What it is built for
- Sam
- A record over months
- Whoop
- A daily recovery score
Comparison
Whoop answers how hard to train today. Sam keeps the record for your doctor.
Whoop is a band that turns your night into a recovery score, so you can decide how hard to train. Sam does something different: it records one condition over months, with your symptoms, sick days and medication doses, and puts it into a PDF for your next appointment. Sam is an iPhone app that reads Apple Health, so it can show what your Whoop app saves there. You can use both together.
Sam
Whoop
Which one fits you?
Pick Whoop if ...
- you want a daily recovery number to decide how hard to train
- you want a band that is comfortable to wear around the clock
- you want your device's own app to be the whole picture and do not need a condition record
Pick Sam if ...
- you want a record of one condition to bring to appointments
- you want a doctor report as a PDF for 1, 3, 6 or 12 months
- you want the values your device saves to Apple Health next to your entries
Whoop and Sam side by side
This is not an accuracy contest. Whoop and Sam read overlapping signals. The difference is what each one builds out of them.
| Sam | Whoop | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is built for | A record over months | A daily recovery score |
| A diary per condition | Eight conditions | Not its focus |
| Doctor report as PDF | Per program, 1 to 12 months | Not its focus |
| Data into Sam | Via Apple Health | If its app saves to Apple Health |
A diary per condition
- Sam
- Eight conditions
- Whoop
- Not its focus
Doctor report as PDF
- Sam
- Per program, 1 to 12 months
- Whoop
- Not its focus
Data into Sam
- Sam
- Via Apple Health
- Whoop
- If its app saves to Apple Health
Only points we can state plainly are listed. Check the maker's own pages for details on Whoop.
Using both: training and the condition record
- Keep the band for trainingWhoop stays what it is for: a daily recovery score and training decisions.
- Use Sam for the conditionLog symptoms, sick days and medication doses in Sam, next to the values your device saves to Apple Health.
- Take the PDF to your appointmentChoose 1, 3, 6 or 12 months or the whole record. The two keep separate data.
Sam is a wellness companion, not a medical device. It documents and organises what you record and does not diagnose. What a value means, and whether a treatment is working, is for your doctor to judge.
Whoop and Sam, honestly
Is Sam a Whoop alternative?+
Only if what you want is documentation. If you are training and want a daily readiness call, Whoop is built for that and Sam is not. If you live with a condition and want months of it written down in a doctor report your doctor can read, that is what Sam is for.
Can I use Sam with only a Whoop band?+
Yes, if the Whoop app saves its data to Apple Health. Sam reads Apple Health, so any device whose app saves data there can be a source. A value appears only if your device records it. The diary, questionnaires, documents and doctor report work without any wearable.
Is Whoop more accurate than an Apple Watch?+
Not in a way that settles this question. Both are reasonable for resting heart rate and heart-rate variability, and both get noisier during movement. The Whoop band is more comfortable for round-the-clock wear; the Apple Watch has an ECG feature and a wider set of Apple Health signals. Sam does not claim to be more accurate, it reads what your device saves to Apple Health.
Can I use Whoop and Sam at the same time?+
Yes. Some people keep the band for training and use Sam for the condition side. Sam reads what reaches Apple Health, and you log the rest yourself: symptoms, doses, sick days, flares.
What do I bring to my appointment?+
The doctor report of your Sam program as a PDF, for 1, 3, 6 or 12 months or the whole record. Each of the 8 programs has its own report, and there is no combined one.
Does Sam replace what my doctor does?+
No. Sam is a wellness companion, not a medical device. It collects what happened, so the conversation at your appointment starts from notes instead of memory. What a value means, or whether a therapy works, is for your doctor to judge.
Your appointment, with notes instead of memory
Start with one Medical Program for free. Sam Pro opens all 8 and removes the document limit in the Health Vault, from EUR 7.08 a month on the annual plan.