Try Beat Watcher on your Apple Watch
Free to download. Requires Apple Watch Series 4 or newer (watchOS 9+).
A heart rate alert app turns your Apple Watch into something that taps you on the wrist the moment your heart rate crosses a limit you set. This comparison covers the Apple Watch heart rate alert apps people most often consider in 2026, judged on what an alert app has to do: alert you on your own limits, reach you when it matters, and reach someone you trust. Details for other apps reflect our review of each app’s App Store listing and website in October 2026.
A heart rate alert app watches your heart rate while you go about your day and alerts you when it crosses a threshold you choose, instead of making you remember to check a number. The built-in high and low heart rate notifications on Apple Watch are useful, but they are delayed and only check periodically in the background. A dedicated app gives you customizable limits and an immediate alert the moment your heart rate crosses one.
Not every app in this category does the same thing. Some let you set both a high and a low threshold, some alert only on a rise, some are journals with an alert added on, and some are built around alerting other people. Here is what to look for before you compare them:
The ability to set your own high and low BPM limits, rather than relying on fixed values, so the app matches your routine.
A haptic and audio alert the instant your heart rate crosses a limit, not a number you have to remember to glance at.
Continued monitoring when your wrist is down or another app is open, so you are not limited to when you look at your watch.
Optional alerts on your iPhone that can cut through Silent Mode and Focus for moments when the watch alone is not enough.
The option for a family member or friend to get your alerts on their own phone, so you are not the only one who knows.
Each of these apps takes a different approach. Here is what each one does, and where it falls short as an alert app.
| App | Your own high and low limits | Alerts someone you trust | Price in the U.S. App Store |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beat Watcher | Yes | Yes, free for them, including when readings stop | Free download; $24 per year after a one-month free trial, or a one-time lifetime purchase |
| TachyMon | Yes | No | Free; Premium $2.99 per month or $19.99 per year |
| Cardiac Alarm | Low, with an optional high | Yes, up to three people | $2.99 per month or $17.99 per year after a 7-day free trial |
| RscMe | Yes | Yes, by text message | Free download; prepaid SMS credits |
| POTS Buddy | High only | No | Free |
| Autonomic | No; its free alert responds to a sudden rise | No | Free; Pro $7.99 per month or $49.99 per year |
Beat Watcher lets you set customizable high and low BPM thresholds with the Digital Crown and alerts you with instant haptic and audio feedback the moment your heart rate crosses one. Background Mode keeps monitoring when your wrist is down or you switch to another app, and persistent alerts repeat until you respond so you do not miss the signal. An optional iPhone companion adds Critical Alerts that cut through Silent Mode and Focus, and Bluetooth chest strap support such as the Polar H10 is available for added accuracy. It is free to download. In the U.S. App Store, annual access is $24 per year after a one-month free trial, or $100 once for lifetime access. Prices vary by country or region, and the App Store shows your local price before purchase. Requires Apple Watch Series 4 or newer on watchOS 9 or later. Distinctive strengths: persistent alerts, iPhone Critical Alerts, saved Alert History with local notes, context tags, and CSV export, plus Alert Sharing that lets trusted contacts receive selected threshold notifications and review shared alert history. Trusted contacts can accept and receive alerts without purchasing a subscription. Trusted contacts can also be alerted when heart rate readings stop and when they resume.
TachyMon runs on iPhone and Apple Watch with customizable upper and lower thresholds, and it can also alert you when your heart rate rises or falls a set amount from a recent rolling average. Its free tier covers core alerts; Premium costs $2.99 per month or $19.99 per year and adds event charts, notes, CSV and PDF export, and iPhone-side Bluetooth sensor sessions. As of our October 2026 review, TachyMon alerts only the wearer: it cannot send your alerts to a family member, though you can share event details afterward. Distinctive strength: rolling-average alerts.
Cardiac Alarm sounds a loud siren on your Apple Watch when your heart rate crosses a low limit you set, with an optional high limit, and since its October 2026 update it can also sound an alarm on the iPhones of up to three people you choose. It is built around a siren for urgent moments rather than day-to-day pacing, and it is newer than the other apps here, with no U.S. ratings as of October 2026. It costs $2.99 per month or $17.99 per year after a 7-day free trial, and it is free for the people who receive its alarms. Distinctive strength: a loud siren for you and the people nearby.
RscMe is built around emergency texts rather than day-to-day pacing. When your heart rate crosses a high or low limit you set, it texts up to five emergency contacts your name, current heart rate and a GPS location link, with a 30-minute cooldown between messages for the same episode. Alerts use prepaid SMS credits, one per contact per alert. Distinctive strength: text messages to contacts who don’t have an app.
POTS Buddy is a free POTS companion for Apple Watch and iPhone with a guided standing test, symptom logging and exportable charts. As of our October 2026 review, it alerts on high heart rate only, at two levels you set, and because it keeps all data on your device with no cloud sync, it does not send alerts to another person. Distinctive strength: a free guided standing test.
Autonomic is a pacing and HRV journal for POTS, long COVID and ME/CFS, not a dedicated heart rate alert app. It centers on a daily pacing budget, HRV readings, stand tests and a symptom journal. Its free Apple Watch monitor buzzes when your heart rate spikes compared with the last two minutes, and its Pro tier ($7.99 per month or $49.99 per year in the U.S. App Store) adds a pacing alert when your heart rate stays high. As of our October 2026 review, Autonomic does not offer low heart rate alerts or alerts to another person. Distinctive strength: pacing and HRV journaling.
HeartWatch is a heart rate analytics app, a one-time purchase of $8.99, that tracks daytime, sleep and workout trends and includes background heart rate alerts on the watch. It is an analytics app first, not a dedicated threshold-alert app. Distinctive strength: deep heart rate trends and history.
The right app depends on what you want it to do for you. Match your main goal to the strongest fit:
Beat Watcher is built for this: your own high and low limits set with the Digital Crown, alerts that repeat until you respond, optional iPhone Critical Alerts, and saved Alert History with local notes, context tags, and CSV export. TachyMon also offers high and low limits, plus rolling-average alerts if that is the one feature you need.
Beat Watcher Alert Sharing lets a trusted contact accept an invitation, choose which high and low alerts they receive in the Beat Watcher iPhone app, review shared history, and be alerted when your heart rate readings stop and when they resume, at no cost to them. Cardiac Alarm sounds a siren on up to three people’s iPhones, and RscMe sends text messages to contacts who don’t have an app. As of our October 2026 review, TachyMon, POTS Buddy and Autonomic don’t send alerts to another person.
Autonomic centers on pacing budgets and HRV journaling, and POTS Buddy on a free standing test with high heart rate alerts. Neither offers low heart rate alerts or alerts to another person, so if your main need is being alerted, on your own high and low limits or through someone you trust, Beat Watcher is the more complete alert app.
HeartWatch is the stronger fit for analyzing your heart rate over time across day, sleep, and workouts, rather than for dedicated real-time threshold alerting.
For most people looking for a heart rate alert app on Apple Watch, Beat Watcher is the strongest all-round pick. It covers every job on this page: your own high and low limits, an immediate alert, Background Mode, alerts that repeat until you respond, optional iPhone Critical Alerts that cut through Silent Mode and Focus, saved Alert History, and Alert Sharing that can tell someone you trust, including when your readings stop. It is free to download, with a one-month free trial on its annual plan. The other apps fit narrower jobs: TachyMon for rolling-average alerts, Cardiac Alarm for a loud siren, RscMe for text messages to contacts without an app, POTS Buddy for a free standing test, Autonomic for pacing and HRV journaling, and HeartWatch for trend analytics. Because Beat Watcher is free to download, you can confirm the fit on your own wrist first.
Free to download. Requires Apple Watch Series 4 or newer (watchOS 9+).
For most people, Beat Watcher. It lets you set your own high and low limits, alerts you the moment your heart rate crosses one, repeats the alert until you respond, can send Critical Alerts to your iPhone that cut through Silent Mode and Focus, and can alert someone you trust, including when your readings stop. It is a free download with U.S. App Store pricing of $24 per year after a one-month free trial or $100 once for lifetime access. Prices vary by country or region. If you need something narrower: TachyMon for rolling-average alerts, Cardiac Alarm for a loud siren, RscMe for text messages to contacts without an app, POTS Buddy for a free standing test, Autonomic for pacing and HRV journaling, and HeartWatch for trend analytics.
Beat Watcher, Cardiac Alarm and RscMe can alert another person. Beat Watcher Alert Sharing lets a trusted contact accept an invitation in the Beat Watcher iPhone app, choose which high and low alerts they receive, review shared history, and be alerted when your heart rate readings stop and when they resume. Trusted contacts don’t need a subscription, and either person can disconnect. Cardiac Alarm sounds an alarm on the iPhones of up to three people, and RscMe texts up to five contacts using prepaid SMS credits. As of our October 2026 review, TachyMon, POTS Buddy and Autonomic don’t send alerts to another person. Beat Watcher is a general wellness app, not a medical device.
Yes. Beat Watcher is the closest direct alternative to TachyMon. Both let you set customizable upper and lower heart rate thresholds on Apple Watch and alert you when your heart rate crosses them. Beat Watcher adds persistent alerts that repeat until you respond, optional iPhone Critical Alerts that cut through Silent Mode and Focus, and saved Alert History with local notes, context tags, and CSV export. It is free to download. In the U.S. App Store, annual access is $24 per year after a one-month free trial, or $100 once for lifetime access. Prices vary by country or region. TachyMon offers alerts based on a rolling average, PDF export, and iPhone-side sensor sessions. Beat Watcher can also send your alerts to someone you trust, which TachyMon does not.
Both apps let you set customizable high and low heart rate thresholds on Apple Watch and alert you when your heart rate crosses them, and both let you try the core alerts before paying. TachyMon has a free tier, while Beat Watcher is free to download with a one-month free trial on its annual plan. In the U.S. App Store, Beat Watcher costs $24 per year or $100 once for lifetime access; prices vary by country or region. The main differences are in extras. Beat Watcher offers persistent alerts that repeat until you respond, an optional iPhone companion with Critical Alerts that cut through Silent Mode and Focus, Bluetooth chest strap support such as the Polar H10, saved Alert History with local notes, context tags, and CSV export, and a choice between annual and lifetime access. TachyMon can also alert you when your heart rate rises or falls a set amount from a recent rolling average, and its Premium tier ($2.99 per month or $19.99 per year) adds CSV and PDF data export plus iPhone-side sensor sessions. Beat Watcher can also send alerts to a trusted contact, while TachyMon alerts only the wearer.
Beat Watcher, TachyMon, Cardiac Alarm and RscMe let you set both a high and a low heart rate limit. Beat Watcher and TachyMon are designed for day-to-day threshold alerting, Cardiac Alarm sounds a siren, and RscMe texts emergency contacts when a limit is crossed. POTS Buddy alerts on high heart rate only, and Autonomic’s free alert responds to a sudden rise.
Pricing varies by country or region, so the figures below are approximate U.S. prices. Beat Watcher is free to download. In the U.S. App Store, annual access is $24 per year after a one-month free trial, or $100 once for lifetime access. The App Store shows your local price before purchase. TachyMon has a free tier, with Premium at $2.99 per month or $19.99 per year. Cardiac Alarm costs $2.99 per month or $17.99 per year after a 7-day free trial. RscMe uses prepaid credits for its text-message alerts. POTS Buddy is free. Autonomic is free, with Pro at $7.99 per month or $49.99 per year. HeartWatch is a one-time purchase of $8.99. Many of these apps let you try core alerting before paying, so you can confirm the fit on your own wrist first.