A Whoop alternative for people managing a condition
Whoop answers how hard to train today. Sam gives you the record to take to your doctor.
Whoop is good hardware with a clear job: it turns your night into a recovery score so you can decide how hard to go. Sam has a different job. It runs on the Apple Watch you already wear, keeps a record of symptoms, sick days, medication doses and monthly check-ins, and prints the whole thing as a report you can take to an appointment.
Same wrist, different question
This is not an accuracy contest. Whoop and Sam read overlapping signals and both do it reasonably well. The difference is what each one builds out of them.
A score for today, or a record of the year
Whoop compresses sleep, resting heart rate and heart-rate variability into a daily recovery number aimed at a training decision. Sam keeps those signals in context next to what you logged - symptoms, flares, sick days - so a pattern that started eight months ago is still readable in month nine.
No second device, no second subscription
Whoop is a membership: you wear their band and you keep paying for it. Sam runs on the Apple Watch already on your wrist. Sam Pro is EUR 8.99 a month or EUR 84.99 a year, and the free tier covers one Medical Program.
Programs built around conditions, not workouts
8 Medical Programs across 15 condition families - migraine, epilepsy, asthma, reflux, high blood pressure, panic disorder, hay fever, gout and more. Each tracks 6 Apple Health signals and adds a validated monthly check-in such as MIDAS for migraine or NDDI-E for epilepsy.
Something to hand over at the appointment
Medication reminders with per-dose check-off, an attack diary for acute episodes, a Health Vault for lab panels and doctor's letters, and a monthly PDF report that prints clean. Whoop gives you a dashboard. Sam gives you a document.
Going from a recovery score to a condition record
- 1
Keep the watch you have
Sam reads Apple Health, so the Apple Watch you already own becomes the sensor. Nothing new to buy, nothing new to charge, no second band collecting the same nights.
- 2
Pick the program that matches your diagnosis
Choose a Medical Program and Sam starts collecting the six Apple Health signals that belong to it, alongside the symptom entries, sick days and medication doses you add yourself.
- 3
Take the month with you
Once a month you answer a short validated check-in. The monthly PDF report puts the whole period on one printable, doctor-friendly document for your next appointment.
What Sam does not do
Sam is a wellness companion, not a medical device. It documents and organises what you record - it does not diagnose, does not interpret your values, and does not tell you whether a treatment is working. For medical decisions, always consult qualified professionals.
Whoop and Sam, honestly
Is Sam a Whoop alternative?+
Only if what you actually want is documentation. If you are training and want a daily readiness call, Whoop is built for that and Sam is not. If you are living with a condition and want months of it written down in a form a clinician can read, that is what Sam is for.
Is Whoop more accurate than an Apple Watch?+
Not in a way that settles this question. Both are reasonable for heart rate and heart-rate variability at rest, 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 signal types. Sam does not claim to be more accurate - it reads the same watch you already trust.
Do I need extra hardware for Sam?+
No. Sam is an iOS app with an Apple Watch companion and reads Apple Health. If you own an Apple Watch, you are already equipped.
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.
Does Sam replace what my doctor does?+
No. Sam is a wellness companion, not a medical device and not a medical record system. It never interprets a value or judges a therapy. It collects what happened, so the conversation at your appointment starts from notes instead of memory.
Your Apple Watch already recorded the year. Sam writes it down.
Start with one Medical Program for free. Sam Pro unlocks all 8, the Health Vault and the monthly report for EUR 8.99 a month or EUR 84.99 a year.
No extra hardware, no second subscription · Wellness companion, not a medical device