Best HRV apps for iPhone and Android: what each one needs and what it shows

Short answer

The best HRV app is the one that fits the hardware you already have. If you wear a watch, start with its own app: Apple's Vitals, Garmin's HRV status and Google's health metrics show heart rate variability (HRV) without a subscription (1, 2, 3). If you have only a phone, camera apps such as HRV4Training (iPhone) and Welltory (iPhone and many Android phones, not Pixel) take a short fingertip reading (4, 5). If you own a chest strap, Elite HRV is a free download built around a morning reading with a strap or finger sensor (6).

What separates these apps is when they measure, not who has the cleverest chart. Overnight apps read you while you sleep. Spot-reading apps measure you for one to five minutes while you sit still. Neither is wrong, but their numbers aren't interchangeable, so pick one and stay with it.

If you've downloaded three HRV apps and got three different numbers, you're not imagining it, and it's not your fault. They measure at different times, with different sensors and often with different formulas.

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 and prices 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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What an HRV app actually does

HRV is the small, constant change in time between your heartbeats. An HRV app doesn't create that signal; it gets beat-to-beat intervals from a sensor and turns them into a number.

Most apps report RMSSD, the root mean square of successive differences between normal heartbeats. It's the main short-term measure of the "rest and digest" side of your nervous system, and it's less influenced by the "fight or flight" side than SDNN, the other common metric (7). Apps don't always say which one they show, and that alone can make two numbers disagree.

Every HRV app needs three things:

1. A sensor. A chest strap reads electrical signals from your heart. A watch, ring or phone camera reads your pulse with light, a method called photoplethysmography (PPG).

2. A time window. The conventional short-term standard is 5 minutes, and researchers suggest a resting baseline as short as 1 minute may be enough for healthy people if artifacts are carefully removed (7). Overnight apps average hours of data instead.

3. Your baseline. One reading means little. Most apps need days or weeks of readings before their scores tell you anything about you.

So when you compare apps, compare these three things. The design of the dashboard comes last.

The HRV apps compared

Here are the eight options people ask about most, grouped by what they need. Each row was checked against the company's own page on November 6–8, 2026.

WHOOP isn't in the table because it's a membership rather than an app you add: the band comes with it, and WHOOP One starts at $199 a year (15).

If you already wear a watch or ring: use its own app first

Apple Watch

On Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4, HRV appears in the Vitals app next to overnight heart rate, breathing rate and wrist temperature (1). The Readiness app on those models builds a 0–10 score from activity, overnight vitals, HRV and recent sleep, and it needs you to sleep with the watch on at least 7 of the past 49 nights to learn your baseline (8). If you want more than Apple shows, our page on Apple Watch HRV apps explains how third-party apps read that data.

Garmin

Garmin's mid-range watches, such as the vívoactive 6, include HRV status measured during sleep, Body Battery and stress tracking (2). When Garmin launched Connect+ in 2025, it said all existing features "will remain free"; the plan adds coaching and AI insights (9).

Fitbit and Pixel Watch

Google lists HRV, heart rate, blood oxygen, sleep score and sleep stages 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). Google has renamed the Fitbit app the Google Health app, so older guides may use the old name.

Galaxy Watch

Samsung doesn't show a raw RMSSD number front and center. Its watches estimate stress from HRV and heart rate, and you can start an on-demand stress reading in Samsung Health (10). Samsung's 2026 update analyzes overnight HRV with heart rate, breathing rate, skin temperature and blood oxygen in a section called Vitals (11).

Oura

Oura measures HRV overnight, but without an active membership you'll see only the Readiness, Activity and Sleep scores, not the HRV detail. The US membership is $5.99 a month or $69.99 a year (12).

Why start here: the watch's own app already has your overnight data and doesn't ask you to change your routine. Add a second app only when you want something the first one doesn't do, such as a morning check you control, a different metric or a way to connect HRV to your day.

If you only have a phone: camera HRV apps

A camera app uses the flash to light your fingertip and the camera to read tiny color changes with each heartbeat. It's a deliberate spot reading: you sit still for a minute or more, once a day.

HRV4Training. The App Store listing we checked describes it as an iPhone app and a paid download. It measures with the phone camera, with no heart rate monitor required, and also works with Apple Watch, the Oura ring and Bluetooth heart rate sensors. You can set the reading to 1, 3 or 5 minutes (4). It's popular with endurance athletes who want one clean morning number.

Welltory. Works with the phone camera on iPhone and on many Android phones. Its help center lists all Google Pixel models as unsuitable for camera readings, and notes that Android phones where the camera and flash are far apart may struggle; for those, it suggests a heart rate monitor or a Samsung Watch (5). On the free version you get one camera or heart rate monitor reading a day (14).

Visible. A pacing app whose help center says free app users can measure heart rate with the smartphone camera in its Morning Check-in (16). If pacing is why you're here, our comparison of pacing apps covers it in detail.

How good are camera readings? 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) for both 5-minute and 1-minute readings (17). That was a seated or lying check in a lab with trained athletes. Movement, cold fingers or an irregular rhythm make camera readings less reliable, and Welltory's help center says PPG is unreliable for people with arrhythmias (5). For a deeper look, see how accurate HRV from a phone camera is.

If you own a chest strap: the most precise spot reading

A chest strap measures the heart's electrical signal rather than the pulse at your skin, which is why it's the usual reference in sports research. Several apps connect to one:

• Elite HRV is a free download. Its morning readiness reading uses either a chest strap, wetted or with gel for contact, or its CorSense finger sensor. It asks you to measure in the same position every time — sitting, standing or lying — and notes that lying down can be hard for very fit people with very low resting heart rates (6).

• HRV4Training works with Bluetooth heart rate sensors as well as the camera (4).

• Welltory supports chest straps such as Polar H10 and Garmin HRM-Pro and HRM-Dual for HRV readings, and also WHOOP 4.0 and 5.0 bands (13).

If you're deciding which hardware to buy rather than which app, our guide to HRV monitors compares the devices themselves.

How accurate are the overnight devices behind these apps?

A 2025 study put 13 healthy adults in several devices at once, alongside an ECG, for a combined 536 nights. Agreement with ECG for nighttime HRV was highest for Oura Gen 4 (concordance 0.99) and Oura Gen 3 (0.97), followed by WHOOP 4.0 (0.94), Garmin Fenix 6 (0.87) and Polar Grit X Pro (0.82) (18).

Two things to keep in mind. It was a small study of specific device generations, so treat it as a snapshot rather than a ranking of brands. And high agreement doesn't make two devices interchangeable: each one still measures at its own times and reports its own metric. That's why a trend within one device means more than a comparison between two.

How to choose your HRV app, step by step

1. List what you already own. Phone model, watch, ring, chest strap. This alone rules out half the options: Apple Watch needs an iPhone, and Welltory's camera reading doesn't work on Pixel phones.

2. Decide when you want to measure. Overnight data takes no extra effort if you already sleep in a device. A morning spot reading takes one to five minutes, but you control the conditions.

3. Decide what you want to see. A single readiness score, the raw HRV number, or HRV next to your sleep, activity and notes. Different apps answer different questions.

4. Check the free column on the company's own page. Search "[app] premium" or "[app] membership." Reviews older than a year are often out of date.

5. Check what happens to your history. Garmin keeps your data in the free app. Oura lets you export without a membership (12). Welltory's free version deletes data older than 30 days (14).

6. Use one app for two to three weeks before judging. Your first readings set your baseline. Switching apps every few days resets it.

7. Keep one method. If you use two apps, use one for your trend and treat the other as a cross-check, not a second trend.

How to take a morning HRV reading you can trust

If you go with a spot-reading app, the routine matters more than the app:

1. Measure at the same time, ideally after waking up and using the bathroom, before coffee and your phone.

2. Same position every time. Sitting is the easiest to repeat.

3. Breathe normally. Slow, deep breathing changes HRV; that's useful for practice but not for a baseline.

4. For camera readings: cover the camera and flash with one fingertip, don't press too hard, don't move, and always use the same finger on the same hand (5).

5. For a chest strap: wet the electrodes or use gel so the strap has good contact (6).

6. Write one note. Late meal, alcohol, bad night, hard workout, stressful day. Without notes, a low number is just a number.

Common mistakes with HRV apps

• Comparing numbers across apps. An SDNN overnight average and a 1-minute RMSSD morning reading are different measurements. Compare each app only with itself.

• Comparing yourself with other people. HRV varies a lot between people of the same age. Your own trend is the useful part; our guide to what a good HRV range is explains why.

• Reacting to one low day. A single drop after a late dinner or a bad night is normal. A drop that lasts most of a week is worth a look.

• Measuring right after coffee, a shower or a walk. Each of these changes your heart rate for a while.

• Buying hardware before trying what you have. If your watch already reads HRV overnight, start there.

• Paying for coaching you won't read. A subscription adds interpretation, not a better sensor.

• Expecting a diagnosis. No HRV app on this list is designed to diagnose a heart condition.

Living with an HRV app: the questions people ask next

Is there a free HRV app?

Yes. Elite HRV is a free download that needs a chest strap or finger sensor (6). Apple, Garmin and Google show HRV from their own devices without a subscription. Welltory's free version allows one camera or sensor reading a day (14).

Can I measure HRV without a watch?

Yes, as a spot reading with your phone camera. Sit still, cover the camera and flash with a fingertip and measure at the same time every day. We walk through it in how to measure HRV without a wearable.

Why does my HRV differ between two apps?

Because they measure at different times (overnight vs one morning minute), with different sensors (strap, wrist, ring, camera) and often with different metrics (RMSSD vs SDNN). A difference between apps tells you nothing on its own. A change within one app over a week does.

Does Samsung Health show HRV?

Not as a single headline number. Samsung uses HRV and heart rate to estimate your stress level (10), and its 2026 Vitals section analyzes overnight HRV against your baseline (11). Apps that read Samsung Health or a Samsung Watch can show the HRV value itself.

Which HRV app works with Garmin?

Garmin Connect shows HRV status from the watch for free. Some other apps can read Garmin activity data, but HRV readings in Welltory come from a Garmin chest strap (HRM-Pro or HRM-Dual), not a Garmin watch (13).

Is there a good HRV app for Android?

If you have a Galaxy Watch, Samsung Health; with a Fitbit or Pixel Watch, the Google Health app; with a Garmin, Garmin Connect. With only a phone, Welltory's camera reading works on many Android phones but not on Pixel (5). Health Connect lets apps share data on Android; our Health Connect guide explains it.

Before you blame yourself

Many people quit HRV tracking because their number "is always bad" or "jumps around for no reason," and decide they're doing something wrong. Usually the reason is visible: readings at different times of day, a new app with a new metric, or a week of late dinners that nobody wrote down.

Before you blame yourself, look at your own data. Take two weeks of readings at the same time with the same app and compare the low days with what happened the evening before. Pick one lever — a regular bedtime, no alcohol on weeknights or an earlier dinner — and keep it for one to two weeks. If your trend moves, you've learned more than any app review could tell you.

When to see a doctor

An HRV app isn't a diagnostic tool, but it can show changes worth mentioning.

• Resting heart rate outside the usual range. For adults, a normal resting heart rate is 60 to 100 beats per minute. Talk to a healthcare professional if your heart rate has been slower or faster than usual, or if you feel weak, dizzy or faint (19).

• A sustained drop in HRV or a rise in resting heart rate that lasts weeks without an obvious reason such as illness, travel, alcohol or a hard training block.

• Readings that keep failing or jump wildly together with palpitations or a feeling of skipped beats. PPG readings are unreliable with arrhythmias (5), and the symptom matters more than the number.

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 (19).

How to bring this up with your doctor

What to ask for, by name. "My HRV has been lower and my resting heart rate higher for [weeks]. Could we check it with an ECG?" If you feel skipped beats: "Could a Holter or event monitor catch it?"

What to bring. Screenshots of four to eight weeks of HRV and resting heart rate from one app, not a single day, plus notes on medicines, caffeine, alcohol, sleep and recent illness.

What to say, out loud. "I know this is a consumer app, not a medical test. I'm bringing it because the change is consistent and I feel [tired / dizzy / short of breath]."

If you're told it's just the app. Ask: "Could we confirm 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. A camera reading is a spot reading, not continuous monitoring, and it is not an ECG; it can't replace one or a doctor's consultation (5). The camera doesn't work on Google Pixel phones.

Here is what it can do.

An HRV reading with your phone camera or a sensor. Cover the camera and flash with your fingertip, keep still with light pressure and use the same finger each time (5). Apple Watch, Samsung Watch and chest straps such as Polar H10 can also be used for HRV readings (13). The free version includes one reading a day, analysed with five core indexes (14).

Your other data in one place. Welltory reads data through Apple Health on iPhone and Health Connect or Samsung Health on Android; Fitbit and Oura can connect directly (20). Pixel Watch, Garmin, Fitbit and Oura devices bring activity and sleep, not HRV readings (13).

What's free and what isn't, honestly. After a three-day trial, the free version keeps one HRV 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 (14). Premium is a subscription: plans that renew automatically keep renewing until you cancel in your Apple ID, Google Play or Welltory web account settings (21). More on the split in is Welltory free?, and the app itself is on our HRV tracker app page.

A record for your doctor. You can export your data from the web app as CSV (22) and bring the trend, not a single reading, to an appointment.

How we made it

We checked each app's features and free tier on the companies' own pages — Apple, Garmin, Google, Samsung, Oura, WHOOP, the HRV4Training App Store listing, the Elite HRV and Visible help centers — on November 6–8, 2026. For accuracy we used published research: a 2017 review of HRV metrics, a 2022 study of smartphone HRV apps against ECG and a 2025 study of nighttime HRV in consumer wearables. Medical thresholds come from the American Heart Association. Search questions came from what people in the United States most often ask about HRV apps. 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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