restup vs athlytic
Athlytic is the closest thing to RestUp on the App Store. It too is an Apple Watch app that processes on your device with no account, at one yearly price. The difference is temperament. Athlytic is a training tool that also reads your sleep. RestUp is a rest tool that also knows about your training.
Where they agree
On iPhone, both read Apple Health and keep the data on the phone; RestUp also runs on Android through Health Connect. Both say no account and mean it; Athlytic’s App Store label reads “Data Not Collected” and RestUp’s health data never leaves your phone. Both give you a recovery number out of 100 built from overnight heart rate variability and resting heart rate against your own baseline, a sleep score, sleep debt, a Watch app and complications, and a seven-day free trial with no lifetime unlock.
Where they differ
What the number is for
Athlytic pairs recovery with an Exertion score out of 10 and a daily Target Exertion, so the morning question is “how hard should I train today?”. RestUp pairs readiness with a sentence, “your body is ready for a steady day”, so the question is “should I push or rest?”. If you follow a training plan and want a load target, Athlytic answers it more directly. If you are the kind of person a training app makes anxious, RestUp is written for you.
Baseline length
Athlytic compares against a 60-day rolling baseline. RestUp uses 14 nights. A longer baseline is steadier; a shorter one follows a change in your life within a couple of weeks. Neither is wrong, and RestUp is upfront that its first week is a learning period.
Chronotype
RestUp reads your chronotype and social jet lag from your recorded nights and uses them to suggest a wind-down time. We could not find a chronotype feature in Athlytic’s documentation or listing.
Coaching and breadth
Athlytic has more: cycle logging, stress, net energy, training load, and an “Ask Athlytic” assistant built on Apple Intelligence. RestUp deliberately has less on screen and narrates what it does show. Reviewers have noted Athlytic’s recovery model leans towards cardio and does not account for muscular fatigue from strength work; RestUp’s training-load component has the same limitation, because both read the same Apple Health workouts.
Team
Athlytic describes itself as a two-person team. RestUp is one person. Both are small enough to answer email.
Side by side
| RestUp | Athlytic | |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware | iPhone + Apple Watch, or Android via Health Connect | iPhone + Apple Watch for most features |
| Account | None | None |
| Where health data is processed | On your phone | On the iPhone, via Apple Health |
| Recovery score | Readiness 0–100 with a plain-words band | Recovery 0–100 % plus Exertion 0–10 |
| Baseline | 14 nights | 60-day rolling |
| Sleep debt | Yes, 7-night ledger | Yes, plus sleep consistency |
| Chronotype | Yes, with social jet lag | Not found |
| Watch | Watch app, complications, widgets (iPhone only) | Watch app, 8+ complications, 11+ widgets |
| Free trial | 7 days | 7 days |
| Price | RestUp Plus subscription; price in the App Store or Google Play | $4.99 / month or $29.99 / year; no lifetime |
| US App Store rating | New; too few ratings to show | 4.8 from about 11,000 ratings |
Which one should you pick?
Pick Athlytic if you train to a plan, want an exertion target each day, and like having every metric available. It has a longer track record and many more reviews than RestUp.
Pick RestUp if you want one calm answer each morning, care about your chronotype and bedtime timing, and would rather not be told you are behind. Both have a free week, and neither needs an account, so trying both costs nothing but two mornings.
Sources
- athlyticapp.com: no accounts, on-device, two-person team, 7-day trial, no lifetime.
- Athlytic on the App Store: pricing, privacy label, complications, rating.
- Athlytic help: getting started: 60-day baseline, Recovery, Exertion, Sleep Debt.
- Athlytic help: device requirements.
- RestUp facts: how the readiness score works and the privacy policy.