Pulse and subscription recovery wearables, compared
A subscription recovery wearable is a band, an app and a membership in one product. Pulse is free, open-source software that computes similar scores (Recovery, Strain, Sleep Performance, a biological-age estimate) from a Fitbit Air you already own, on a server you run. A membership works out of the box and comes with support; Pulse is for people who want no subscription and their data on their own machine.
Facts about other products checked on .
Side by side
| Subscription recovery wearable | Pulse on a Fitbit Air | |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware | The maker's own band, usually included with the membership | Fitbit Air, bought once ($99 in the US at launch) |
| How you pay | A monthly or annual membership | Pulse is free for noncommercial use. You run it on your own computer or server |
| Recovery | Usually a 0-100% daily score | 0-100%, green, yellow and red bands; method published |
| Strain | A daily effort score; scales vary | 0-21 scale; method published |
| Sleep | A sleep score, often with a bedtime planner | Sleep Performance, Sleep Planner, sleep consistency (SRI) |
| Biological age | Offered by some | Pulse Age and Pace of Aging, from cited studies |
| Method | Usually proprietary; weights not published | Open source, with formulas, constants and citations |
| Where your data lives | The company's cloud | Your server (SQLite); the band's data also stays in Google Health |
| Apps | Native iOS and Android apps | A web app you install from the browser |
| Coaching and support | Often a coach and company support | No coach; GitHub issues and the docs |
Where a membership is the better choice
- You want one product that works out of the box, with support behind it.
- You want a band whose sensors and sampling were designed for its own scores.
- You want native phone apps, coaching and features Pulse does not have.
- You do not want to run a server, create a Google Cloud project or update Docker images.
Where Pulse fits
- You already own a Fitbit Air, or prefer its price, and want recovery and strain scores without a second subscription.
- You want your health data on a machine you control, with nothing sent to a Pulse service (there is none).
- You want to read exactly how every number is made, and check it against the code.
The numbers are not interchangeable
Pulse uses familiar scales so the numbers read naturally, but its method is its own, ported from the open-source noop project and published. A 70% Recovery in Pulse and a 70% Recovery from another product come from different sensors and different maths. Compare yourself with yourself.