Autonomic vs Visible: Pacing for ME/CFS and long COVID, without buying a band.
Visible made pacing by heart rate mainstream, and it is a good app. It also asks for its own band and a membership that costs more each year than many people can spare. Here is an honest side by side, so you can decide what fits your body and your budget.
Free to download. 14 days of Pro, no card.
Visible screen redrawn from Visible’s own published screenshots.
“I’ve been through a dozen apps trying to manage my POTS and PEM. I can say without a doubt Autonomic is the BEST one I’ve tried.”
“It’s already helping me manage my health and gather data to show providers.”
“Only app that isn’t for athlete training and specific to dysautonomia.”
Autonomic and Visible, side by side.
From each company’s own listing and help pages, checked November 2026. The numbers link to their sources.
| Feature |  Autonomic |  Visible |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $49.99 a year, or $7.99 a month | $179.88 a year, or $19.99 a month6,7 |
| Hardware to buy | None | Visible Band 2.0, $79.706,7 |
| First year, all in | $49.99 | $259.586 |
| Works with Apple Watch or Garmin | Yes, plus your phone camera and any Bluetooth strap | No, by design2 |
| Daily pacing | A budget in hours and minutes, judged on the two days after each day | PacePoints from the band5 |
| Exertion alerts | Yes, from the heart rate your watch writes to Apple Health or Health Connect | Yes, streamed from the band5 |
| Morning HRV | Camera, watch, Garmin or strap, unlimited and free | Phone camera check-in, or overnight with the band1 |
| Guided POTS stand test | Yes, with a watch, a strap or by hand | Not listed in its app description1 |
| What actually helps | Tests what you log against your readings, corrected for chance | Trends and a health report5 |
| Sharing with your doctor | A summary written by the AI you choose | A clinician dashboard link and a PDF report5 |
| Where your data lives | On your phone, with no account | Their encrypted database; health data linked to you1 |
| Export | Your whole journal, anytime | A CSV of daily scores and check-ins, without continuous heart rate4 |
| Where it is sold | iPhone and Android | Membership in the US and UK only3 |
| App Store rating | 4.9 from 26 ratings | 4.8 from 3.7K ratings1 |
US prices. Visible is a trademark of its owner; we are not affiliated. See Visible on the App Store →
What two years cost.
Autonomic Pro has no hardware to buy, and the journal and every HRV reading are free forever.
Where Visible is strong.
It is a good app. Here is what it does well, in its own words.
Pace with the watch you already wear.
Each morning your HRV, resting heart rate and sleep set a budget in hours and minutes that spends down as you move. Every day is judged on the two days after it, because that is when a crash shows up, and on a bad day the app holds the number back rather than inviting you to spend it.
Visible works only with its own band.2
A stand test for the POTS that so often comes with it.
A guided ten-minute stand test measures your heart rate rise the way clinicians do, on an Apple Watch, a chest strap, or by hand with no device at all, and keeps every result so you can watch it move over months.
See how it works → It’s already helping me manage my health and gather data to show providers.
Find out what is actually helping.
Log the supplements, salt, meds and rest. Insights tests each one against your own readings, corrects for testing many things at once, and says when nothing holds up, so a pattern found by luck is never reported as a finding.
See how it works →Your journal never leaves your phone.
There is no account to make and nothing to sync. Your readings, symptoms and scores are stored and worked out on the device, and a doctor summary only leaves it if you paste it into the AI you choose.
Visible keeps data in an encrypted database, with health data linked to you.1
Which one fits you?
Honestly, it depends on what you need.
- You want pacing without buying, charging and wearing another band.
- You already own an Apple Watch, a Garmin or a chest strap.
- You also live with POTS, and want a stand test beside your pacing.
- You want your health data on your phone and nowhere else.
- You want to pay $49.99 a year, not $259.58 in year one.
- You want a band that streams heart rate all day with nothing else to set up.
- You value a large members’ community and its research.
- You live in the US or UK and the cost is not a barrier.
Autonomic vs Visible: questions
Is Autonomic a good alternative to Visible?+
For many people, yes. Autonomic gives you a daily pacing budget in hours and minutes, set by your own HRV, resting heart rate and sleep and judged on the two days after each day, using the phone, watch or strap you already own. It adds a guided POTS stand test, Insights into what helps and doctor summaries, and keeps everything on your phone, for $49.99 a year with no band to buy. If you want a dedicated band streaming heart rate all day, Visible does that well.
Can I use my Polar Verity Sense from Visible with Autonomic?+
Yes. Autonomic pairs with the Polar Verity Sense directly for HRV readings, so the armband Visible used to ship keeps working. We have not tested the Visible Band 2.0, so we cannot promise it pairs.
Do I need a band or watch for Autonomic?+
No. Your phone camera takes the morning HRV reading, the pacing budget works from your steps and what you log, and the stand test can be done by hand. A watch or strap makes the budget sharper, and the app says so in words when an estimate is thin.
How much does Visible cost compared with Autonomic?+
Visible membership is $19.99 a month or $179.88 a year, and pacing needs its Visible Band 2.0 at $79.70, so the first year is about $259.58 (US prices, checked in 2026). Autonomic Pro is $7.99 a month or $49.99 a year with no hardware, the journal is free forever, and every install starts with 14 days of Pro.
Which is better for ME/CFS?+
Both are built around pacing for post-exertional malaise. Visible measures with a dedicated band; Autonomic fits a budget from what you already wear and judges every day on the two days after, which is when PEM lands. If you also have POTS, Autonomic adds the stand test. Try Autonomic free for two weeks and see which you trust.
Is my data private in Autonomic?+
Yes. Your journal lives only on your phone. There is no account, no ads and no tracking, and the app only sends anonymous counts of how many people use it.
Sources
Checked November 2026- Visible: Pacing for illness Visible Health Inc. App Store listing, 2026. Rating, the band requirement, the camera check-in and the privacy label.
- Why can’t I use my Apple Watch, Garmin, or Fitbit? Visible. Visible help center, 2026. Why other wearables are not supported.
- Where is the Visible membership available? Visible. Visible help center, 2026. The US and the UK.
- Data export Visible. Visible help center, 2026. What the CSV export holds, and leaves out.
- How it works Visible. makevisible.com, 2026. PacePoints, exertion alerts, the clinician dashboard and the member study.
- Visible Band review: pacing for ME/CFS and long COVID Aelivra. aelivra.co, prices checked 29 July 2026, 2026. Membership and band prices.
- The best pacing apps for chronic illness (2026) Juno. junocompanion.com, prices checked 9 October 2026, 2026. Membership and band prices, and devices.
- Visible buying guide Visible. Visible help center, 2026. Membership works with the Visible Band 2.0 or a Polar Verity Sense.
- Visible: pacing for chronic illness Visible. makevisible.com, 2026. The free app, member numbers and HSA/FSA eligibility.
See for yourself, free for 14 days.
Pro is $7.99 a month or $49.99 a year after that, and the journal is free forever.