AutoSleep vs Daylio

AutoSleep is a sleep-tracking app for Apple Watch and iPhone that records sleep automatically in the background, without requiring the user to start or stop a session. It uses heart rate, motion, and (where available) blood oxygen and wrist temperature data to estimate sleep stages, sleep quality, and a running sleep debt total called the sleep bank. The app integrates with Apple Health and HomeKit, offers a smart alarm that wakes users during a lighter sleep phase, and includes an add-on companion app, AutoSnore, for snore detection. It is sold as a single one-time purchase on the App Store rather than a subscription, and processes data on-device rather than through a cloud account.

Daylio is a micro-journaling app where users log their mood and daily activities with a couple of taps instead of writing full diary entries. It turns that data into charts, statistics, and a Year in Pixels view that reveal correlations between activities and mood over time, with goal-setting and habit-tracking built in.

• One-time purchase price with no ongoing subscription fees
• Fully automatic tracking that does not require remembering to start or stop a sleep session
• Detailed metrics including sleep stages, SpO2, respiration rate, and wrist temperature on supported hardware
• On-device processing with no account or login required for basic use

• Extremely fast to log entries without writing
• Useful pattern insights linking activities to mood over time
• Highly customizable moods and visual themes
• Long-running app with a large, established user base

• Requires an Apple Watch for automatic tracking; iPhone-only use is far more limited
• Advanced metrics like SpO2 and respiration depend on specific newer Apple Watch models
• Interface and terminology (sleep bank, sleep debt) have a learning curve for new users

• Limited depth compared to full-text journaling apps
• Advanced statistics and customization require Premium
• Not a substitute for clinical mental health tracking or care