Independent since 2023  ·  No affiliate links.  ·  We buy every subscription ourselves. New York, NY Issue No. 148
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The verdicts

Reviews that took a month, not an afternoon

Every app below was bought at retail, worn or used for at least 31 days, benchmarked against reference hardware where the claim allows it, and torn down for trackers. Scores are out of 100 and traceable to six published axes.

GLP-1Companion app

Zenday App: the first tracker that knows what a dose is

The only app built around the real GLP-1 problem — protein on a suppressed appetite, and the week after a dose increase. One unpublished claim keeps it off the low nineties.

89
Top of the GLP-1 category
Marcus Oyelaran · 01 Sep14 min
Sleep · CBT-IFull review

Sleepio: the most rigorously tested app in consumer health

26 clinical trials, 18 of them randomised, including a placebo-controlled RCT. The highest score we have given anything — and you probably can't just buy it.

88
Applandica score
Hannah Weiss · 01 Sep14 min
NutritionFull review

Cronometer: the most accurate food database you can buy

USDA and NCCDB sourcing, staff-verified entries, 84 nutrients on the free tier. The more accurate product is also the cheaper one.

79
Applandica score
Marcus Oyelaran · 01 Sep13 min
MindFull review

Headspace: the most-studied meditation app

Fourteen randomised trials against a competitor's one — half of them carrying a company conflict of interest.

77
Applandica score
Hannah Weiss · 01 Sep13 min
Blood testingFull review

Function Health: 114 biomarkers, and about six false alarms

The best data-per-dollar in consumer blood testing, attached to a results screen that doesn't tell you six flags were expected.

72
Applandica score
Priya Raghunathan · 01 Sep14 min
MindFull review

Calm: the best sleep content, the thinnest evidence

One published randomised trial, and the category's best sleep library. Know which of those you're buying.

68
Applandica score
Hannah Weiss · 01 Sep12 min
NutritionFull review

MyFitnessPal: the world's food log, and its weakest link

Fastest logging in the category. Poor peer-reviewed validity across energy, carbs, protein, sugar, fibre and cholesterol.

64
Applandica score
Marcus Oyelaran · 01 Sep15 min
SleepWearable

Oura App 5.0: the quiet one still wins

Best-in-class sleep staging, a readiness score that finally explains itself, and a membership fee that stings a little less than it used to.

84
Strong buy for sleep nerds
Hannah Weiss · 28 Aug12 min
RecoverySubscription

Whoop MG: brilliant coach, brutal contract

The strain model is the best in the business. The cancellation flow is the worst thing we tested all quarter.

76
Buy with your eyes open
Ian Stemberg · 19 Aug15 min
MetabolicCGM

Zoe: £300 of science, £300 of vibes

The test kit is real research. The app that follows is a food-scoring game that can't quite tell you why.

61
Wait for v4
Marcus Oyelaran · 05 Aug18 min
The leaderboard

Everything we've scored

Live standings across the categories we track. Scores are re-tested every two major app releases or every 12 months, whichever comes first.

Updated 1 Sep 2026
AppCategoryScoreVerdictLast tested24-mo cost
Zenday AppGLP-1 companion89Our pick for GLP-1 usersSep 2026$178
Oura App 5.0Sleep84Strong buy for sleep nerdsAug 2026$489
BearableSymptom tracking80Best-in-class for chronic illnessJul 2026$120
CronometerNutrition79The data nerd's food logSep 2026$0–120
HeadspaceMind77The best-evidenced meditation appSep 2026$140
Whoop 5.0Recovery76Buy with your eyes openAug 2026$478
Function HealthBlood testing72Best value baseline panelSep 2026$730
LevelsMetabolic71Good app, cancel after month threeJul 2026$998
AutoSleepSleep69Cheap, cheerful, noisyMay 2026$9
CalmMind68Great sleep content, one published trialSep 2026$140
NutrisenseMetabolic66The dietitian is the productJul 2026$4,296
InsideTrackerBlood testing65Better plan, much worse valueSep 2026$1,276
MyFitnessPalNutrition64Fast, social, and often wrongSep 2026$160
ZoeMetabolic61Wait for v4Aug 2026$1,240
SleepioSleep · CBT-I88Best-evidenced insomnia app anywhereSep 2026Often $0 via employer
Midi HealthMenopause83Best if you're insuredSep 2026$0–$30/visit
BalanceMenopause81Best for the doctor's appointmentSep 2026Free core
MacroFactorNutrition77Best adaptive macro coachingSep 2026$144
ShotsyGLP-1 dose76The best dose tracker, and only thatSep 2026$80–100
Noom GLP-1 CompanionGLP-1 programme74Free, and a funnelSep 2026$0
MeAgainGLP-1 companion72Flexible logging, no interpretationSep 2026≈$519
WeightWatchers GLP-1GLP-1 programme71A clinic membership with an app attachedSep 2026≈$1,750
PhazeGLP-1 companion70Local-first, feature-dense, great valueSep 2026$70
Quest HealthBlood testing76Real labs, no markupSep 2026~$25+/test
Labcorp OnDemandBlood testing75Same deal, different postcodeSep 2026~$25+/test
EvernowMenopause75Async access, flat feeSep 2026$700–$1,180
LetsGetCheckedBlood testing74Owns its labsSep 2026~$50–200/test
Health & HerMenopause74Best free self-help toolkitSep 2026Free
Sleep CycleSleep73Fine without a wearableSep 2026$80
CariaMenopause72Structured guidanceSep 2026Free tier
EverlywellBlood testing70Broadest catalogue, split accountabilitySep 2026$49–299/kit
SuperpowerBlood testing69Cheaper — until the price riseSep 2026$698
PerryMenopause68Best communitySep 2026Free
Sleep ResetSleep · CBT-I67Accessible CBT-I, thin evidenceSep 2026~$150/programme
Lose It!Nutrition66Friendly, cheap, wrong problem on a GLP-1Sep 2026$80
GlappGLP-1 dose64Needs a second app to be usefulSep 2026n/a
Cal AINutrition52Pulled by Apple in April 2026 over billingSep 2026$60
RiseSleep58One good idea, thin executionApr 2026$120
Aura MindMind44Avoid: five dark patterns, no exportMar 2026$168

24-month cost includes required hardware, sensors and subscription at list price. No promo pricing, no annual-plan gymnastics.

On the bench right now

In the lab

Eleven apps are mid-test. Day counts as of this morning.

AppTestersDayPublishing
Eight Sleep Pod app224 / 31Sep 2026
Function Health317 / 45Oct 2026
MacroFactor29 / 31Oct 2026
Apple Health (visionOS)43 / 31Nov 2026

Want us to test something? Readers set roughly a third of our schedule. Tell us what you're paying for and what you suspect, and it goes on the board.

Suggest an app
How to read a score.

85–100 · Best in category. We'd pay for it ourselves.
70–84 · Good, with named trade-offs.
55–69 · Works, but something meaningful is broken.
40–54 · Only for a specific person with a specific need.
Below 40 · We'd ask for a refund.