This article is published by Pillr. We make a medication tracking app, but this page compares Bearable and Guava for people deciding between those two options.
Quick answer
Choose Bearable if you want a highly customisable daily journal for medication, symptoms, side effects, mood, pain, habits, and personal health patterns.
Choose Guava if you want medication and symptom tracking beside pill counts, refill alerts, health records, patient-portal connections, visit preparation, and wider device integrations.
Both are available on iPhone and Android. Both have free access and optional paid features. The better fit depends on whether your priority is a focused daily journal or a broader personal health record.
App choice summary
| Need | Better fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Custom daily symptom, mood, and habit journal | Bearable | Bearable puts flexible daily entries and personal correlations at the centre of the app. |
| Pill count and refill alerts | Guava | Guava currently lists medication supply tracking and refill reminders as part of its medication workflow. |
| Connected medical records and patient portals | Guava | Guava can bring records, lab results, and doctor notes together with tracking data. |
| Simple custom side-effect categories | Bearable | Bearable explains how to create a dedicated side-effect symptom group beside medication entries. |
Comparison at a glance
| Feature or need | Bearable | Guava | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medication reminders | Yes | Yes | Both let you keep medication reminders beside wider health records. |
| Medication dose records | Time, dose, and number of doses | Schedule and completed reminder records | Check how each app handles changes, missed entries, and as-needed medication for your routine. |
| Symptoms, mood, and pain | Custom daily journal and reports | Logs, charts, body map, and insights | Both are broad health trackers rather than medication-only apps. |
| Side-effect notes | Custom symptom group | Medication and symptom records can be reviewed together | Neither app should be used to decide whether a symptom is caused by medication. |
| Pill count and refill tracking | No dedicated supply workflow in the current medication guide | Yes | Guava is the clearer fit when medication supply needs to stay in the same record. |
| Medical records and patient portals | No connected-record workflow listed | Yes, with broad US portal support | Portal availability and record coverage can vary by provider and region. |
| Apple Health medication connection | Apple Health data connection | Current iPhone release lists medication and dose-event syncing | Check the current permissions and exactly what moves before depending on either connection. |
| Reports and appointment preparation | Reports, timelines, and export | Visit Prep, summaries, records, and export | Choose based on whether you need a tracking report or a wider medical-record summary. |
| Device availability | iPhone and Android | Web, iPhone, iPad, and Android | Check the current store and device requirements in your region. |
Who this comparison is for
This comparison is for someone who wants to record medication beside symptoms, side effects, mood, pain, sleep, or daily habits. It is especially useful if the choice depends on pill-supply tracking, health-record connections, custom journal entries, reports, or appointment preparation.
It is not a guide to choosing medication, changing a dose, deciding whether a medicine caused a symptom, or interpreting a health correlation as medical proof.
Key differences
Bearable is daily-journal led. Its current medication guide describes medication reminders, dose entries, symptom groups, side-effect groups, reports, and comparison graphs inside a custom health journal.
Guava is personal-health-record led. Its current medication tracking guide describes schedules, reminders, pill counts, medication lists, symptom connections, and appointment records alongside patient portals and device data.
The overlap is substantial. Both can track medication, symptoms, mood, pain, habits, and trends. The practical difference is how much wider health information you want around the daily record.
Detailed comparison by use case
If medication reminders are the main starting point
Bearable lets you create multiple reminders for individual medications on different days, then log the time, dose, and number of doses taken. This works well if medication is one part of a custom daily health journal.
Guava combines medication schedules and reminders with completed entries, pill supply, and refill alerts. It may fit better if you want the reminder and the remaining supply to stay together.
If symptoms or side effects are the main record
Bearable gives symptoms, mood, pain, energy, habits, and other custom factors a central place. Its help guide suggests creating a separate symptom group for side effects and comparing those entries with medication records.
Guava also tracks symptoms, mood, pain, and medication effects. Its body map, health charts, and wider records may be more useful if location, medical history, or device data needs to sit beside the symptom log.
Patterns in an app can help organise questions, but they do not prove that a medication caused or improved a symptom.
If you want records for a healthcare appointment
Bearable offers reports, timelines, and export for sharing a clearer tracking history with a doctor or therapist.
Guava adds Visit Prep, questions, medical-record summaries, lab results, doctor notes, and patient-portal connections. This is the broader option when the appointment record needs more than daily tracking data.
If connected health data matters
Bearable lists Apple Health and Fitbit connections alongside automatic health-data syncing. Guava lists a wider set of health apps, fitness devices, glucose monitors, and patient portals.
Guava's current iPhone release notes also say it can sync medications and dose events from Apple Health. Check the current permissions, sync direction, and included fields before relying on that connection.
Connected data does not guarantee every metric, record, provider, or device will sync. Check the current supported-source list before moving an established health record.
If privacy and account setup matter
Bearable says health data is encrypted on its servers and that it does not sell personal data. Its privacy policy explains that an account uses an email address and enables backup and restoring data across devices.
Guava uses an account to manage health information and connected records. Its privacy and security page says data is encrypted, users control sharing, and Guava does not sell health information.
Both apps hold sensitive health information. Review current account deletion, export, backup, analytics, and sharing rules before entering a full medication or medical history.
Where Bearable fits better
- You want a custom daily journal for symptoms, mood, pain, habits, medication, and treatments.
- You want to create your own symptom or side-effect groups.
- You want medication to be one factor inside a wider daily wellbeing record.
- You prefer reports and timelines without connecting a full medical-record system.
Where Guava fits better
- You want medication reminders, pill counts, and refill alerts in the same app.
- You want to connect patient portals, lab results, doctor notes, or medical documents.
- You need wider device and health-app connections.
- You want visit preparation built around both tracking entries and medical records.
When neither app may be enough
Bearable and Guava are broad health trackers. If your main need is an ADHD-specific medication routine with quick taken or skipped records, estimated focus windows, reflections, refill planning, and medication notes, Pillr is a separate option to consider.
What to verify before choosing
- Whether the app supports every phone, tablet, browser, or connected device you plan to use.
- Which history, insight, report, family, record, and AI features need a paid plan.
- Whether medication reminders support your prescribed schedule and as-needed use.
- Whether pill counts and refill alerts are needed in the same app.
- Which patient portals, health apps, and device sources are supported in your region.
- How account deletion, export, backup, analytics, and health-data sharing work.
Medical disclaimer
This article is for general information only and is not medical advice. Pillr does not diagnose, treat, prevent, or cure ADHD or any other condition. Medication decisions, including dose timing, dose changes, side effects, and missed doses, should be discussed with a doctor, psychiatrist, pharmacist, or other qualified healthcare professional.
Official app information
Features, device support, privacy details, and paid options can change. Check the current Bearable site, Bearable App Store page, Bearable Google Play page, and Bearable privacy policy.
For Guava, check the current Guava site, Guava App Store page, Guava Google Play page, and Guava privacy policy.
Last reviewed
Last reviewed August 26, 2026. Updated for Guava's Apple Health medication and dose-event syncing.