch app is the only app you use, you don't need it. If you want a reading from your watch to appear in another app, Health Connect is how Android passes it along.

Before you blame yourself

People often decide their heart is "acting up" or that they're "bad at relaxing" because an app showed a high number. Usually the cause is visible: the reading was taken after coffee, after walking upstairs, with cold hands or with the finger pressed too hard.

Before you blame yourself, look at your own data. Take your reading at the same time every morning for two weeks, sitting down after five minutes of rest, and write one note next to each number: sleep, caffeine, alcohol, stress. Then pick one lever — no coffee before the reading, or a consistent bedtime — and keep it for one to two weeks. A pattern you can see is worth more than any single alarming reading.

When to see a doctor

A heart rate app is a wellness tool. These are reasons to talk to a healthcare professional rather than to keep measuring:

• You feel faint, have fainted, feel very tired or dizzy, or your heart rate is fast at rest for no obvious reason (12).

• Your pulse feels irregular when you count it by hand for a full minute (12).

• Your heart rate has been slower or faster than usual, or you feel weak, dizzy or like you might faint (13).

• Your resting heart rate trend has risen for weeks without an obvious reason such as illness, poor sleep or a new medicine.

Call 911 if your heart rate is suddenly very high or very low for you, or if you have chest pain, trouble breathing, dizziness or fainting (13).

How to bring this up with your doctor

What to ask for, by name. "My resting heart rate has been around [number] for [weeks], higher than my usual. Could we check it with an ECG?" If it feels irregular: "Could a Holter or event monitor catch it?"

What to bring. A list or screenshots of morning readings over two to four weeks, taken the same way, plus notes on caffeine, alcohol, sleep, medicines and symptoms. Mention which app and phone you used.

What to say, out loud. "I know a phone app isn't a medical test. I'm bringing it because the change is consistent and I've been feeling [dizzy / short of breath / tired]."

If you're told it's just the app. Ask: "Could we check it with a test you trust, so we can rule it out?"

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How Welltory helps — and what it cannot do

The limits first. Welltory is a general wellness product, not a medical device. It doesn't diagnose conditions, it doesn't detect arrhythmias, and a camera reading is a spot reading, not continuous monitoring. A variability measurement is not an ECG and can't replace one or a doctor's consultation (2). The camera reading doesn't work on Google Pixel phones.

Here is what it can do on Android.

A heart rate and HRV spot reading with your camera. Cover the camera and flash with one fingertip, keep still with light pressure and use the same finger each time (2). The free version includes one reading a day, analysed with five core indexes (7). You can read more on our Android heart rate app page.

Readings from a watch or strap instead of the camera. A Samsung Watch can be used for HRV readings and activity; chest straps such as Polar H10 or Garmin HRM-Pro for HRV readings. Pixel Watch, Fitbit and Garmin watches bring activity and sleep (6). On Android, Welltory reads data through Health Connect or Samsung Health (14).

What's free and what isn't, honestly. After a three-day trial, the free version keeps one reading a day, Daily Health, Battery and Stress indicators, sleep duration, breathing exercises, tests and data syncing. Unlimited readings, trends, detailed sleep analysis and experiments need Premium, and on the free version data older than 30 days is deleted (7). Premium is a subscription: plans that renew automatically keep renewing until you cancel in Google Play, your Apple ID or Welltory web account settings (15).

A record for your doctor. You can export your data from the web app as CSV (16) and bring the trend to an appointment.

How we made it

We checked each app's features and free tier on the companies' own pages — Google's Fit Help and Store, Samsung, Garmin and the Welltory Help Center — on November 6–8, 2026. For accuracy we used published research: a 2017 study of four heart rate apps in 108 patients and a 2022 study of smartphone HRV apps against ECG. The pulse check and normal ranges come from the British Heart Foundation and the American Heart Association. Search questions came from what people in the United States most often ask about heart rate apps for Android. For the product section, we checked every function against the Welltory Help Center on November 6–8, 2026.

Made with AI tools, then edited and fact-checked by the Welltory team. See our Editorial & AI policy.

Jane Smorodnikova, co-founder of Welltory, built the methodology behind how we read physiological data.

Written by Tatsiana Yashyna.

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