Google Fit vs Samsung Health: what each one tracks, what is changing in 2026, and which to use

Short answer

Samsung Health is the deeper app; Google Fit is the simpler one, and it is on its way out. Samsung Health is the full companion for a Galaxy Watch or Galaxy Ring: sleep stages, overnight heart rate variability (HRV), stress estimated from HRV, a daily Energy Score, and features that Samsung says are regulated by the U.S. FDA as medical devices. Google Fit was built around activity — steps, workouts and Heart Points — and it does not describe any stress score or HRV reading in its help pages.

The bigger news is Google Fit's status. Google is deprecating the Google Fit APIs in 2026 and, on May 7, 2026, said it would invite Google Fit users to move their data into the new Google Health app "later this year". As of October 21, 2026, Google has not published a shutdown date for the Fit app itself. So the real choice today is Samsung Health or Google Health — and you do not have to pick just one, because both can share data through Health Connect, the hub built into Android.

If you want one picture of how your stress, sleep and recovery move together, whichever app records them, Welltory on Google Play reads from both Samsung Health and Health Connect — the steps are near the end.

Note: this comparison is built on Google's and Samsung's own help and product pages, checked on October 21, 2026. Features differ by country, phone model and app version, and both companies change their apps often, so treat this as a snapshot with a date on it. Where we describe Welltory, we are describing our own product, and every claim about it comes from the Welltory Help Center.

Google Fit vs Samsung Health at a glance

The rest of this article goes row by row, with the source behind each claim.

What Google Fit does — and what it never tried to do

Google Fit launched as Google's fitness tracker for Android, and its help pages describe a focused set of tools.

Activity first. Fit records steps and workouts, and it can use the sensors on your phone to estimate them. Its signature metric is Heart Points. Google's definition: one minute at a moderate-intensity heart rate earns one Heart Point and one minute at a vigorous intensity earns two; without a heart rate sensor, Fit uses pace instead — brisk walking (100 or more steps a minute) earns one point per minute and running (130 or more) earns two. Google links the target to the American Heart Association recommendation of at least 150 minutes of moderate activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity a week. Move Minutes count lighter movement: Google describes one Move Minute as more than a minute of activity at 30 steps a minute.

Sleep, but borrowed. Google's own help page says you can connect more apps with Google Fit to see details about your sleep. In other words, Fit displays sleep that something else recorded. On a Galaxy Watch the gap is explicit: Samsung's support page for Google Fit trackers on Wear OS Galaxy Watches says the Galaxy Watch version of Google Fit does not include a sleep tracker, and points you to Samsung Health for sleep.

Heart rate and breathing. On a Galaxy Watch 4, 5 or 6, the Fit heart rate tracker takes a one-minute reading when you ask for it. On some Android phones, Google Fit can also measure respiratory rate using the phone itself; Google states this is not intended to diagnose or treat any condition.

What is missing. Google Fit's help pages do not describe a stress score, an HRV reading or a readiness score. That is not a fault in your setup — those features were never part of Fit. If you have been searching your Fit app for HRV, you will not find it there.

What Samsung Health does

Samsung Health is a much broader app, and most of its depth comes from a Galaxy Watch or Galaxy Ring. On its US product page, Samsung lists these features (checked October 21, 2026):

• Sleep tracking on wearables and smartphones, with Sleep Insight, which gives you a score to assess your rest. Samsung's footnote says sleep tracking requires a compatible Samsung Galaxy phone, the Samsung Health app and a Samsung account.

• Bedtime Guidance, which suggests a bedtime after you wear the watch for three consecutive nights and set a wake-up time, and Sleep Coaching, which needs at least seven days of sleep data including a workday and a day off.

• Vitals, which tracks heart rate, heart rate variability, blood oxygen, respiratory rate and skin temperature while you sleep. Samsung's footnote says it requires an initial setup of wearing the watch for 7 out of 28 nights, and that Vitals is not intended for diagnosing or treating any disease.

• Stress. Samsung's support page says the Galaxy Watch uses heart rate variability to estimate stress levels. You can measure on demand from the Stress option in Samsung Health, or turn on Continuous Stress Tracking, which is off by default and, Samsung notes, may reduce battery life.

• Energy Score, a daily readiness score based on at least the previous day's activity and sleep, which needs a compatible wearable and a Samsung account.

• Features regulated as medical devices, such as the sleep apnea feature, which Samsung's page says "is regulated by the U.S. FDA as a medical device", and the ECG app. These run through the separate Samsung Health Monitor app and, per Samsung, need a Galaxy Watch 4 or later on Wear OS 5.0 or later, Android 12 or above, and a Samsung Galaxy phone. Availability varies by country.

Samsung Health is free to download on Google Play, and Samsung says it can be installed on smartphones from different manufacturers, while noting that the availability of certain services varies by operating system and device model. Some partner content, such as premium iFIT workouts, is a paid subscription.

Which watches and phones each one works with

This is where most people's decision is really made, because the watch on your wrist largely chooses the app for you.

Samsung Galaxy Watch or Galaxy Ring. Samsung Health is the companion app, and it is where sleep, Vitals, stress and Energy Score live. On Galaxy Watch 4, 5 and 6, which run Google's Wear OS, you can also install Google Fit trackers from Google Play — Samsung's support page confirms this — but Samsung adds that Google Fit and Samsung Health data cannot be synced on the watch: each app keeps its own record. Older Galaxy watches on Tizen OS are not compatible with Google Fit trackers.

Google Pixel Watch or a Fitbit. These pair with the Google Health app, formerly the Fitbit app — not with Google Fit. Google's help page for vitals in Google Health lists HRV among the supported metrics for Pixel Watch models and many Fitbit devices. Samsung Health is not the companion for these devices.

Another Wear OS watch, or no watch. Google Fit works on its own with your phone's sensors, which is why many people used it as a simple step counter. With the Fit APIs being deprecated, plan for where that history goes next (see below).

A non-Samsung Android phone with a Galaxy Watch. It works, but read the footnotes: some Samsung Health features, including sleep tracking on Samsung's US page and the Samsung Health Monitor features, require a Galaxy phone.

Sleep, heart rate, HRV and stress: where the real difference is

If your reason for comparing these apps is "I want to understand my sleep, my stress and how well I recover", the difference is not small.

Sleep. Samsung Health records sleep with a Galaxy Watch or Ring and builds coaching and insights on top of it. Google Fit only shows sleep another app wrote in.

Heart rate. Samsung Health tracks heart rate with a Galaxy Watch or Ring as part of its daily and overnight data. In Google Fit on a Galaxy Watch, the heart rate tracker is an on-demand one-minute reading.

HRV. Samsung Health shows HRV in Vitals, measured overnight after the initial setup. Google Fit does not describe HRV at all. If HRV is your main interest and you are on Android, Samsung Health (with a Galaxy Watch) or Google Health (with a Pixel Watch or Fitbit) are the Google-and-Samsung options; Google Fit is not.

Stress. Samsung's stress estimate is built on HRV. Google Fit has no stress feature in its help pages.

A caution that applies to both. A wrist sensor measures HRV from light reflected through the skin, not from an electrical heart signal. Independent validation studies find that how closely wearable HRV agrees with an ECG varies a lot from one device to another, even when measured overnight, when you are lying still. That does not make the number useless — it makes it a trend to watch over weeks, compared with your own history, rather than a precise reading to compare with someone else's. Our guide to stress monitoring devices compared goes deeper on what different wearables actually measure.

Is Google Fit going away? Status as of October 21, 2026

Short version: Google Fit is being wound down, the date for the app is not public yet, and your data has a clear destination.

Here is what Google has said, in order:

1. May 1, 2024 — Google's developer site states that from this date, new developers can no longer sign up to use the Google Fit APIs.

2. 2026 — the same page states that the Google Fit APIs, including the REST API, "will be deprecated in 2026". Google points developers to Health Connect on Android. This is why apps have been dropping their Google Fit connection.

3. May 7, 2026 — announcing the Google Health app (the renamed Fitbit app), Google wrote that it would "consolidate our health and fitness offerings" and "invite Google Fit users to migrate their data into Google Health app later this year."

What Google has not published, as of October 21, 2026: a final shutdown date for the Google Fit consumer app, or the exact date the migration invitation reaches users. If you read a specific shutdown date elsewhere, check whether it comes from Google; on Google's own pages we did not find one.

What to do with your Google Fit data now:

• Keep it in your Google Account until the invitation arrives. Google Fit stores your history in your Google Account, so it is not tied to your phone. Google's stated plan is to move it into Google Health.

• Download a copy if you want a backup. Google Takeout is Google's tool for downloading data stored in your Google Account; when you choose products to export, check that Fit is selected.

• Turn on Health Connect sync. In Google Fit, go to Profile → Settings and, under Health Connect, turn on Sync Fit with Health Connect. That lets other apps on the phone read your Fit data through the hub while Fit is still running.

• Do not delete Fit data to "clean up" before the move. Google's help page notes that deleting in Fit removes saved information from your Google Account.

Google Fit vs Google Health: are they the same?

No. Google Fit is the older activity app being retired. Google Health is the new consumer app that replaced the Fitbit app in May 2026; it pairs with Fitbit devices and the Pixel Watch and, according to Google, works with apps and devices connected through Health Connect, Apple Health or the Google Health APIs. Google's announcement says the Fitbit app transition happened automatically for Fitbit users, while Google Fit users will be invited to move later in 2026.

Health Connect is a third thing again: not an app you look at, but the on-phone hub where apps share data with your permission. We explain it in detail, including where to find it on your Android version and how to fix syncing, in our Health Connect guide.

So when people ask "Google Health vs Samsung Health", they are asking the question that replaces this article's title: both are full companion apps for their own watches, and both can write to Health Connect.

Privacy: where each app keeps your data

The two apps take different approaches, and it is worth knowing which one you are agreeing to.

Google Fit keeps your data in your Google Account. Google's help page on deleting Fit data says deleting your history "only removes saved information from your Google Account", and that other apps or devices may keep similar data in their own services. The practical upside is that your history follows your account to a new phone; the trade-off is that it lives on Google's servers.

Samsung Health describes itself as an app that stores your health data on your smartphone, protected through encryption and Samsung Knox security, according to Samsung's support page "How does Samsung Health protect my data?". It also offers syncing with your Samsung account — Samsung's developer documentation describes Settings → Sync with Samsung account → Sync now in Samsung Health — which is how your data reaches a new phone.

Health Connect, which both can feed, stores data on the phone and lets you allow each app by data type. Sharing into it does not delete the copy in Fit or in Samsung Health — each app keeps its own, under its own privacy policy. If you want something gone everywhere, delete it in each app.

None of this is a ranking of which company is "safer". It is a description of where the data sits, so you can decide. For what usually happens to health data once it leaves your phone, see what happens to your health data.

Is Google Fit or Samsung Health more accurate?

This is one of the most common questions, and the honest answer is that the app is rarely the source of the difference — the sensor is.

• Steps. If both apps count from the same phone or the same watch, totals should be close; if one counts from your phone and the other from your watch, they will differ on any day you leave the phone on a desk. Samsung's support page confirms that on a Galaxy Watch the two apps track separately and do not sync with each other, so two different numbers are expected.

• Heart rate and HRV. Both depend on the optical sensor on your wrist and how still you are. A one-minute on-demand reading and a continuous overnight record will not match, and should not be expected to.

• Sleep. Google Fit shows another app's sleep, so its "accuracy" is that app's accuracy.

If two apps disagree, pick one as the owner of each metric. On Android, that is exactly what Health Connect's "Data sources and priority" list is for, explained in our Health Connect guide.

Which should you use?

Pick by the device on your wrist, then by what you want to learn.

• You have a Galaxy Watch or Galaxy Ring: use Samsung Health as your main app. It is the only one of the two that records your sleep, overnight HRV and stress with that hardware. Installing Google Fit trackers alongside adds little and creates a second, unsynced record.

• You have a Pixel Watch or Fitbit: your app is Google Health, not Google Fit and not Samsung Health.

• You have no watch and only want steps and activity goals: Google Fit still works today, but it is being retired. Google's stated path is its invitation to move into Google Health; Samsung Health is another free option that installs on many Android phones.

• You use Google Fit for its history: keep it until the migration invitation arrives, turn on Health Connect sync, and consider a Takeout backup.

• You want stress and recovery insights, not just numbers: Samsung Health gives you its own stress estimate and Energy Score. If you want to see how those days connect to your sleep and your own baseline, you need an app that reads the data back and interprets it — that is where Health Connect and apps like Welltory come in.

How to link Samsung Health, Google Fit and other apps through Health Connect

You do not have to choose a single app forever. On Android, Samsung Health and Google Fit can both write into Health Connect, and any app you allow can read from it.

1. Make sure Health Connect is on your phone. On Android 14 and newer it is built into Settings; on Android 13 and older, install it from Google Play.

2. Samsung Health → Health Connect. In Samsung Health, go to Settings → Health Connect, and grant the permissions. Samsung's developer documentation says Samsung Health has synced with Health Connect since version 6.22.5, released in October 2022.

3. Google Fit → Health Connect. In Google Fit, go to Profile → Settings and turn on Sync Fit with Health Connect.

4. Choose one owner per metric. If both write steps, open Health Connect → Manage data → Data sources and priority and put the device you trust at the top. Otherwise the same walk can be counted twice.

5. Grant read access to the apps that should see the data — for example, Welltory, under App permissions in Health Connect.

A tip that saves most of the frustration: one source, one route. If an app can read Samsung Health directly and also through Health Connect, use one route, not both. The Welltory Help Center says the same about its own integrations: connecting a source both directly and through an aggregator leads to duplicate data and inaccurate reports.

For the full permission model, the 30-day history window and a syncing checklist, see our Health Connect guide. If you also use an Oura ring or a Garmin, our guide to combining Apple Health, Garmin and Oura data covers the duplication trap across ecosystems.

Before you blame yourself for the numbers

People usually land on "Google Fit vs Samsung Health" after something did not add up: two apps showing two step counts, a sleep chart that vanished after a phone update, an app that suddenly says it can no longer connect to Google Fit. The quiet conclusion is often I set something up wrong — or worse, I must be doing something wrong with my sleep or my training.

Usually neither is true. Two apps that do not sync with each other will disagree. An API that Google is retiring will stop feeding other apps. And a hard week rarely has one hidden cause you missed: it is usually short nights, an evening heart rate that never settled, or several days without real rest, all recorded somewhere on your phone.

Before you blame yourself, check what your body already recorded. Put one app in charge of each metric, change one thing, and watch the trend over one to two weeks rather than judging a single morning.

How to connect Welltory to Samsung Health or Health Connect

These steps come from the Welltory Help Center. On Android, Welltory reads data through Samsung Health directly or through Health Connect; the Help Center recommends Health Connect or Samsung Health as your main source instead of Google Fit.

Samsung Health, directly:

1. In the Welltory app, go to Settings or Devices to get data from and select Samsung Health.

2. Tap Connect, turn all sliders on and tap Done.

3. Because not every data type syncs by default, open Samsung Health, tap the three dots to open the Menu, go to Settings → Apps, find Welltory and grant all permissions.

Health Connect:

1. In the Welltory app, open Menu and go to Apps.

2. Scroll down, find Health Connect and tap Connect, then choose the data Welltory may read — the Help Center suggests allowing all.

3. In your source apps, turn on sharing with Health Connect, and check access under Health Connect → App permissions.

Pick one of the two routes for Samsung Health data, not both. According to the Help Center, the data Welltory receives depends on what your apps and devices write — most often activity, heart rate, sleep and breathing — and syncing can take from a few hours to a day. If reports stop appearing, the Help Center's first fixes are to check that the data exists in the source app, re-grant permissions, and refresh from Menu → Data → Reload.

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How Welltory helps — and what it cannot do

The limits first. Welltory is a general wellness app, not a medical device. It does not diagnose, treat or monitor any condition, and a heart rate variability (HRV) measurement is not an ECG. The Help Center notes that measurements may be less accurate for people under 18 and during pregnancy.

What it adds on top of Samsung Health or Health Connect. Samsung Health and Google Fit store and display your data; Welltory reads it back and connects it. On Android, the Help Center describes a Sleep Analysis built from sleep data in Samsung Health, or from Fitbit and Garmin Connect when they come through Health Connect, with a Sleep Score made of four factors: sleep balance, sleep schedule, sleep stability and the heart rate wave overnight. It is saved in the Journal, next to your measurements.

Its own HRV measurement, with stress and energy scores. Welltory measures HRV itself and, according to the Help Center, translates each measurement into Stress, Energy and Health scores calculated against your own context. On Android that works three ways:

• With your phone camera and flash, no wearable needed. Some phones are not suitable, including the Google Pixel 6, 6A, 6 Pro, 7 and 7 Pro, because the flash sits too far from the lens.

• With a Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 or newer running Wear OS, by hand or automatically when you are calm and still. The free version allows one manual and one automatic watch measurement a day; Premium removes the limit. If you are deciding on a watch for this, our page on the Galaxy Watch HRV app shows how it works.

• With a chest strap that sends raw beat-to-beat intervals over Bluetooth 4.0, such as the Polar H10 or Garmin HRM-Pro. Straps that only use ANT+ do not work.

What it cannot take from your devices. Garmin, Fitbit and Oura devices can send activity and sleep, but Welltory's HRV measurements do not come from them: the Help Center explains that some makers do not allow raw HRV data to be shared, and Fitbit only provides daily summaries. Do not plan on a Pixel Watch for Welltory HRV measurements right now — the Help Center currently notes that HRV measurements are unavailable on Pixel Watch devices running Wear OS 6, while other Help Center pages still list Pixel Watch; until those agree, check the Help Center first. Galaxy Watch devices, including those on Wear OS 6, are not affected, according to the same note.

What you do with it. Keep Samsung Health as the app that records, let Welltory read from it, and take one quiet measurement at the same time each morning. Tag the days that might matter — "late coffee", "two glasses of wine", "hard training", "bad night". After a couple of weeks you can look back through your Journal at how your sleep and measurements looked on the days you tagged, compared with your own history rather than anyone else's. Whatever shows up is an association worth noticing, not a diagnosis.

You can get Welltory on Google Play. For the camera method on its own, see measuring HRV without a wearable; for stress on a Galaxy Watch specifically, see Samsung Watch stress tracking with Welltory.

How we made it

Made with AI tools, then edited and fact-checked by the Welltory team. See our Editorial & AI policy. Every claim about Google Fit, Google Health and Samsung Health is taken from those companies' own help, developer and product pages, checked on October 21, 2026; every claim about Welltory is taken from the Welltory Help Center.

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

Written by Tatsiana Yashyna.

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